Monday, February 4, 2013

Brad Lager's Capitol Report: The 2013 State of the State Address



Thomas Jefferson, one of our most beloved founding fathers, once said, “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”  This past week as Governor Jay Nixon delivered the 2013 State of the State address to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly that statement came to mind as the Governor laid out nearly $26 billion in state government spending.  The simplest way to sum up his plan would be: “spend all the state money, spend all the federal money, borrow some more money and spend it too.” 

During his first four years in office, Gov Nixon proposed budgets that were both fiscally conservative and fiscally responsible.  This year, the Governor is proposing we move in a different direction.  Under the proposal he presented last week, our state government would experience the largest spending plan in history.  On top of that, he is proposing that Missouri move forward with the implementation of the federal healthcare expansions which could add as many as 400,000 new Medicaid recipients and carry a price tag in excess of $1 billion.  And if those were not enough, he has proposed that the General Assembly increase Missouri’s state debt by an additional $1 billion to build new government buildings.

While I disagree with the vast majority of the Governor’s new spending, not everything he has proposed is bad.  For example, I agree with adding more than $160 million to our public schools.  This includes increases for elementary, secondary, higher education and a substantial increase for early childhood education.  I agree with increasing funding for job training so that members of Missouri’s current workforce have the opportunity to keep their skills at a level that increases employment opportunities.  And I agree that we must reform Missouri’s broken tax credit system if we are serious about making our overall tax code fairer and less burdensome.

The good news is that Missouri’s economy is slowly starting to grow.  The bad news is that there are many people in Jefferson City who have forgotten that economic prosperity is driven by the private sector and not bigger government programs.  As we work through the 2013 legislative session, I will do everything I can to hold the line on spending, reduce regulation and mitigate unfair litigation.  With a smaller, less intrusive state government, we can have a more vibrant and robust private sector which will lead to greater economic growth and prosperity.

As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns.  The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 422, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

No comments: