Beshear Unsure What He Thinks About Reducing Spending
Recently, Governor Steve Beshear applauded himself for reducing spending instead of raising taxes:
"Policy and problem-solving triumphed over partisan politics and historical rivalries. What specifically did we accomplish?
"First, the legislature approved my plan to fill a projected $1 billion hole in a $9 billion budget caused by depressed tax receipts.
"My plan did not raise taxes. Instead, it relied primarily on one-time use of federal stimulus funds and on spending cuts -- hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts on top of the $600 million we've cut in the past 18 months.
"These cuts will be made carefully to preserve our top priorities -- the SEEK formula that funds our K-12 classrooms, higher education, the Medicaid safety net, which is being used by an increasing number of families who formerly eschewed public help; and key public safety areas like police officers, prisons and prosecutors."
But in another instance, he took a moment to scold the General Assembly for requiring spending to be reduced:
"And finally, the process of balancing future budgets was made more difficult when the General Assembly created new financial obligations without including the revenue for them.
"I support those ideas, which included tax breaks for active duty military personnel and people who buy new cars and houses. But the General Assembly made those tax cuts effective immediately instead of in 2011, as I had requested. The decision will force deeper cuts to other agencies whose funding has already been reduced, in some cases by more than 20 percent.
"We will make these cuts. We're here to lead. But as we head into another difficult budget cycle, we must -- all of us -- be mindful of the impact of the fiscal decisions we make.
Many people expect politicians to tell two different things to two different audiences. But Beshear holds these opposite opinions in the same op-ed. How's that for double-talk?
