Money for the Government but not for the citizens.

BISMARCK, N.D. -North Dakota’s next budget could handle substantial spending increases in the next two years without dipping into an oil tax fund that may grow to $1.3 billion by June 2011, estimates say.

Documents prepared for the Legislature’s interim Budget and Finance Committee show that voter approval of Measure 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot, which would create a new state fund for surplus oil tax revenues, would still leave ample room for spending growth.

Ok so there’s plenty of money for spending growth but how about something for the rest of us that actually pay the taxes?

Approval of Measure 2, which would cut North Dakota’s individual income tax rates in half and its corporate rates by 15 percent, would force lawmakers to scale back spending increases or tap the state’s surplus oil tax fund, the documents say.

Just how shocking is this attitude.  These people think that all of our money belongs to them.  Right now North Dakota has an huge surplus.  That’s not from a lack of spending by the state legistlatures.  In the story they show how spending has increased 10.8 every biennium over the last ten years.

Last year this same group that doesn’t think they should keep the money they’ve been overtaxing us increased spending 23%.  Of course last year they said that 12% of this spending was for ongoing projects and 11% was for one-time spending.  Now they want to forget about the one time spending and use the entire figure as a new baseline to increase off of.  So while they could and should hold spending at a constant level and still increase ongoing budgets by 11% they want to keep that and get at LEAST another 11%.  They’re even talking about 16% spending increases.

Why is it that the state government ALWAYS wants to spend more of our money.  It’s our money, we don’t need to increase state spending.

And what is with the Republicans in the State Government?  Do they think that acting like Democrats is going to get them elected?