NEW SPENDING PLAN UNLIKELY TO PASS IN TIME …
|| By FITSNEWS || Thanks to new media, we know how big South Carolina’s state budget is … but do we know how all that money will be spent?
No. Not yet, anyway. South Carolina’s legislative leaders are “nowhere” on approving a budget for fiscal year 2015-16 – which begins on July 1. Why? Well, the mainstream media has been trying to blame everything on the anti-gas tax filibuster waged by S.C. Senator Tom Davis, but in reality the S.C. House and State Senate disagree on how to spend an estimated $400 million in surplus revenues.
And because they disagree, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that a state budget will be approved by July 1.
Accordingly, House and Senate leaders are working on a so-called “continuing resolution” which would fund state government at current levels (i.e. 2014-15 levels) until a new spending plan is approved … assuming there’s agreement between the two chambers.
We’re fine with that, honestly …
Government in South Carolina has been growing at insane levels in recent years … so even a temporary freeze is a good thing. Of course all this is just the latest effort to spin support for a gas tax hike (which the Palmetto State doesn’t need and can’t afford).
Seriously.
“While the Palmetto State’s roads and bridges crumble, its lawmakers continue to pass record-setting budgets,” we wrote earlier this year. “Included therein? Billions of dollars for South Carolina’s worst-in-the-nation government-run school system, its duplicative and inefficient higher education system, bailouts for wealthy corporations, shady ‘economic development‘ deals and … lest we forget … dozens of exorbitantly expensive and totally unnecessary highway projects.”
Of course if you read the mainstream media coverage they’ll tell you all this could have been avoided if only lawmakers had just raised gas taxes. It’s all so easy, right?
Right … until the bill comes due.
46 comments
Continuing Resolution . . . aka “kick the can further down the road”
Instant gratification, but delayed failure.
” Government in South Carolina has been growing at insane levels in recent years ”
What does that mean? What agencies have exploded with new personnel? What other ways have state expenditures exploded?
I’m not saying government has not grown at insane levels, but if this site wants to pretend to be ‘journalism’, it needs to show the numbers over the years to back up its claims with the very specific places where government has ‘grown’, whatever that means.
Or, is government growth just a dog whistle? After all, we know Libertarians don’t grasp concepts like population growth and the implications of same.
Its like the whole “limited government” crap that the right pushes these days, as if saying I support “limited government” means anything. Saying you are for limited government means nothing unless you say how you want to limit government. Generally they best they can come up with is I want the government to stop paying for things I don’t want it to pay for and continue paying for things I want it to pay for.
What are they doing with the 60% increase in revenues since 2009? According to Senator Martin, NEW construction is taking place, while current roads are not being maintained. I don’t think there is anyone opposed to road maintenance, but until SCDOT can manage the existing budget with more transparency, what is the justification for more taxes?
Unfortunately you get lots of federal money to build new roads, and very little to maintain roads.
I do recall a great percentage of that SCDOT revenue pie, as federal income, but how do you determine if it is designated for new construction v. maintenance?
I’m a little busy so I can read through the 76 page DOT budget right this minute, but here’s a decent explanation from the SC Policy Council.
http://www.scpolicycouncil.org/research/budget/road-funding-refor-without-tax-hikes
Thanks for the info!
BINGO.Same applies to the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare-states get lots of federal money to insure people-and then very little money to pay the bills when they come due.
South Carolina was smart NOT too expand Medicaid under Obamacare.It will end up bankrupting the states that did.
You are clueless as to how Medicaid works. Your statements are nonsense. Medicaid pays for care. It doesn’t pay the state to insure people. SC was stupid to turn down expanded Medicaid.
SC is a 70% Medicaid match state. That means for every dollar expended on care of Medicaid eligible persons, within the state, the federal government provides seventy cents. With the jobs and infrastructure investment generated by the inflow of federal funds, Medicaid cost’s SC virtually nothing.
