Doing Nothing Only Prolongs the Agony : Short-Term Tax Is the Humane, Responsible Way Out

The effect of Orange County’s bankruptcy on its residents has barely made itself felt. But the hardships will begin soon. Everyone is likely to feel them, from motorists on roads needing repair to abused children needing rescue. Cash-starved schools will be transformed. The bankruptcy-caused pain could destroy the quality of life that has long made the county so attractive, a source of pride to residents and admiration by outsiders.

The county declared bankruptcy Dec. 6, after the investment pool it ran lost an estimated $1.69 billion. The loss was shared by school districts, transportation agencies that build new roads and maintain old ones, and the county itself, which handles a welter of activities from testing schoolchildren for tuberculosis to operating an airport.

Last Sunday we presented staggering numbers that spelled out the gap that must be closed. Today we examine why the failure to produce a comprehensive recovery program, which includes new short-term taxation to put the county on an even keel, will make the pain intolerable.

The county’s chief executive officer, William J. Popejoy, has proposed laying off more than 1,000 county workers, men and women experienced at making the county run well. If the layoffs begin next month as planned, there will be widespread disruption in the county’s social fabric and pain for many individuals and their families. Here are some examples:

In the Social Services Agency is a department called Children’s Services. A social worker there is supposed to counsel 35 children. Now he actually has 70 on his roster. If the department cuts 175 jobs, the caseload will increase even more. The virtually certain result is that at least some families that might have been helped to stay together will fall apart. Overburdened social workers will be less likely to intervene until after there is violence, or children are sent to live with someone else. That’s bad for the family, and bad for society, which benefits from intact, functioning families.

Closing libraries will remove a key instrument in encouraging a literate society. Reducing workers handling hazardous waste can jeopardize health. An environmental impact report to expand the Theo Lacy Branch Jail will be delayed. That will set back the actual expansion of the jail, which in turn will force the sheriff to release some inmates before their sentences are completed. Closing the Joplin Youth Center in Trabuco Canyon would force the return of gang members to their communities earlier than planned. Schools will raise bus fares. Some teachers are talking of asking parents to supply their children with paper; some schools are considering dropping sports, music or art. And it is the schools that are a major reason for Orange County’s attractiveness.

These cuts will make life far more difficult, but they are needed just to begin balancing the books. A limited-term sales-tax increase is needed to start paying off investors and bondholders, and to make the county whole over the long term by making it possible eventually to restore some of these needed services. The supervisors, by putting the tax increase on the ballot, have the power to begin to alleviate pain, restore confidence of financial markets, and speed the county’s recovery.

Next Sunday: The political will