Gov. Roy E. Barnes
September 2005

Overview: The Center for a Better South's Five Questions series continued with an interview with former Georgia Gov. Roy E. Barnes. The governor answered these questions earlier this month in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

BETTER SOUTH: Governor, poll after poll shows voters want candidates to deal effectively with education and health care. Progressive Southern candidates currently talk about these important issues, but what other issues do they need to communicate with voters so they can broaden their message and win?

BARNES: Yes, I believe that issues that affect us everyday as consumers are ones about which we should be talking. Special interests have completely eviscerated all types of protections that were available to consumers and the charge to do so has been led by Republicans.

For example, have you ever wondered how you can be one day late on your credit card and they charge you a $28 late charge plus higher default interest on a $20 debt. It is because Congress, under the spell of special interests and using red meat and hard liquor lobbying, has preempted state and local governments from passing any law that would protect the consumer from such charges. Sly as they are, the law that was passed said that a bank could import its interest rates and charges into any state and no state could pass anything contrary. Well, all of the credit card companies went to South Dakota where there was no usury limit or control, and it is the local consumer who gets the raw end of the deal.

This is shameful and it certainly does not ring true with the local control, federalism rhetoric you hear from the Republicans. They believe in local control alright, but only where the special interests control the locals; otherwise, it is federal preemption all the way. This is wrong, and I believe many people who claim they are a Republican are also consumers, and under Republican leadership consumers always come in last.

BETTER SOUTH: It's interesting you talk about local control vs. federal control. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina when people are screaming for help from anyone, the folks in Washington seem to be playing a blame game -- that the slow federal response isn't their fault. This message of pointing fingers away from federal leaders isn't working and may have political ramifications. As progressives, what can we do in the short-term to help with the mucked-up leadership problem hindering hurricane relief, and in the long-term, what can we do since people seem to be looking for the real pragmatic kind of leadership offered by progressives like you?

BARNES: Katrina is the greatest catastrophe in my lifetime. It is amazing to me how we can send troops and aid all over the world overnight, but can't take care of our own people. A disaster such as this is far beyond the capacity of any local or state government, and such should have been realized immediately. Further, a substantial portion of every National Guard, which every governor depends upon in a case of natural disaster, is in Iraq. Our ability to deal with these matters solely on a local basis is therefore impaired.

We should use Katrina as a learning lesson that we will never be this unprepared again. We should insist that co-operative efforts of federal, state and local governments be established with a direct liaison between individual governors and a close representative of the President as an integral part of the plan. Finally, I found as Governor, you have to have accountability for performance at the highest levels, otherwise you would have no accountability at all. Whoever is responsible for this failure, whether it be the Director of FEMA or the Secretary of Homeland Security, needs to be fired.

BETTER SOUTH: Besides consumer issues, what kinds of things can progressives tackle so they'll get notice and start winning converts?

BARNES: I think there are several issues. First is the protection of American jobs. We have a crisis in creating and keeping good paying jobs, and one of the culprits is that we don't seem to be concerned about unfair overseas competition. How can American workers compete when the places where we allow goods to be manufactured and sold here ignore basic human concerns such as protection of the environment and worker protection including child labor. We can not allow this to happen. I believe in free trade, but I believe in fair trade also.

A second issue that goes hand in hand with the first is education. We have a crisis in education, especially math and science. We need to have a national initiative on math and science so that we can compete for the jobs in the 21st Century. We can not allow only the well to do to have access to the tools that will allow us to compete. Math and science scores are terrible in this country and no one seems to be concerned. These are the type of issues I believe progressives can use to convert others.

BETTER SOUTH: OK -- so what you're saying is, "It's still the economy, stupid," right? How can progressives talk about these issues to win converts? Polling shows that progressives need to talk more about "opportunity" and "prosperity," which sounds like the logical extension of President Clinton's message of hope.

BARNES: Education and economics are both messages of hope. We often discuss what it is that makes the United States different than all of the great civilizations that have gone before us. It is not our Constitution, it is not the Declaration of Independence or any act of Congress.

What is different about us is that we have not rationed education to a few of the well-to-do. We have said that education is universally available to every child regardless of color, income or where that child is born. Armed with the tools of education a child can climb the social ladder that comes with economic security and increasing affluence. This phenomenon of education and economic growth is the hope which has made us a great and different nation. Today that hope is imperiled by those who wish to abandon the public school system and who don't push for reform in our educational institutions because their children are attending a private privileged system. If we lose the bond of education and economic growth we lose the essence of being an American. We can't let that happen and it is progressives who must lead the charge.

BETTER SOUTH: One of the biggest challenges for states these days seems to be able to generate the revenues it needs to make the progressive improvements that we've discussed. But most Southern states have a structural deficit. In the charged political environment of "no new taxes and less government," how can we get people to understand that to live in a civilized society, we have to have revenues to keep our quality of life with good education, infrastructure, efficient services and more?

BARNES: I think the emphasis should be on fair taxation. We all have a duty to pay our fair share. It is not fair to load up the lower and middle income taxpayers to benefit the top taxpayers and to exclude corporations from taxation. Our discussion should be a dialogue on specifically what we should fund as a government and how much it is going to cost.

For example, we should not just say we are going to give more to education. We need to say we are going to fund no more than 17 students in the first 5 grades because studies have shown this is where smaller classes are the most effective. We then say that is going to cost X dollars, and we get that money by first plugging special-interest loopholes and then distributing taxes in a fair way. I believe the American people are ready for such a discussion, and I think it is long overdue.

© 2005, Center for a Better South.

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