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.
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