Ohio wants a bailout.
So does Michigan, Kentucky, New York, Delaware and South Dakota. According to another article, “California seeks massive loan from US Treasury to deal with financial crisis.”
Perhaps if they had spent as much time studying the fiscal restraint of Missouri’s Governor Matt Blunt as they did spending the taxpayer’s money, they would not have to run to Washington and beg for money they have no right to spend.
Matt Blunt took office and turned a $1.1 billion dollar budget deficit into three straight budget surpluses, the last of more than $833 million. And he did it without raising taxes.
That’s not all:
Since taking office Gov. Blunt: Gov. Blunt’s leadership in managing the budget and getting spending under control is getting results. In April, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported that Missouri is one of only 13 states projecting stable or optimistic revenue outlooks for 2009. Because of Gov. Blunt’s dedication to fiscal responsibility, the state isn’t needing federal money. He is even given credit by Tony Messenger of the Jefferson City Post-Dispatch: Whether the shortfall exists or not, few would disagree with this assertion from Blunt: “Were it not that we headed into fiscal year 2009 with a surplus of $833 million, we would be in a world of hurt right now.” Indeed, compared with many other states, Missouri isn’t that bad off — even if the $340 million shortfall is real. The projected shortfall would be about 4 percent of the state’s general revenue budget, which would place it in the bottom third of the 41 states projected to have a budget gap in 2009, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. As the country’s financial crisis grows, more and more states are slashing budgets, selling assets and cutting jobs. In a recent interview, Blunt said the Show-Me State wasn’t facing a “real crisis” because starting with the 2008 fiscal year, he started budgeting funds to carry over to the next year. In the end, that’s the legacy he chooses to hang his hat on. Matt Blunt will be leaving Missouri financially better than he found it. That’s a trait more Republicans could try to emulate. Photo Credit – Eagle102.net Cross posted from the Missouri Edition. Check out all our state blogs. Want to cover your state? Send us an e-mail and we can set you up.
Since 2005, Gov. Blunt has kept his commitment to responsible, efficient and effective government. His efforts have saved hundreds of millions of dollars and put an end to out of control growth and spending of the past. The change in the state budget under Gov. Blunt’s leadership showed a smaller percent growth than all of the past eight administrations.
