Is it about money or philosophy?

While many candidates run on the promise of making government more fit, trim and live within its means, the actions show to the contrary.  The House and Senate have finished their preliminary work on the state budget, and the end result is still more spending than ever before.  At the time I was first elected to the legislature in 2002, the budget was around $18 billion.  This year, it is around $24 billion.  How does that happen if the Republicans are in control, and most of them told the voters they would pare down our bloated government?  Although Democrats are in a severe minority, they should go home happy because they succeeded in keeping much of the excessive governmental spending.  It’s kind of like going on a diet that only lasts until you discover you have to give up doughnuts, ice cream and french fries.  If you have the stomach for it, “click here” if you want to read the story behind the broken promises to be financially prudent.

This process of waiting until the last week to work out a budget formed around bad decisions, forces the legislators to hurriedly pass the budget as they are constrained to do so before the adjournment on May 18th.  These budgets also give us a glimpse into the priorities of the legislature.