If you give it, they spend

With the conclusion of the 2016 legislative session, we’re reminded  of that bromide about government spending: 

If you give the government money, it will spend it.

That certainly has been the case in Florida, even during the era of conservative Gov. Rick Scott and the overwhelmingly conservative Republican Legislature. 

Well, let’s say allegedly conservative.

Lawmakers closed shop last week on another record budget: $82.3 billion — a 4.6% increase over the previous year. 

But bless their conservative souls. They actually could have spent even more — another $3.4 billion. 

But being the fiscal tightwads they say they are, ahem, they resisted the urge. They voted to put $3 billion into the state’s rainy-day savings account, and they voted to give back to taxpayers $400 million in tax cuts. 

Wasn’t that nice? A measly 0.4% of the total tax revenues pouring into state coffers comes back to you.

The tide and focus certainly has changed in the past decade. Remember the days, say in the early 2000s, when taxpayers and taxpayer groups railed at the drunken-sailor spending habits of every level of government?

Back then, with the economy roaring, the housing bubble getting bigger, government coffers practically were overflowing with money to spend. It was almost as if legislators and county and city commissioners couldn’t spend it as fast as it was coming in.

But all that growth-driven spending eventually caught the attention of taxpayers. They began movements in states and cities to reign it in. 

In some states, voters elected real fiscal conservatives, and in a few places,those legislators, governors and local elected officials enacted laws that limited spending growth. 

One of the most commonly advocated limits was capping the annual growth in state spending to no more than the combined rates of growth of inflation and population.

Colorado was a leader in this movement with its Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). Its cap on spending required the state to send checks to taxpayers whenever state tax collections exceeded the growth in population and inflation. And for a few consecutive years until 2005, Coloradoans enjoyed their annual tax refunds. 

But when the economic downturn began, then-Republican Gov. Bill Owens and the Colorado Legislature imposed a temporary freeze on annual refunds. It took until last year for the refunds to begin again. 

Meanwhile, when a few Florida lawmakers and other fiscal advocates attempted to create a similar cap in Florida in the early 2000s, unfortunately, even with a Republican dominated Legislature, the effort died. Not surprisingly, legislators shuddered at being handcuffed.

Thankfully for taxpayers, the recession took care of runaway spending, at least at the state and local levels. Those jurisdictions are required by law to balance their budgets.

But old habits are hard to break. Once Florida overcame its economic crash, starting slowly in 2011, Florida’s tax collections have been rising steadily. And legislators have responded as they always do to an improving and growing economy.

Just look at the table at the lower left. After bottoming out in fiscal 2011-2012, Florida’s spending has increased every year, rising 18% over  the past five years.

Ok, we’ll admit it: With Florida’s population growing again, you would expect an increase in tax revenues and a corresponding increase in the demand for government services.

But if you applied the Colorado TABOR test, Florida’s spending is outpacing its growth (see box).

What’s contributing to the growth? 

The biggest driver is transportation. Since Gov. Scott was inaugurated in 2011, state transportation spending has increased 55% to a projected $10.7 billion in the next fiscal year. Many lawmakers and Floridians would say that spending is long overdue, given Florida’s crowded highways. 

The other contributor is Florida’s human services category — social spending. It has increased 18% since fiscal 2011.

Education spending, in contrast, has increased 13.8% — less than the growth in population and inflation. (Mind you, we’re not criticizing that. We’re not in the camp of those who contend you fix public education with more money.)

So while many of the press reports you may have heard or read have focused on how lawmakers denied Gov. Scott $600 million of his proposed tax cuts, or focused on how lawmakers and the governor didn’t fund this or vetoed that, we’re just reminding you: The allegedly conservative Republican legislators are not skinflints. They’re good at spending.

Perhaps it’s time to revisit putting a cap on the growth of state spending. 

Make passes local

Who should pay to keep New Pass, Longboat Pass and Big Pass navigable? That’s a relevant question, especially given recent events. 

The Coast Guard declared New Pass too shallow for navigation. The situation will improve some when the town of Longboat Key dredges the pass, starting late spring. 

But that is only a temporary fix, largely because Congress hasn’t funded pass navigation for more than a decade.

Meantime, the three passes are important to the economy of this water- and boating-based region.

From an ownership standpoint, paying to keep the passes navigable should come from federal funding. They are part of federal waters. 

But because the feds do such an abysmal job, the passes’ care likely would improve if  ownership were local. Rather than a tragedy of the commons, which exists now, county governments could impose fees and tolls on the users — just as the state does on the Sunshine Skyway.