By John Musgrove
As I reflect on the first 45 days of this 57th Legislative
session, I recall someone saying early in the process that
we are a citizen's legislature. This has impacted upon me
time and time again as I sit in committee meetings and on
the floor trying to figure out the merits of the legislation
before us. Some were easy to support, like HB 406, that will
give modest insurance coverage to those stricken with
diabetes if it passes through the Senate and under the
governor's pen. Others are much more difficult. HB 497 to
revise the apprentice to journey ratios for plumbers and
electricians, pits workers in unions against nonunion shops
and has economic impact to either group if the law passes or
fails. Still others are so blatantly self-serving (HB 596)
that one wonders how any, but the sponsor, can support them.
Over all, the session was a great learning experience for
me.
I am painfully aware that the last half of the session will
be much more demanding, and that, as always, the most
important legislation will be left for last. As I study all
the issues, I keep coming back to the realization that
proper funding of education is still the most critical.
Actually the three E's Education, Energy, and Economic
Development/Environment - need immediate attention from both
parties. The three E's are so interrelated that they have to
be presented together. Without a strong educated work force
living in a healthy environment, our quality of life will
quickly be diminished. In terms of obvious solutions, both
parties may be going about solutions in the wrong matter
because they are mirror images of each other. As Robert
Atkinson at the Progressive Policy Institute states, "Both
liberal and conservative economic doctrines want to take a
shortcut to growth, focusing not on productivity but on
redistribution. Conservatives want to raise after-tax income
by cutting taxes taking public expenditures to boost
private incomes. Liberals want to tax the rich more,
dramatically increase the minimum wage, and spend much of
the surplus to funnel the proceeds to programs to benefit
working families.' He is speaking of our national
situation, but it is just a larger picture of the problems
we face here in Montana. Productivity is what makes a strong
economy and any program, either public or private, that
subverts productivity must be held accountable. Our Montana
workers are some of the best educated highly productive
workers anywhere, but we are dangerously close to losing
them and the culture that produced them if we continue to
make wrong choices.
When I was a teacher, I sometimes asked my speech classes,
"When both sides in an argument are right, who wins?" and we
would explore the many responses, defining good discussion
techniques. I must now ask, "Who wins when both parties in
a discussion are wrong?" The answer as near as I can figure
is, "no one." That may well be what is happening here in
Montana and if that is the case, Montana citizens are paying
the price. I'll try to keep you informed as to how we
