The Commonwealth Institute has come out swinging with the toughest critique of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed 2013-14 budget that I have yet seen. States a new report, “Reality Check,” written by Sara Okos and Michael J. Cassidy:
Instead of reforming, reallocating and reinvesting in the programs that make government more efficient, effective and accountable, the Governor’s proposal strikes at – and cuts – the core services that Virginians rely on every day while at the same time widening tax loopholes that drain yet more resources from the state.
The Governor has proposed more than $880 million in cuts to services to close the budget shortfall and fund his new initiatives. More than 90% of those cuts are in the areas of education and health care. His budget also widens loopholes in the state tax code by expanding tax expenditures and creating new ones “with little to no evidence of their effectiveness.”
McDonnell has justified his budget choices by noting that state spending has increased 23% in recent years. But he overlooks the fact that all of the increase has come from Non-General Fund expenditures, the report contends, while General Fund expenditures have declined five percent over the past decade when adjusted for inflation and population growth. The General Fund supports core state programs like education, Medicaid and public safety.
This report will provide ammo to Democrats and others who oppose McDonnell’s proposals to expand the use of tax exemptions, credits and the like and to institutionalize the diversion of General Fund revenues to transportation.
— JAB