Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Legislature / Politics / Woods State Celebrates Federal Bailout: Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 1:03 PM
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Holy Moly! State Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz has just revealed we're only getting $3.7 billion from the federal government, not $4.3 billion as originally stated. Our state's bailout was miscalculated because of some misinformation about Tennessee's Medicaid program and other factors that are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, Goetz told the House Education Committee.
In other news, Goetz confirmed that, despite what Sen. Bob Corker thinks, Tennessee can figure out plenty of ways to spend all its money. Loyal Pith readers learned this morning that Corker said the state was receiving "more money than it can possibly spend." Tennessee's universities and colleges are in line for $500 million, for instance, enough to basically wipe out their budget cuts.
Our revelatory Q&A with the finance commissioner follows:
Q: So with this federal money, you'd be restoring the money that you had been cutting ...
Goetz: Correct.
Q: And then the money runs out in two years and then where are you?
Goetz: That's a very good question. We'd restore with non-recurring money, either some of that fiscal stabilization money or any number of places you can look for it. ... Higher education in two years is going to be back to the recurring support level as are all of these agencies.
Q: You're basically postponing some cuts.
Goetz: That's correct.
Q: And two years from now maybe things will be better.
Goetz: Well, they're not going to be anything like that much [$3.7 billion] better. Anyone who builds their plans on that is building on a house of sand. ... We're going to have to have very clear plans from everyone involved on how they intend to be at a recurring expenditure base level in two years.
Q: So Corker yesterday in Chattanooga said the state can't figure out how to spend all this money that's coming in. What do you have to say about that?
Goetz: I don't think that's true. I think Bob was being rhetorical. Bob knows the system and he knows we will do what we have to do. We will do this and give as much guidance as we can and do this as responsibly as we can.
Q: So it's not so much money that you can't figure out how to spend it all?
Goetz: Ask your wife if you could ever give her too much to spend.
Q: That's such a sexist thing to say.
Goetz: I know your wife. That wasn't a generally sexist remark. ... Your children, ask your children, if you can give them too much money to spend.
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