It's tax day, a day worth celebrating.
Well, at least in my life. The deadline for filing federal and state income taxes is an annual relief valve in the Harton household. My wife, Sheryl, is a certified public accountant, so the passing of the filing deadline means we'll be able to see each other a little more than when we high-five each other at the door to the garage as I get home and she heads back to the office.
It's an annual grind between Jan. 1 and the tax filing deadline every year, but one we're appreciative about. Sheryl is one of those people infected with the virus that causes a person to enjoy doing tax work, apparently passed from the paternal side of the family as her dad, Jim Sandlin, has been a CPA in Fayetteville for many years. I'm not afflicted by it at all, but as complicated as federal and state taxes can be, I'm pretty thankful for the people who are.
Why do taxes have to be so complicated? After claiming deductions and dividing the sum on Line 545 by the amount shown on Line 647, unless the moon is full, in which case it's Line 27, I reached the only possible conclusion after moving the decimal point: Government can't help itself.
Our government has long passed the point of simple, straight-forward policies and procedures. And if you needed proof, just take a look at the first few days of the Arkansas General Assembly's fiscal session that began Wednesday in Little Rock.
I'll explain for those who have had their heads buried in tax forms and stacks of receipts on their kitchen tables. The work of the Legislature probably isn't front and center on their minds these days, but what's happening in Little Rock will matter a lot to poor Arkansans who have gotten insurance coverage under the so-called Private Option Medicaid expansion in recent years.
A convincing majority of lawmakers in Little Rock wants to continue the expansion, which has provided about 267,000 low-income Arkansans with free or low-cost access to health insurance coverage. Imagine, if you can, having a family and living in fear that medical care might become a necessity, but having no health insurance. Arkansas has a generally unhealthy population and, as a matter of public policy, needs to address ways to change that. Access to medical care is key.
So what's the problem if a majority supports Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to continue the expansion, this time under the moniker Arkansas Works? No appropriation of state funds can happen without a supermajority -- 75 percent -- of the House and Senate supporting it. And guess what? In the Senate last week, a group of 10 senators stood against funding Arkansas Works. In the Legislature, those 10 can keep the other 25 from getting what they want.
Those 10 included state Sens. Bart Hester of Cave Springs, Cecille Bledsoe of Rogers and Bryan King of Green Forest.
Now, back to the complicated part and a prime example of why Americans continue to be skeptical of those supposedly in office to serve the public's interest. In response to the 10 senators' rebuff, Gov. Hutchinson and proponents of Arkansas Works concocted a new scheme that only makes sense in the topsy turvy world of government.
Here it is: Send the bill authorizing funding for Medicaid back to committee, where those opposed to Arkansas Works would be permitted to attach an amendment specifically killing the Arkansas Works expansion of Medicaid. With that, the 10 holdouts could ostensibly vote for the overall funding of Medicaid while still maintaining their ability to say they voted against Arkansas Works. Then, once the approved bill reaches the governor's desk, he could use his power of line-item veto to nix the expansion-killing amendment. So, with his signature, Hutchinson could restore the funding to Arkansas Works, having been aided and abetted by senators who had -- through the magic of a government shell game --helped set up a procedural scenario that maintained their "no" vote while ensuring the continuation of a policy they say they oppose.
Not even a CPA can make that add up right.
Ultimately, it didn't. The committee's vote on the amended Arkansas Works plan was tied at 22 for, 22 against. The Legislature ended the week with no solution. They'll return to the sausage-making factory known as the state Capitol on Tuesday.
It's getting harder and harder to have faith that our government systems represent the will of the people when majority votes don't win and votes in support of a measure are actually a pathway toward having that measure enacted. And while I disagree with the Tempestuous Ten who oppose Arkansas Works, it's hard for me to see their votes as principled if they're part of a procedure designed to achieve precisely what they're opposed to.
Little Rock is sounding more and more like Washington, D.C., these days.
Commentary on 04/18/2016