I just did the math on the reported budget compromise. It raises taxes by nearly a billion and also includes a couple hundred million in new fees and transfers from other funds.
The AP reports the broad outline calls for $18.9 billion in spending with $990 million in new taxes. This put revenue before the taxes at $17.9 billion – between $200 million and $400 million more than forecasts of what’s available with the current tax structure. The difference has to come from new or higher fees and transfers.
For the $18.9 billion in spending to include $990 million in new taxes, the $1.3 to $1.7 billion in federal bailout money for the state must be counted as spending cuts. If not there would be no need to raise taxes to get to this amount, coincidentally the same amount of spending in the Can-Do Budget, which counts the federal money as availability and spending. The Governor’s original budget proposal in March, which also counted the federal money as availability and spending, would have spent $21 billion. The Senate budget counted all of the bailout money except Medicaid as availability and spending, and would have spent the same $21 billion.
Adding back the federal money, the compromise budget calls for between $20.2 and $20.6 billion in spending this fiscal year. Compare that to the $20.3 billion actually spent in the just-ended fiscal year.
If this is eating beans, they’re organic beans cooked with pancetta, served with a nice risotto, and a bottle of San Pellegrino.
Updated: Fixed amount
