Good article in the South Bend Tribune entitled SouthBendTribune.com: Daniels’ leadership faces test
Mitch Daniels has momentum and his party in charge of the entire Indiana government, but lack of money may mean he can’t get things done. This will be a good opportunity to see whether “The Blade’s” stint as Bush’s chief of the OMB resulted in tidal waves of red-ink based on personal preference or simply because he was a good soldier abiding by the Bush administration’s addiction to deficit spending.
He has to deal with a starting deficit of $600 million, $717 million in delayed payments owed to schools and an additional $150 million for school enrollment growth. On top of that, he wants to spend tax money on tax incentives for business and investment in research and capital. This means either spending cuts or tax increases. No indication has yet been given of what sorts of cuts or tax increases are contemplated.
School funding formulas will pit school against school. On the one hand, fast growing suburban school would probably like a flat, per-student formula; whereas rural and urban populations with stagnant or declining population and tasked with educating more expensive students would like a different formula.
Also, Medicaid costs are going up; Indy wants further government consolidation and gambling to finance the Colts; and Mitch wants Daylight Saving Time but has neglected to tell us which time zone he has in mind.
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