Why the Red States love their Dem Governors, a San Diego Perspective Governors, Local Government

The question has been raised about why Democrat governors are popular in Red States. Here is one possible answer.

Republicans have positioned themselves as the low tax party. The advantage is obvious: people would prefer not to pay taxes. But there is a flip side. Unless you can run an infinite deficit, low taxes mean small, perhaps inadequate public services. Americans are willing to pay taxes if they believe they will receive commensurate benefits. Roads, schools, and social security are examples of programs they are willing to pay for. Most Americans don’t want the public sector to shrink to zero, yet the GOP pushes a “starve the beast” strategy. This strategy leads to massive deficits at the federal level. In the short run, voters don’t immediately feel the downside of that deficit. At the local level, however, starving the beast very quickly means cutting schools programs, not fixing roads, not removing the snow or the garbage, weakening police and fire protection, etc. If you are suspicious of the distant federal government, but still want good government services, a Democrat mayor or governor may be your best option.

How does this play out locally? Let us look at San Diego. In principle, San Diego city government is non-partisan, but in practice the city has favored the Republican model of low taxes, also unfortunately coupled with giveaways to special interests. The result is a crumbling infrastructure. In the disastrous 2003 Cedar fire, San Diego had no helicopters to help stop the blaze. After this year's record rainfall, San Diego lacked the money to repair potholes. The city is now flirting with bankruptcy, and the mayor resigned. So when Republican Steve Francis ran in the mayoral election with a no new taxes pledge, he did not overwhelm the local electorate. He finished third and out of the November runoff.

Leo Brown | July 27, 2005 | Comment on This Post (2 so far) Permalink: Why the Red States love their Dem Governors, a San Diego Perspective Governors, Local Government

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