You are right – which is why a number of intelligent conservative Republican governors looked past the ideological BS and signed
up for the Medicaid match. It was a good deal for their state government,
Sconset1987, You are consistently a f’ing idiot. A condescending prick that politicizes every issue.
I ban you from this site, and life. You are not worthy.
“You are clueless as to how _______ works. Your statements are nonsense.”
This works as a reply to almost anything pogo says.
SC was brilliant to turn down the Obamacare Medicaid expansion as a recent SC DHHS study showed once the Federal portion is reduced. Look, a bargain on a piece of clothing is no bargain if you really cant afford it and thus it is with the Medicaid expansion. So here’s the thing. do you really think that our medicaid recipients – many of them our worst crime offenders, our welfare recipients, our most reckless parents, our laziest folks, our most obnoxious/disgusting citizens, our worst students, etc. – leaving our state for greener Medicaid pastures is a bad thing?!?! Unless you own a check cashing business, a nail salon, a chinese restaurant, an urban clothes store, a beauty supply shop, etc,, etc., you’d probably think not.
What a total idiot you are. Medicaid expansion was for the working poor, you dumb ass. People who are trying to support their family on low paying jobs, that do not provide health care benefits. People who cannot afford insurance. You are a typical uneducated red neck who gets what little news he is capable of understanding from the right wing propaganda sites.
A single mother working two jobs to keep food on the table is not lazy. A laid off textile worker having to work as a cashier in a grocery store is not lazy. A small business owner, running a convenience store or a cleaning service is not lazy. Most of them are probably smarter than you, and a hell of a better citizen.
I wish there was some way to incentivize dumb ass red necks like you to move to another state so you could become their problem. Not even the businesses you name would miss your ass.
Let us not forget our esteemed Senator, Lee Bright, and his need for attention. His pointless filibuster took up much precious legislative time.
Senator Shane Martin: “I also know that without real reform of SCDOT, our infrastructure system will not heal. Senator Davis has educated the Senate over the previous two weeks to the fact that SCDOT prefers, by a great margin (between three and four to one), to spend taxpayer money on new construction instead of maintenance and repair. This means NEW construction is taking place while existing roads are NOT being maintained! Also, taxpayer money sent to the SCDOT has grown substantially (roughly 60%) since 2009–another fact not widely reported.”
http://www.senatormartin.com/roads-gas-tax/?utm_source=End+of+2015+Session&utm_campaign=end+2015+session&utm_medium=email
OK. 60% is an amazing increase.
But, where does Martin say it comes from?
Your quote does not specify that he is talking about the ‘taxpayer money’ (how the hell else does any road work get paid for? Doesn’t it offend you when he insults your intelligence like that with a dog whistle?) coming specifically from SC.
Was it the ‘shovel ready’ projects that got stimulus money? The 2009 date just might signal that’s the case and that the federal taxpayers paid for it.
I’m not insulted, I just posted it to see feedback. Rep. Henderson has a different take: Roads & Infrastructure H.3579
The House passed legislation to address the state’s aging roads and bridges. The comprehensive measure revamps the existing DOT structure, leadership and funding model while providing tax relief.The Senate shredded our bill and proposed raising the state’s gas tax 71% with no tax relief. The filibuster by one senator blocked the measure in the final weeks.
I’m sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. Everyone seems to be gearing up for election year.
“You might wonder how senators could support a $700 million tax increase if they couldn’t even answer the basic questions about how the money would be used. You might wonder, in other words, why they were in a mad rush to pass the thing. One reason, evidently, was that they didn’t think they could pass a gas tax increase next year. And why not? Because, as a number of senators have pointed out over the last few days, next year is an election year in the Senate. (In fact, the entire legislature is up for reelection.) So a good number of those who supported the tax hike this year won’t support it next year, since to do so would be to invite a primary challenge.”
http://thenerve.org/news/2015/06/05/murguia-column/?utm_source=The+Nerve&utm_campaign=087a8939a0-Today_on_The_Nerve06_18_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b306b3032c-087a8939a0-219757845&mc_cid=087a8939a0&mc_eid=1c4e970ad6
Fucking Cockroaches
The Republican controlled state senate in Ohio wants to raise taxes on cigs .40. Kasich $1.00 a pack.His approval rating is over 70%.
