Republicans' Jelly Doughnut Solution

This is the Republican six point plan from Not for Nothing. Funny, no one sent me their press release.

This be it:

1. 10% cuts in the ’09 budget for all departments in the first 10 days. Saving $310 million (from usable revenue)
2. 5% cuts in the current year for all departments in 20 days. Saving $180 million (from usable revenue)
3. Have all legislators pay 10% of health insurance costs in 60 days. ? Savings

4· Fully implement Separation of Powers in 30 days - Honoring the Constitution - no savings
5. Find real property tax relief in 40 days - ? Savings
6· Free local school departments from unfunded mandates in 50 days - Savings vary from community to community
7· Have all legislators pay 10% of health insurance costs in 60 days - ? Savings

This is a plan? Not a whole lot of thought here methinks. No indications of any ways to increase revenues. Doesn't bode well for us here on the island with the Bridge Authority already planning on raising tolls - and that's before any 10% cut.

More hard numbers would have been appreciated - even estimates. Since the Guv is already making massive staffing cuts, the only thing left for dept. cutting is ceasing programs &/or impossing fees. Yeah, fees. Screw taxes & kill 'em with fees. And then say that it wasn't OUR idea- it was theirs. Let the buck stop with someone else. Oh, & forget a local Dept. of Motor Vehicles - gone.

School mandates -gone. We don't really need sports, bus monitors, or even busses. Heck, we don't need all those public schools either which are a real drain. Cut that funding. Go to a public college/univ? Raise those tuitions by at least 10% and don't forget those fees either. Counting on a new improved school funding formula? LOL. Meals on Wheels - eating well once/wk. should do it for those complaining seniors.

Social programs- let 'em eat cake. No tax on that. Sounds good, but then these simplistic plans always do. Let's not too specific here because then we might realize that we're talking about real people here- students, handicapped, those who are ill, kids, seniors, all of "we the people" in fact.

#4 & 5 seems to indicate that the unwritten part of the plan is to decrease local funding while making up for it with ? non-specific funding. Yeah, non-specifics. Let's leave it to those Democrats to actually look closely at specifics & then we can blame them.

Reminds me of a jelly doughnut. Love 'em. Until I'm done. It's mostly air, doesn't really fill me up, gives me only a moment of sweetness, & then I'm stuck with the thought of all those wasted calories, the work I'll have to do to burn them all, and the real bummer- an empty belly. Back to a healthy diet which I know is good for me but which isn't nearly as much fun as a junk food binge. Yeah, I'm a sucker for one almost everytime. Hmmm, that's why I think I'll call it- the Jelly Doughnut Plan. Oh so easy going down, but a real bummer afterwards.