Congratulations to Gov. Roy

Barnes for receiving a "B" rating on the Cato Institute's 6th

biennial "Fiscal Policy Report Card for America's Governors."

Through smoke and mirrors and

creative bookkeeping, Barnes succeeded in fooling Cato in giving the illusion

that he is a fiscal conservative. The spin doctors triumphed again, and

for that I offer congratulations.

Cato's report card was based

on 17 short-term measures of spending and taxes, without considering what

these policies do to the longer-term economic health of a state.

For example, Cato lauds the

cumulative $250 million deduction in property taxes, but fails to recognize

that the tax is only temporary and must be reenacted by the legislature

each year for continued reduction. They also don't understand where he

got the money for the cut (read below).

More importantly, has anyone

actually seen a reduction in their property taxes? Like most, the tax

on my house continues to increase. Likewise, Barnes' sales tax holiday,

exempting many school items from sales tax also is a temporary one-year

cut (now, just before election time, he wants to make it permanent). I

do appreciate the meager savings on school supplies, but continue to wonder

why a $21 textbook is not also tax exempt.

at Gov. Zell Miller's record, you will see permanent tax cuts. This included

the repeal of the sales tax on food phased in over four years as well

as increased standard and personal income tax deductions. Sen. Miller

is also a strong advocate of making the 2001 federal tax cuts permanent

against the wishes of many pseudo-fiscal conservatives like Sen. Max Cleland.

With Georgia experiencing 14

consecutive months of revenue decline and suffering the largest job loss

of any state in the nation over this period, the moderate slowing of state

spending is more a function of external factors than any government policy

decision. The primary reason why the state can continue this uninterrupted

spending is due to Barnes' insatiable appetite for borrowing more money.

Instead of tax and spend, Barnes has adopted the new philosophy of borrow

and spend.

Over the past four years, Gov.

Barnes has borrowed and borrowed to fund his increased spending as well

as to pay for his temporary and modest tax cuts. According to the Georgia

State Financing and Investment Commission, in Barnes' first two years

of office, he obligated the state and her taxpayers to over $1.3 billion

in new debt. These past two years the new debt obligation increased by

another $2 billion, bringing total state debt to almost $7 billion, a

new record.

Funding a one-year tax cut

with a 20-year loan does not make for sound fiscal policy. That is exactly

what Governor Barnes is doing.

There has not been one annual

balanced budget since Gov. Barnes has been in office. Each year practically

every dime of taxpayer money is spent (there is a nominal rainy day reserve

fund) and then the state borrows hundreds of millions of dollars on top

of that.

Spending is done based on funds

available, rather than on actual need. Political insiders argue that there

is a balanced budget requirement in the state constitution, but in reality,

it does not exist. The only constitutional hedge from excessive debt is

the provision capping debt service (annual repayment of principal and

interest) at 10 percent of net revenues.

Barnes is proving that you

cannot establish economic security on borrowed money. We will all find

out on Nov. 5 whether you can fool all of the people all of the time.

[Rep. Mitchell Kaye is a

financial analyst by profession, holding a C.F.A. designation and is the

ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means committee where all tax

legislation originates. He ran against Fayette Rep. Kathy Cox for state

school superintendent in the August GOP primary and lost.]