Dear Editor:
A recent News Tribune article noted that "Missouri has budget shortfall; lawmaker calls for more cuts." The article notes that past Gov. Nixon had already "cut" $200 million from the budget for the current fiscal year. It suggested that more "cuts" will be required. Is this an example of "fake news"?
Before anyone panics over "cuts" everyone should know that during the past 20 years Missouri has increased spending every year except in 2012. In FY2016 Missouri spent three times what it spent in 1994. In fairness, once inflation is taken into account, Missouri spending has "only" doubled since 1994. After doubling spending in less than 25 years perhaps a little real "cutting" would not be a bad idea.
I am relatively new to Missouri. It appears to me that state politicians routinely come up with exorbitant budgets so that they can later tell us about the "cuts" they have to make. In reality the only thing being "cut" is the unrealistic amounts included in the initial budgets. Perhaps we should be asking why the politicians and bureaucrats can't do a better job of developing a realistic budget. Why do they consistently overestimate future state income?
Thirty percent of the State of Missouri's spending comes from the federal government. Unless you believe in the "magic money tree in DC" then you must realize that the federal government either gets that money from the pockets of Missouri taxpayers, or it borrows it.
What possible justification could there be for allowing the federal government to take money from the pockets of Missouri taxpayers, use it to fund the countless bureaucrats in DC, and then give a portion of it back to the State? Why not let Missourians decide how we want to spend our money? Are those elected to office in Missouri more incapable of making wise spending decisions than the bureaucrats in DC? More likely it is the blatant act of refusing to allow us to decide what we want to support with our tax dollars.
P.S. During this same time period, inflation adjusted combined State and Local in Missouri spending grew by a factor of 1.78. Combined State and Local government spending increased from 14 percent of Missouri's Gross State Product to 17.1 percent of GSP.
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