Cutting more

Missouri tax revenue continues to fall far short of budgeted spending. To stay within the constitutional requirement of a balanced budget, Gov. Jay Nixon has made six spending reductions -- totally more than $900 million -- in the current state budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. In its recently ended session, the Missouri Legislature approved a budget that will require at least another $350 million in cuts to stay within anticipated revenue.

But even after well over a billion dollars in spending reductions, Missouri faces an even sterner test. The state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2011, will face another billion-dollar shortfall, mostly because federal stimulus funds flowing into Missouri this year won't be there next year.

Cutbacks of this size are manageable -- unlike some other large states wrestling with billions of dollars in spending reductions. Some of those states are considering huge borrowing options and tax increases as well as cuts to make ends meet. But taking another billion dollars out of spending on Missouri's programs and services will require critical decisions.

In short, the state will be forced to decide what taxpayers absolutely must pay for and which programs can either be eliminated or funded from other sources.