Conservative leaning people that focus on social issues are certainly likely to be fiscally conservative in their personal lives, no question in my mind. I don’t have a study to cite, that is just an observation from being around them literally all of my life. Hey, Pop is a Southern Baptist preacher, what’d you expect? The difference between the two groups lies in how they would use YOUR money, not theirs. They don’t mind spending YOUR money at all if it is for something that THEY think will benefit society as a whole.
Here are two examples. One from Sen. John Carona and one from Sen. Dan Patrick. These two politicians, despite their fervent denials, are not small government fiscal conservatives. In fact, neither of them believe in small government at all if you base it solely upon their legislative records.
First up is Sen. Corona’s “Choose Life” license plate bill (SB 257) that he introduced yesterday. It sounds simple, right? Let Texas drivers choose a customized license plate with the slogan “Choose Life” on it. No problem. So why hasn’t it passed in previous legislative sessions? Because it is really about setting up a separate General Account, a seven member advisory council, and funding “certain eligible” groups. It really isn’t about a slogan at all.
In other words, it grows government. Don’t believe me? Read the bill.
I think this time it will pass because so-cons are going to have a great session. Any small government fiscal conservative would be against the government taking money, even voluntarily, and creating yet another state program.
Next up is Sen. Patrick’s SB 243 which will reestablish the Texas Bleeding Disorders Advisory Council. Seriously. Read the bill.
You thought I was kidding, didn’t you? C’mon, admit it. The most conservative politician in Texas really wouldn’t file a bill like this, would he? Yup.
What does it do, you ask? It creates a council of 10 voting members, 5 non-voting, plus the Commissioner of State Health Services. And what will this council do?
Sec. 103A.007. DUTIES OF COUNCIL. The council shall
conduct studies and advise the department, the Health and Human Services Commission, and the Texas Department of Insurance on issues that affect the health and wellness of persons living with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders, including:
(1) legislative or administrative changes to policies and programs that affect the health and wellness of persons with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders, including policies and programs regarding access to appropriate health insurance or similar health coverage;
(2) legislative or administrative changes to policies and programs that affect product-specific reimbursement to providers, including policies and programs regarding new payment methods for:
(A) anti-hemophilia factor that include various reimbursement methodologies for products dispensed under the Medicaid program; or
(B) other appropriate treatment;
(3) best practices in standards of care and treatment for persons with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders;
(4) the establishment of community-based initiatives to disseminate information on services and related activities available for persons living with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders to the medical and health care community, the academic community, primary caregivers, advocacy associations, and the public; and
(5) the coordination of public and private support networking systems for persons living with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders and primary caregivers.
Sec. 103A.008. ANNUAL REPORTS BY COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONER.
(a) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the council shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives. The council’s report must be made public and is subject to public review and comment before adoption by the council.
(b) Not later than six months after the date the council’s annual report is issued, the commissioner shall report on efforts to implement the recommendations in the report. The commissioner’s annual report must:
(1) be made available to the public; and
(2) include any related state or national activities in which the council participates.
I think that there are better, private sector ways to accomplish these goals.
Now, the reason Sen. Patrick has to reestablish this council is because the House did not approve his bill in 2009 to continue the council. He created the council in the 2007 session, SB 1566, but it included language that abolished it after two years. Like I said, he tried to continue it in 2009 via SB 1837 but the bill died and with it, the Bleeding Disorders Advisory Council.
So he is back at the trough, fighting to get the council reestablished. So what, you ask? It doesn’t cost much money, only expense reimbursements. Because it grows government, that is so what. If you read the duties above, you’ll note that it includes a requirement for a report of recommendations for treating bleeding disorders. And they filed one. Take a look at the very first recommendation on their list:
The Council recommends:
Re-establishing the Council beyond September 1, 2009 and appropriately fund the Council activities by providing staff and financial resources to the state department responsible for the Council, including the ability to reimburse travel expenses under state guidelines for the Council members.
Their first recommendation is to re-establish and fund the Council.
And that in a nutshell is the problem with so-cons – they grow government and fuel the never ending spiral of government growth. Just like….so-libs.
Which is why it is so frustrating for those of us that are small government fiscal conservatives to see Tea Party activists supporting this type of legislation. It makes no sense to us. There is a difference and it is not a false choice to prefer fiscal conservatives over social conservatives for those of us that claim to want smaller government. I’d also note that a fiscal conservative tends to be socially conservative in their personal lives – we just don’t try to force our beliefs on society as a whole.
Speaking of Felicia, you can now catch her on Pundit League. Click here to read her first entry. She promises that not everything she writes about will be political. Heh, we’ll see. We’ll see.