Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPeter Rusthoven states [Jan. 19 Taking Issue] that a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget will “protect the state” when the economy turns down.
His point is a stretch because only a saved surplus can protect government, which probably does not need saving, anyway, because Indiana survived lots of economic crises, such as in 1850, 1974 and 2008-2009 without an amendment.
Sure, let’s have an amendment, or not. I do not care. The problem is cost of the effort.
The first cost is cash out for getting it passed in two legislatures, then a campaign to convince the voters. We are talking millions of dollars.
The other cost is intellectual. Would not Rusthoven’s mind, and the minds of the governor and his staff, be better used to figure out how to accommodate undocumented residents, raise the professional image and status of teachers, insure more Hoosiers under Medicaid or The Healthy Indiana Plan, or repairing our infrastructure?
__________
John Guy
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.