SC Revenue Crisis Deepens
South Carolina’s bleak revenue situation deteriorated even further this week as economists shaved another $138 million off of budget projections … another sign that we haven’t reached the end of the road on our state’s so-called “budget woes.”
Still, state government spending for FY 2008-09 stands at $6.6 billion – a 31% increase from five years ago.
All along, we’ve been referring to recent (and forthcoming) budget “cuts” as “reductions in excess,” although multiple state agencies are attempting to cut programs closest to the taxpayer in an effort to make citizens, not bureaucrats, feel the pain.
It’s called the “Sesame Street” strategy, in which government agencies pick their most popular or necessary expenditures and put those on the chopping block rather than excess bureaucracy.
The State Department of Education – which has received over a billion dollars in new money over the past five years – claims that this year’s budget cuts will “impact virtually everything,” for example.
What the Department doesn’t tell you is that over the last two years, they’ve tripled the number of employees who make over $100,000 and added another 65 bureaucrats making $50,000 or more.
And while local districts are struggling to put gas in the tanks of school buses, superintendents and other local educrats are racking up exorbitant travel expenses – with some of them even trying to hide those non-classroom expenses from the public.
Comments
By James the Foot Soldier on November 8th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Not saying I told you so, BUT, who was the blogger that posted we’ll be back in January for a third “mid-year” cutting session?
By wondering on November 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
The Dept of Ed hates taxpayers. And they hate kids.
By James the Foot Soldier on November 8th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I have a suggestion for an easy, painless cut: Dismantle the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors. These folks are waaaay too math challenged to be charged with the role they have been bestowed.
Does anyone on this Board realize we’re only at the BEGINNING of this recession and when the numbers for October come in things are going to be really sucky and make the earlier “estimates” look totally ridiculous?
Here’s a no-brainer for a true Republican to take up as his/her mantra: spend only at the rate of inflation plus population growth. Under this restraint plenty of reserves will be accumulated in good times to weather the bad times.
By From Chuck-town on November 9th, 2008 at 1:29 am
We would not be in this fiscal crisis if the General Assembly would have saved previous year surpluses rather than trying to kill each other to spend the extra money on “pet” projects. Sure, the Dept. of Ed is spending too much money, they have too may employees who retired and came back.
By Gloria on November 9th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Foot Soldier…your not impying to take the Sanford approach are you? You mean, if we had been listening to him for the past 6 years we wouldn’t be in this mess (sarcasm)? Seems very logical, except when you have incompetant leadership! What a bunch of brats…leaderships “my way or no way” attitude is repulsive and egotistical.
By Nicole on November 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Appropriate picture FITS!
By Silence the Noise on November 9th, 2008 at 10:06 am
We have yet to see the numbers on deteriorated income revenue for the current FY. Expect severe cuts as the unemployment rate increases. Expect MAJOR shortfalls.
The dumbasses that run this state base our budget on revenue that we have yet to collect. Who in their john-brown right mind (or in the case of our Republican legislature their LEFT mind) would base their personal budget off of money yet to come your way…..and better still…..not guaranteed to come your way.
Tax cuts are a good thing. I totally support tax cuts in any form….however, there are good tax cuts and less-good tax cuts. Cutting taxes on fixed revenue sources and increasing taxes on variable revenue sources aint the smartest thing. Then again, could we depend on our Republican legislature to actually do something right?….no.
Property taxes should have been cut, but instead of a corresponding tax increase on sales tax, and a further dependency on a tax that suffers greatly with our ailing economy, there should have been a corresponding SHRINKING OF GOVERNMENT and therefore alieviating the need for the property tax money all together…..but that would be too much to ask.
2010 is-a-comin boys. Get out now before you get embarrassssssed. Merrill and Cato have the right idea….Bobby and the rest of the idiots would do well to follow suit.
And do we really have hope for any real CHANGE with the “sold his soul†Gresham Barrett or the “dumber than a sack of hammers with no handles†Henry McMaster or the “I can ride my bike with no handlebars†Andre Bauer….NO!
Will the real GOP Conservative please stand up?
By James the Foot Soldier on November 9th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Oh how I want to see Jenny remain in the Governor’s mansion – this time in the driver’s seat.