“Spend Now, Pay Later”

Just keep kicking the ball down the road...

The competing solutions to repair the state ‘s broken budget can be summed up in four words, an independent report has found: Spend now, pay later.

When the Legislature passed the two-year budget in October, fiscal analysts projected a gap between estimated revenues and expenses in the next budget of $896 million.

The faltering economy has since lowered projections of tax money the state will receive, forcing policymakers to revisit the current budget.

But two of the proposed fixes add to the problems down the road, according to the report by the Legislature ‘s nonpartisan budget office.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle ‘s plan increases the potential shortfall in the next budget by $520 million, to $1.42 billion, the report found. A plan by the Republican-controlled Assembly raises the deficit by $753 million, to $1.65 billion.

I have a GREAT idea!  Let’s just be responsible and cut spending, mmmmmmkay?