Why a No-Tax Pledge is a Silly Idea

From the Editorial Board at the Charleston Post and Courier (January 15 edition; sorry, no link available), here's a terrific statement on why no-tax pledges are an irresponsible and bad idea: especially useful sections are bolded.

No-tax hike pledges make good political copy for legislative candidates, but bad public policy. Legislators shouldn't take a pass on their budget responsibilities, which can require raising revenue as well as spending it.
The problem with the no-tax pledge has been underscored most recently in relation to gas and cigarette taxes...The gas tax is a user fee that simply isn't sufficient to pay for what it is primarily supposed to sustain: good roads. Among the road users who aren't paying their share are the millions of tourists who vacation along the coast. The state has been penny-wise and pound foolish in failing to increase the gas tax.Only the Legislature can increase the gas tax, and the no-tax pledge makes a politically difficult situation nearly impossible.
The same is true with the cigarette tax, which at seven cents a pack is 28 cents lower than in North Carolina and 30 cents lower than in Georgia. It has been argued that a cigarettetax hike could help pay for an increase in Medicaid eligibility for the working poor, and gain millions in additional federal funds in support of that goal.Linking increased health care with higher cigarette taxes makes sense in view of the indisputable connection between cigarette smoking and ill health.
Raising the price of cigarettes also could discourage their purchase, thereby limiting their ill effects.But the governor's budget plan would link an increased cigarette tax to a reduction in income taxes, in an attempt to make the hike "revenue neutral." Clearly that strategy is designed to make it possible for those legislators who have taken the pledge to indirectly support the cigarette tax increase.But many doubtless would support that increase on its merits had it not been for the no-tax pledge."I don't sign those pledges," Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said during a pre-session briefing to journalists. "To sign that pledge is to turn your vote over to another person." House Speaker Bobby Harrell agreed, saying he warns new legislators: "You've got your word and your vote. Don't give away either one."Once the no-tax pledge is taken, it's difficult to justify a reversal, he said. "It's wrong to expect members to ignore their pledges."Taxpayers should be able to expect legislators to be careful stewards of public dollars, but a sweeping no-tax pledge has less to do with being responsible than with being elected.
The state shouldn't let roadways and bridges deteriorate because it is politically expedient to deny the DOT the ability to raise money from its primary revenue source. Nor is it responsible to ignore the rising health care needs of a comparatively poor state when a reasonable increase in cigarette taxes could provide care for thousands more.Legislators should resist the urge to take the no-tax hike pledge, recognizing it as a simplistic solution that locks them into a single position that isn't always prudent or responsible.

A recurring theme here (and, in my view, a correct one) is that taking a no-tax pledge amounts to favoring politics over policy; doing what will get you elected rather than what's the right thing. Kudos in particular to leaders in the Senate and House for expressing their (justified) scorn for no-tax pledges.