Much like the federal version, budgets at the state level are bloated. The fat needs trimming, yet few politicians seem able to muster up the will to do so.
For example, the Post-Gazette reports that “technically the [Pennsylvania] budget is balanced, critics said, but that balance depends on two shaky sources of revenue.” Those sources are 0 million in federal Medicaid funding that Congress hasn’t actually approved and a predicted 3.2 percent increase in tax revenue despite lower than expected tax revenue the past two years running.
Rather than cut actual expenses the legislature seems to prefer believing in unicorn-like revenue. Well, as the cartoon below highlights, if those plans don’t work out there’s always another way to take a knife to costs.
Making (State Budget) Sacrifices originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning. The Daily Reckoning, offers a uniquely refreshing, perspective on the global economy, investing, gold, stocks and today’s markets. Its been called “the most entertaining read of the day.”