Gov. Herbert's Proposed Budget
Gov. Herbert announced his budget recommendations today. (Here is a video link to his presentation). Because budget recommendations from Governors are, well, recommendations, and those recommendations aren’t actually put into place, it is very easy for Governors to employ smoke and mirrors that play well to the media and the general public but put the Legislature in the unenviable position of doing the tough things those Govs fudged. As far as I can tell from my review so far, Gov. Herbert avoids budgeting parlor tricks. He puts forward a responsible budget that will serve as a sound basis for legislative discussions.
And, Gov. Herbert sticks to his pledge to not raise taxes. He states, “In putting this budget together, my first priority was, in fact, to not raise taxes, if at all possible. . . . I think, as we go forward in this fragile, yet recovering, economy, that a tax increase at the present time would be just absolutely the wrong thing to do for the best interests of Utah’s future. . . . I think that tax hikes, in fact, would be counterproductive to the stability and the viability of our economy going forward.” Well said.
The other main aspect of the Governor’s budget is the protection of education funding. The budget does employ some practices that the Legislature typically does not favor, such as replacing cash funding with bonding in transportation matters and using one-time (lapsing) money to fund on-going programs. To avoid those practices, the Legislature likely would make additional cuts. But, this is an excellent basis for discussions. Thank you, Gov. Herbert and LG Bell.
And, Gov. Herbert sticks to his pledge to not raise taxes. He states, “In putting this budget together, my first priority was, in fact, to not raise taxes, if at all possible. . . . I think, as we go forward in this fragile, yet recovering, economy, that a tax increase at the present time would be just absolutely the wrong thing to do for the best interests of Utah’s future. . . . I think that tax hikes, in fact, would be counterproductive to the stability and the viability of our economy going forward.” Well said.
The other main aspect of the Governor’s budget is the protection of education funding. The budget does employ some practices that the Legislature typically does not favor, such as replacing cash funding with bonding in transportation matters and using one-time (lapsing) money to fund on-going programs. To avoid those practices, the Legislature likely would make additional cuts. But, this is an excellent basis for discussions. Thank you, Gov. Herbert and LG Bell.
posted by steve u. at 12/11/2009
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2 Comments:
Quibble --
Gov. Herbert's first priority should NOT have been to not raise taxes -- his first priority should have been a budget that provides at least minimum essential services to the people of Utah
As a business owner, I am relieved that there is so much momentum in favor of keeping taxes low. I haven't taken any bailouts or invented any securities. I'm just trying to run my business. But we are fragile and new taxes might be the straw that breaks our backs.
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