Huckabee says U.S. in spending mode

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Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential nomination contender, yesterday said the nation is in an era of big government.

Many Republican governors and lawmakers in Congress " and their constituents " say they want to cut spending, but they won't sacrifice spending programs that are popular, said Mr. Huckabee, who is slated to become chairman of the National Governors Association this summer.

The propensity to support big government may be "cyclical," he told a meeting of editors and reporters of The Washington Times.

"But we're living in a time when everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die" " a time, he said, when "everyone says, "I want smaller government,'" but then votes the opposite way.

"When you say, "OK, which piece of government would you like for us to eliminate " that four-lane road so you can spend less time in traffic?' everyone says, "No, no, that's essential,'" he said, adding people say the same thing about any move to spend less on the schools or other favored government services.

Mr. Huckabee said his solution is not to cut government, but to make it "leaner and more efficient."

He has made himself leaner by 110 pounds than he was two years ago. Diagnosed with diabetes, he has been on a rigorous diet and exercise regimen and has been training for a 26-mile run in Arkansas, where he'll be joined by a running mate of sorts " Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat.

Mr. Huckabee, who has both cut and " reluctantly, he said " raised taxes in his state, describes himself as a limited-government, fiscal conservative.

But he does favor having employers, including governments at all levels, offer financial incentives and other rewards for workers who do what's good for themselves and their employers.

Saying he favors "empowering people to make their own decisions" rather than government making them, he pronounced the "whole health care system" in America "broken, because we have other people making our decisions."

A better way, he said, would be to "empower me to lead a healthier life because you give me incentives to do it." Such incentives, he said, might include "better prices on my heath insurance if I lead a healthier life; more days off from work, because I'm a more productive person and I'll give you more days at work."

He said workers should be given time off for wellness rather than for sickness.

Starting this year, Arkansas will cut $20 a month off state workers' health insurance premiums in exchange for a health-risk assessment from each worker.

He said he would like to see even deeper discounts if a person is a nonsmoker or goes into a stop-smoking program, maintains normal body weight and exercises regularly.

Mr. Huckabee said his state's Health and Human Service Department is working out a way to give its workers' points for "healthy behavior," such as wearing a seat belts, exercising regularly and not smoking. The points add up to bonuses, days off and other rewards to get people "to do what is good not only for them, but for the employer."

"At the end of the year, I think it would be great for every employer to print out what his employee got in health benefits," he said.

He called President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative the greatest education reform effort by the federal government "in my lifetime."

Mr. Huckabee used the word "pointless" to describe a bill in his state to crack down on illegal immigrants receiving state benefits. He said that illegals don't get such benefits in the first place and that the measure sounded as if it was motivated by "racism."

Even with 36 governors' races on tap for next year, Republicans can hold their 28-22 majority, he said, because his party will continue to be party of ideas and innovation. The GOP's cutting-edge ideas for this election cycle are health care and education reform, he said.