Issue Focus: State Budget

The General Assembly failed to pass a final budget and adjourned “at the call of the chair” – meaning members will return to Springfield when the leaders call them back to vote on a final spending plan.

Lawmakers can’t seem to agree on what to do. The main debate centers around more borrowing, more taxes, and more spending (recall, the governor’s own introduced budget was billions in the red). Some have called for spending cuts, but there is no consensus on what and where. Clearly, there is waste and inefficiencies in government spending, but we have no room for either with a $13 billion dollar debt.

It is time for a line by line review of the budget, a forensic audit of state government agencies and ending the wasteful spending on non-essential programs so we can fund those that truly matter – the teacher in the classroom, the crumbling bridge repair, the community organization helping the disabled and public safety.

The simple question is: do you really expect the people that have gotten us into this financial mess will be the same ones who get us out of it? If not, then it is time to give someone new a chance to do a better job.