State Governments Have Themselves to Blame for Deficits

Reason Foundation's Adam Summers and Michael Flynn write:

"In the five years between 2002 and 2007, combined state general-fund revenue increased twice as fast as the rate of inflation, producing an excess $600 billion.

"If legislatures had chosen to be responsible, they could have maintained all current state services, increased spending to compensate for inflation and population growth, and still enacted a $500 billion tax cut.

"Instead, lawmakers spent the windfall.

"From 2002 to 2007, overall spending rose 50 percent faster than inflation. Education spending increased almost 70 percent faster than inflation, even though the relative school-age population was falling. Medicaid and salaries for state workers rose almost twice as fast as inflation."

Think of this the next time your state government demands more money. And p.s. the next time your school officials demand more more and cry over having to cut any spending at all. And your local governments too, don't think they aren't doing the same thing to you taxpayers!