Making cuts - Missouri government is following business trends

According to Missouri's Official Manual, there are approximately 63,000 employees in state government, not counting those in higher education.

So Gov. Matt Blunt, in following suggested reductions by his department heads, has recommended an estimated 4 percent of state jobs be eliminated by attrition or termination with all qualified affected employees able to apply for other job openings.

In a time when many private businesses have downsized. this hardly seems drastic.

In fact, the growth of state employees over the last 10 years has considerably exceeded most non-governmental businesses and industries.

Governor Blunt accurately responded to a crowd of health-care workers last week, "If you're opposed to social welfare reform, if you're opposed to reforming some of the social welfare programs we have in our state, you're not just for a tax increase this year, you're for a tax increase next year and the year after that and on and on and on," accorded to a Kansas City media report.

n

Increasing medical costs have created a "tsunami like" coming wave of disruption of our Social Security, Medicaid and hospital delivering systems that some are trying to address now while solutions are less painful rather than waiting until the waves hit.

Since the peak in 1999 when 71 percent of small businesses offered health coverage, the percentage has fallen to 63 percent (because of increased insurance and Medicaid costs). That's even after they factor in the soaring number of uninsured Americans, which rose by 1.4 million in 2003 to 45 million. -- Private newsletter

n

General Motors' medical insurance costs are often cited as one of the reasons the automaker has trouble competing with foreign-owned companies. However, like the airlines, I think a lot of the problem is the huge indebtedness GM carries because of its defined-benefit pension funds with balances in the billions.

According to media reports, Asian manufactures are building more auto plants in the United States -- in Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina -- and expanding existing ones.

They're using American labor with competitive medical insurance and wages.

In fact, the United States in-sources more jobs than it outsources. In Cape Girardeau and Perry counties we have major Japanese, French and German owned companies providing major employment.

n

Missouri taxpayers are the employers of Missouri government, not the customers. We elect a board (the House and Senate) to give direction to our chief executive officer, Gov. Matt Blunt, who -- along with his administrative staff and with assistance from the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer -- directs state employees to provide services in an efficient manner to those in our state who qualify within the limits of the state's finances that we the taxpayers (employers) vote (provide).

The constitution mandates that Missouri maintain a balanced budget.

In the last 30 years, the use of bonds and funding from the federal government have been used to take us further from the pay-as-you-go concept.

And federal funds, grants and other funding have Pied Pipered us into areas we would not have gone under the original states' rights concepts.

Solution? A voting public that is better informed with far greater economic understanding than it currently has and a media that will present the facts for the public to make rational decisions.

Easy? No. And the accelerating pace of change will be interesting to observe as it forces major decisions and pressures on our republic.

Gary Rust is the chairman of Rust Communications.