User fees for gas,cigs,booze and lottery tickets. CUT or eliminate state income tax-REWARD the people that work and pay the bills. Why would liberals like Tom Davis and Barack Obama oppose this?
Thought liberals wanted EVERYBODY too pay their fair share?
Why is it a Republican is looking to raise taxes?
Kasich acted like a Democrat and expanded Medicaid under Obamacare.
HUGE mistake.
Not for the people in his state who now have insurance.
But, screw people when you can to true to your ideology.
Practically speaking, Obamacare is a failure. I would be ok with a one payer, government system. But what we have here is simply an expensive failure.
festus is actually that liberal troll pogo beating off to raising taxes higher and screwing over working families.
Yep.
He sure did love the raising of taxes on the Grand Strand, in the form of the Ad Tax. Anything that the “dirty bikers” were against, he was for. And he doesn’t even live in the state of SC, much less in Horry.
Flippy pogo, you can’t hide the fact that you’re still here (after saying you were leaving) if you keep using “too” for “to” across several of your comments after your “exit.” You always have to leave clues too who your are, don’t you?
Budgeting is so simple, even a legislator can do it? Apparently not.
Gotta cut back? Reprint the state budget from five years ago and cut out any and all COLAs, pension increases, inflation adjustments, stupid special “programs” … That should be the your budget baseline … and let the layoffs begin!
Gotta spend those surpluses? Add in inflations “adjustments”, add in pay raises, add in new “needed” construction projects … add in some for “discretionary” expenses and “cost overruns” … and let the purges begin!
Can we trust you know more about Taxifornia issues than you do about anything related to SC?
Fur sure!
Of course, there will be no imncrease for state employees, retirees, or PORS. As long as Haley and her cronies are raking it in, nothing else matters.
That is incorrect. The retirement system is going broke but Haley has little or nothing to do with it. The retirement system is run by the General assembly. They write the laws, have most of the appointees and have placed their people in key staff positions.
I think all state government should be shutdown and everyone should fend for themselves………..it would be great!!!!!!!!!
Fact is South Carolina is a second world economy with a third world political ruling class –
I love Nikki Haley, she cuts those cuts those useless and worthless state employees. She has three more years to get rid of those taxpayer leeches. I hope she outsources them all to India…oh how that would be Nervana. …..mmmmmmmm
I worked for the state, at a high level, for years.
It is a poorly managed entities that mainly exists for the insiders and their friends.
Cut it to the bone and start over.
If the only work you ever did in state government was ‘at a high level’, you were likely politically connected yourself and didn’t have a clue what the front lines did in their interactions with the public.
The front lines in interaction with the public ? Wtf does that mean – ‘your call is important please do not hang up’ ?
‘Its a great day in kakkalina’ ?
FU
I fully agree – I came from the west coast and still feel I landed on another planet! The arrogance of the stupid here is amazing …
Well then, puh-lease, don’t let the West Bound U-Haul hit you in the a$$ as you move back to your glorious land of enlightenment.
Meanwhile, SCETV, that CORE function, is hiring a new 100k chief operating officer to better serve their NORTH CAROLINA businesses and interests, I.E. A Chefs Life and For Your home. And people wonder where the money is going?
Please dont fox the roads it reminds of my time in the warzones in Iraq Oh the wonderful memories thank you general assembly for making me feel at home again. Dont you guys ever change.
I travel the roads and love the holes and paying the cost to repair my vehicle because it provides jobs for the little people thank you Governor Haley you are God to us all and the greatest Dear Leader we are have dreamed of.