Stan Geiger

Tulsa World Endorses $400 Million in New State Debt

I don't subscribe to the Tulsa World. Therefore, I don't spend a lot of time reading what that paper has to offer. Me sainted mum is a subscriber, however. She clips and saves tidbits she thinks might interest me. Today, I happened to be at mom's house. So I took the opportunity to peruse.

I picked up one section and found a full-page ad, purchased by the University of Oklahoma. Then I went to the editorial section and found an editorial endorsing the notion of the state borrowing another $400 million in bond money. The editorial also said $125 million of the money should go to higher education for endowed professorships. OU, the writer acknowledged, would be the greatest beneficiary of such a move.

Hmmmm. OU takes a chunk of allegedly hard-to-get education funding and hands it over to the owner of the Tulsa World. The World editors then write on behalf of giving more tax money to OU. What an excellent example of the political-educational complex at work. Quid pro quo, baby, quid pro quo.

That point aside, if there is a great pressing need for $400 million in new debt money, it has nothing to do with higher education. Roads and bridges, I would say, top the priority list right now. But even if the entire $400 million was slated for roads and bridges---which clearly it would not be because other powerful interests are already lining up to grab their pieces of the pie---I would not favor the plan.

The tab for necessary bridge work alone, according to the engineers, is sitting at $9 billion. A $400 million one-time infusion wouldn't even scratch the surface. We need to commit to spending hundreds of millions more per year for many years if we are to bring Oklahoma's infrastructure up to par.

The legislative session is drawing to a close. From a fiscal standpoint, the work is done for the year. We have a stand-still budget. The politicians need to take a chillax pill and try very, very hard not to do anything stupid as they head out the door on their way to spending their taxpayer-provided paychecks during their collective 8-month vacation.

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