Gov. Jay Nixon’s budget cuts announced
Gov. Jay Nixon is announcing his state budget cuts in a Jefferson City press conference. The total: $204 million.
Nixon says he is downsizing the state work force, eliminating 450 part-time jobs and 200 full- time jobs. He is not cutting aid to schools or medicaid eligibility but is cutting provider rates.
The Arts Council will take a $4.4 milllion hit. Broadband will be cut $8.8 million. Maintenance and repair budget for state buildings will be reduced by $20 million.
While basic school aid is intact, budget cuts will hit school transportation, character education and virtual education.
Nixon predicts revenue will decline 5 or 6 per cent this fiscal year, rather than 10 percent — the amount that it is down so far. The state’s fiscal year ends June 30.
The governor said he has cut his office’s budget by 5 percent.
Jay Nixon campaigned for four years straight against every dime Matt Blunt took out of state government. He said it would be easy to restore everything Blunt reduced. He PROMISED he would increase Medicaid funding. Has he done that?
What happened to all of Jay Nixon’s fancy rhetoric? Where are all these changes he said would be so easy to make?
Nine months in office and all he’s done is encourage kids to swim in a e-coli contaminated lake and break all the lofty promises he made during his four year campaign for office.
Does Cardetti, Templeton and Mazur still have jobs? According to recovery.gov, Missouri has created or “saved” 472 jobs with the “stimulus” plan. I guess the elimination of those 450 part time jobs and 200 full time jobs negates the 472 saved or “created.” http://tinyurl.com/ygu3acs
Yes Nixon made lofty goals what politician doesn’t on either side. No one truly saw the economic slide. Maybe we should have more honesty in government but to blame him for the loss of revenue is crazy
If the Governor wants to save money he needs to look at the budget for the state National Guard. They waste more money every year renting or leaving buildings for troops then you can believe. They could move all troops onto government owned property and save money. The state needs to say YOU WILL NOT BUY any more property, but you will start cancelling leases.
Further in the funeral honor program they are way heavy in management. They could eliminate slots like area supervisors, secretary, and team leader slots and save a bundle. All work can be accomplished by team members at a cheaper rate of pay. Further at state HQ for this program the director, secretary and operations director could be eliminated and money saved. But it seems the National Guard loves to waste monies and don’t care about thrift. Governor needs to tell the National Guard you will eliminate this wasteful spending or else.
Get out the blue book and start cutting salaries (at a percentage rate) of all jobs coming from the state Treasury, starting with the highest paid, and working down to the part-time gardener. Some of the highest paid people (including Mizzou coaches and professors) can afford to lose what is the entire income for the part-time people being cut loose entirely.
This “cut from the bottom” strategy will likely lose Nixon any attempts at re-election. People remember when they get let go from a job in which the tradeoff for low wage rates was job security and they find out they have been swindled. Cutting money on maintenance and repair is a fool’s wager, a penny saved today costing millions tomorrow. Any businessman who isn’t a lawyer knows that.
People: Missouri has one of the lowest tax rates of any state. We run with a little marbling, but no fat as it is. No new general taxes, but increasing a few fees, and cutting corporate subsidy and tax “breaks” would do wonders to balance the budget.
Or maybe they should just put a state-run casino/brothel/drinking establishment at the foot of the Capitol building in Jeff City.
It doesn’t seem that Gov. Nixon and Linda Luebbering are doing everything they can to save state jobs. They need to realize that these people that they are gleefully letting go in the name ‘government waste’ are also the same ones they are putting on the unemployment line. Why can they not try anything, such as furloughs, before they lay off more people?
Nixon can cut the office operation in St. Louis with Rex Burlison and his $100k plus a year position. Burlison is just hanging around on the public teat until he gets picked to be a judge, in between running his slum night clubs.
Jay we elected you to raise taxes and increase spending-not to cut jobs and state services!
Who are you trying to be? Matt Blunt II? Get your head out of your keaster and raise some revenue man! Quit being a wimp about it. You know that’s what needs to happen, the editorial board of this newspaper wants it to happen and so do about 20 or 30 of us who still subscribe to the paper.
Quit dithering!
For a man who promised to restore education, the budget cut to virtual education just cut my vote for Nixon in any future elections. He is just a political fraud. When will it end? Layoff or fire the government and save the jobs, “for the people”.