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Tuesday, July 03, 2012
State Ends Fiscal Year With $500 Million Surplus, Promises Rebates For All
Indiana taxpayers will receive a $100 rebate next year after the state ended the fiscal year with a $500 million surplus and $2 billion in reserves. Gov. Mitch Daniels touted the budget announcement today, but he doesn't say what his plan is for repaying the federal government over $2 billion it is owed because our state's unemployment trust fund went broke more than two years ago and began borrowing money the federal government doesn't have to pay unemployment benefits. The governor deflected questions about that unpaid debt on the basis that the money that funds the unemployment trust fund comes from a different pot of money--namely, taxes on employers. Under the plan announced today, taxpayers will receive $300 million in refunds and the state's pension funds, which are among the worst unfunded state pension systems in the country, will receive a $300 million cash infusion. Earlier in the fiscal year, in two separate announcements, the governor announced the state found about $500 million in state revenues that had been misplaced. An external auditor has been hired by the state to figure out how the mistakes were made. At least we don't face the budget catastrophes faced by other states like neighboring Illinois, which face budget deficits in the billions of dollars.
Why in the hell isnt the media needling Daniels over the unemployment trust fund? Oh the fund went broke four years ago in 2008 not two years ago. Does he really think that employers are going to just keep paying higher and higher taxes because of his mistake! Apparently the states only plan is to keep borrowing indefinitley from the feds. DWD even said in their UI Board meetings that the trust fund wouldnt be solvent again until 2018! That is unacceptable!
ReplyDeleteI hate to burst your bubble Gary but we are facing far more serious debt trouble than the local media lets on. The Teachers Pre-96 retirement fund has a $9 billion hole in it! We owe more than $2 billion plus to the federal government to bailout this states stupidity at managing their own Unemployment Insurance fund. In fact you point this out on a blog post back last August. So to say that we are not facing budget catastrophes like other states is nonsense! Our surplus exist only on paper! Which you also stated back last August.Employers are not going to just keep paying higher and higher taxes forever! We need to fix the trust fund and other unfunded liabilities now!
ReplyDeleteThis is a gimmick of Mitch Daniels. The state has horrible debts to retirement funds and Unemployment funds. He is a loser.
ReplyDeleteIf there were a surplus, the state should build a new large-capacity Super-Max Prison to put the criminals in!
ReplyDelete-Perhaps hire Joe Arpiao as a consultant.