Today’s Salt Lake Tribune has published the article $350 million: The advocates for worthy causes compete for the excess state cash: How to divvy up big surplus?
In the face of the latest record-breaking revenue surplus – the Utah Tax Commission reported a $350 million excess in collections through June – education and health care advocates hope to make up for lost ground.
But just how is this surplus going to be used?
Despite public surveys that have shown taxpayers would rather see the surplus go to education, transportation and health needs rather than get a tax cut, many lawmakers still hope to give $70 million to $115 million back. For many it’s a philosophical issue, but it doesn’t hurt that this is an election year for all House members and half the senators.
I don’t get it. The public is dictating how we want our tax dollars spend and the lawmakers aren’t listening? And who do they work for again?
“We can invest in education or we can invest in transportation, or – more importantly – we can return it to the taxpayer,” says Hughes, chairman of the Republican Conservative Caucus. Hughes and his colleagues warn that gleeful spending in times of surplus means inevitable painful cuts in times of deficit.
More importantly?
“As a legislative body, we show less discipline than our kids do at Toys R Us,” Hughes said, referring to the blessing and threat intrinsic in a large surplus. “I’m 100 percent convinced that we will be cutting those very programs to which we gave increases.”
Though Valentine does not see spending on education and transportation as growth in government, because both are meeting the needs of an expanding population, he warns, “If we grow education too fast, we’ll just have to cut in the future.”
This is absurd. While our lawmakers promote population growth and development, all which cause strains on our services and infrastructure, they are not willing to fund those things which are needed to support the growth and development?
Campbell fears lawmakers will squander the opportunity. “I find it appalling that with all the talk about tax cuts, there hasn’t been a lot of talk about investing more in public education.”
Bramble warns: “I don’t think the needs are mutually exclusive – if you don’t demand that everything goes your way. It is going to take people to step up and realize there are other priorities.”
Other priorities – like making sure the most wealthy of citizens and businesses receive tax breaks, right?
I do agree that people need to “step up” – but to demand that our money is spent on the people which is the highest priority there is. Medicaid, Education, and Transportation are all areas that need the benefit from this surplus.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 