GOP has better argument

Clarity on the state budget is elusive.

Democratic Gov. Bob Holden vetoed four of the state's budget bills passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and called for a special session.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate say the budget they advanced to the governor is only $12 short of balancing. Holden says not true -- revenues will be $367 million short, resulting in unconscionable cuts to education and to health and human services.

Mathematics is a pure science, so how can the two sides be so far apart? Largely because budgets are based on revenue projections, and projections are not pure science. They are estimated guesses.

So is the GOP or the governor the better guesser? Or is a correct projection somewhere in between? First, we must note that both sides have a political interest in their projections.

Republicans have an aversion to raising taxes, so they tend to estimate that revenues are adequate. The political payoff is they get to campaign for re-election by touting how they held the line on taxation.

Holden has a constitutional obligation to balance the budget and he knows that if projected revenues don't materialize, he will be forced to make withholdings. That translates into cuts in state services that, politically, make him look either insensitive or incompetent.

Holden's estimate on the budget shortfall changed during the course of the regular legislative session. He contends the changes were a result of updated projections, but the GOP accused him of setting a moving target.

New to the equation was an announcement last week by Missouri's two U.S. senators -- both Republicans -- that the federal government will be sending between $376 million and $398 million to Missouri, with a little more than half earmarked for Medicaid.

The GOP contends the federal windfall will negate the $12 million gap, alleviate some cuts and nullify the governor's request to put a tax increase before voters.

Holden disagrees. He is asking lawmakers to consider a range of tax hikes.

The GOP argues that Missourians have rejected similar tax hikes in the past, and there is no indication they have changed their sentiments.

We believe the GOP has the better argument. Lean times call for lean budgets, and lawmakers labored long and hard during the session to produce a budget. The federal funding is a welcome addition that will mitigate some of the pain.

The legislature may use the special session -- at a cost of nearly $100,000 a week -- to revise the budget based on new revenue information. But, beyond that, we encourage lawmakers to stick to their guns and avoid the futility of seeking tax hikes. -- Jefferson City News Tribune