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Indiana good with taxpayer dollars

By Tory Flynn on Friday, July 16th, 2010 |

STATEHOUSE – Over the past several years the State of Indiana successfully executed fiscal responsibility with taxpayers’ hard earned dollars.  Today the announcement was made that Indiana has $830 million in their savings account.  This reserve money was able to be saved by reigning in state spending.

This responsible fiscal discipline was needed since the federal stimulus dollars will disappear in the next budget cycle.  In fact, 35 states raised taxes this year to cover their loss of income; however Indiana was one of the few who did not.  “Due to Indiana’s commitment to frugal budget management, we will end this year with a little money in the bank,” said Rep. Dan Leonard (R-Huntington).  “We hope this small cushion of cash will help us end FY 2011 in the same boat, with a little money to fall back on in case of emergency.”

Income vs. Expenses

This is an issue of income vs. expenditures, something that every household takes into consideration.  For example, a family has $1,500 in monthly income and $2,000 in monthly expenses. Their options are to reduce spending, pull money out of their savings to cover the gap, or to borrow money that they would eventually have to pay back at a higher rate. Unfortunately, spending down savings is their temporary solution. 

Essentially that is what has happened to Indiana. Due to the recession, revenue (or income) has been down. The state was able to trim some of its expenditures however Indiana still needs to dip into their savings account to cover the difference. Other states have had to raise taxes in order to cover the difference.

Not Behaving like Washington, DC

The Federal Government took a different route; they ended up borrowing money since they didn’t have any in savings or their ‘reserve’ account.  Over the past few years the Federal Government racked up over $13 trillion dollars in debt and has not had the money to cover this debt. Their solution? Borrow money from China and increase taxes. When Governor Daniels visited China it wasn’t for them to take on Indiana’s debt, but rather to encourage economic development within Indiana.

According to an article released by the Associated Press today, China is the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities. Now concerns are being raised that China could begin to shift money away from Treasury securities. It is expected that the shift could raise the cost of financing America’s soaring budget deficits.

Indiana, a Cut Above

Indiana is one of 15 states that did not raise taxes. There are two fundamental items wrong with raising taxes in an economy like this: families are unable to afford a tax increase and it harms job creation and economic development.

The amount in Indiana’s savings does not mean that we are in the clear. Indiana will have to continue to be fiscally responsible in order to prevent a general tax increase. Just like any Hoosier household - Indiana, too, must live within its means.

Rep. Leonard serves House District 50, which contains parts of Huntington and Whitley Counties.

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