Where state dollars are spent

Dan Hegeman

As it appears Congress and the president may finally reach a two-year budget agreement, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on how your tax dollars are spent in Missouri.

The appropriation of your tax dollars is the most important job of the Missouri General Assembly and, in simplest terms, is a reflection of the priorities of the state.

But it is also a frustrating exercise constricted by growing social welfare spending, often driven by federal mandates. These challenges in prioritizing spending toward areas of education, transportation, and public safety are often at odds with this growth of mandated social service spending.

The “Distribution of Each Tax Dollar” graphic depicts the distribution of each tax dollar for FY 2016 and I have always found it to be a revealing illustration of how your tax dollars are spent.

For example, 22.24 cents of every tax dollar goes to elementary and secondary education, while 8.31 cents of every dollar helps cover highway and transportation costs.–

Now, take a look at the amounts appropriated for our social services departments: 11.87 cents for health and mental health services, and 33.08 cents for social services. Combined, these two areas consume a staggering 45 cents of every tax dollar of the state’s entire operating budget.

Our social welfare programs are incredibly important as they provide a wide variety of services to help meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.

Unfortunately, the cost of these programs has continued to rise — unchecked and unchallenged, for far too long — to the point where we are unable to fully prioritize our needs to fund other critical services, such as education, transportation, and public safety.

This unchecked growth has finally led Missouri lawmakers to take a meaningful step forward in our efforts to rein in the uncontrolled growth of our social services departments by trimming the growth of welfare spending by approximately 5 percent in the FY 2016 Budget.

Passing a fiscally responsible and balanced budget is the most important task the General Assembly undertakes each session. Through careful analysis and planning, I am hopeful that the legislature will be able continue controlling the growth of social welfare spending beyond the FY 2016 budget.

I am confident we will continue to see that same prudent and pragmatic approach in crafting next year’s budget, ensuring we continue to spend only what we can truly afford.