Spending problem?
What spending problem?
Both Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Sen. Jonathan Dismang, president pro tempore of the state Senate, have said the state has a revenue problem, not a spending problem. I wonder what parallel universe they are living in.
According to Ballotpedia with data provided by the National Association of State Budget Officers, the latest data (2015) show Arkansas spent $23.6 billion, or $7,935 per person. If you compare the spending of our surrounding states, they spend $5,456 per person. Therefore Arkansas spends 45.4 percent more per citizen than Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas. Arkansas spends 38.5 percent more per citizen than the U.S. average.
Where are they spending this money? According to governing.com, Arkansas has 213.3 state employees per 10,000 citizens. When you subtract employees who are part of education, you arrive at 122 state employees per 10,000 population. The average state employment of surrounding states is 87.81 people per 10,000 citizens. That means the state has 38.9 percent more people on the state’s payroll. Doing the math, the state has 13,963 more employees (excluding education) compared to surrounding states.
The state has increased spending 3 percent in each of the past three legislative sessions. Why? The state needs to cut spending and personnel. However, I see little chance of that happening since the governor and Sen. Dismang both believe we do not have a spending problem. Maybe we should all go live in the parallel universe where the governor and Sen. Dismang reside.
It’s time for a new governor! One who will reduce the size of this bloated state government and relieve the tax burden on its citizens.
Mike Clifford
Bentonville