Yippee!!!! A new website is up – DebtCulver.com, where you can buy a T-shirt with the logo above and find out news about my Governor’s spending spree. What does it matter if Iowa is running low on cash? Governor Chet Culver knows all, sees all, and is not worried about the cash shortage.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on Thursday rejected worries over troubling new budget projections, saying he’s confident the state has more than enough money in reserves to meet state needs.
Culver ruled out across-the-board budget cuts or holding a special session to deal with the problem because he’s been assured he has the authority and the money to balance the books.
"We believe, according to my budget director, that we will be able to balance, despite the additional down-lowering of estimates," Culver said.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call from Washington, the governor was asked about a report this week from the Legislature’s fiscal advisers showing the state’s tax revenue more than $90 million less than projections for the fiscal year ending June 30.
The report found the trend worsened in April and May with only June remaining before the budget year ends. It said the state budget has a $44.6 million ending balance and Culver has the authority on his own to transfer $50 million from cash reserves, possibly not enough to cover the shortfall.
Culver, who has been on the East Coast for meetings and other events, rejected the pessimistic report and said he thinks Iowa’s economy is on the mend.
Iowa has a constitutional mandate to balance the budget, and the truth is that Culver and the Democratic General Assembly borrowed to make that happen. Iowa’s finances are the worse they’ve been in decades and economists disagree, our economy is not on the mend.
So I’m hoping to see a new trend around town.
HT: BeanWalker.com for the picture, and Bret Hayworth for the link to DebtCulver.com
