Don't listen to Kent Brockmans of world

Published: Monday, July 27, 1998

Monday, July 27, 1998

BUDGET: Democracy can work if only politicians, voters try to solve problems of government

Just about everything in life, in my opinion, can be tied to an anecdote from "The Simpsons." And so why not take advantage of that whenever possible? For instance, my topic today is politics, and that reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons.

In this particular episode, Bart discovers a comet that is headed straight for Springfield, the Simpsons' hometown. As the Simpsons prepare for Armageddon (or deep impact, whichever you prefer), the U.S. Congress prepares to appropriate money for disaster relief in Springfield. Just as the bill is about to be approved, one senator interrupts.

"I'd like to add an amendment to that bill," the senator says. The amended bill is promptly defeated, causing TV anchorman Kent Brockman to remark: "I've said it before and I'll say it again: Democracy just doesn't work."

Kent Brockman rarely embodies mainstream American thought. But in this instance, his opinion appears to be shared by most Americans, who seem to have lost faith in our government. In fact, I'd dare to say that most people have a low opinion of our government, or of the politicians that run it. How can that be?

In search of the answer to that question (and many others), I opened up the newspaper and read about our government. And I found out, among other things, that our representatives in Sacramento are 27 days late with this year's state budget.

California's fiscal year starts annually on July 1, and the state government sets budgets each year, allowing for given amounts of money to be spent from July 1 until the following June 30. Thus, when July 1 comes around, the state has a new budget plan for the new fiscal year with different amounts of money allocated to different activities, and making adjustments in case there is a surplus or a deficit from the previous year.

At least, that's what happens in theory. But this year, the politicians in Sacramento haven't finished the budget yet. (Or at least they hadn't finished it as of Friday, July 24.) Many payments the state is supposed to make to local governments throughout California (Los Angeles County, for instance) are being withheld; other payments to state employees continue despite the lack of a budget.

As hard as a politician's job may be (and I honestly believe it is one of the hardest), a late budget like this seems inexcusable to me. The state should not run without a budget, and so I expect that we would all be angered, at least a little bit, by these bickering politicians.

Because of this crisis, I unearthed the June 30 Los Angeles Times to look for a story about how our state politicians were going to push us into a new fiscal year without a budget. I was looking for an angry story, an indignant story.

But the story didn't even make the front page. Instead, on the bottom of page three, the headline read "Lawmakers to Miss State Budget Deadline Again." Far from being outraged at our representatives, Times reporter Dan Morain seemed bored by their behavior.

After all, how is it possible to muster up any outrage when this is the fifth consecutive year in which state politicians have been late with our budget? Last year, we went 49 days without a budget, before one was finally passed in late August. We probably used to get outraged, but it no longer seems worth it. Our representatives are late with the budget every year, and we accept that.

Apparently this was a big deal once upon a time. Seven years ago, Gov. Pete Wilson signed his first budget on July 17 - 17 days late. He later admitted that it had been a politically damaging fight with the state legislature, one that he hoped not to repeat.

Yet as politically damaging as it may have been, Wilson is now presiding over the budget process for the eighth time, and this year marks the seventh time he will sign a budget after the July 1 opening of the fiscal year.

Bear with me, but I think I know how Pete feels. You see, I am always late to classes, and I always feel bad about it, especially if I like the class. I assume that my teachers see me walk in late and think, "He obviously doesn't like my class very much." But I do, and as I walk in late I think, "I'll never be late again, because I want Professor So-and-So to know that I like this class!" But then I am inevitably late again, and again and again and again - just like Pete Wilson. It's as if we're kindred spirits.

But anyway, this analogy leads me to believe that there is hope for Pete and the gang in Sacramento. You see, sometimes I get to the point where I decide I have to do something about my chronic tardiness. And so I wake up 10 minutes earlier, or I skip breakfast, or I run to class (actually I never run to class, but I could theoretically). If I think it's important enough, I can get to class on time. And if Pete and company thought it was important enough, I bet they'd get that budget passed by July 1.

In a way, it isn't that important. Just about everybody continues to get paid. Local governments miss a few checks, but they always get reimbursed eventually. There is only one drawback - it's this kind of crap that makes people lose their faith in government.

In this cynical world of Kent Brockmans, that's not even a major concern. As Americans lose their faith in government, but they're not rising up in outrage. Rather, they're sitting back in boredom. So our government is filled with corrupt politicians who can't do anything right. What else is new? "Lawmakers to Miss State Budget Deadline Again." Put it on page three. Nobody cares.

Amidst all of this cynicism, the politicians have stopped caring. It probably used to bother them when people expressed a lack of faith in government. After all, they are the government - and when people lose faith in politicians, those politicians have failed, and they know it. But these days, they seem immune to giving a damn as well. They're used to getting less than a 50 percent voter turnout. They're used to being thought of as corrupt. They've failed, to some extent, and they're used to it.

God, that's depressing. Let me thank all of you who have lost faith and interest in government for making me completely depressed. But I refuse to join you in gloom. If the government sucks, I'm at least going to be outraged about it, and I might even do something about it.

Because I disagree with Kent Brockman on this one: Democracy does work, and I challenge Mr. Brockman to write a rebuttal claiming otherwise.

Dittmer is a fourth-year geography, environmental studies and economics student.. Send feedback to mdittmer@ucla.edu.