Did you ever stop to wonder what you might do if you won the lottery? I have to admit it. I have. The thought of boatloads of found money can be intoxicating. Maybe that’s why some of our state legislators appear to have impaired vision. The State of Arkansas finished the fiscal year with a ninety-four million dollar surplus and just like a lot of lottery winners, leading members of our state house are falling all over themselves to figure out how to spend it. The House Republican leadership, predictably, says that kind of surplus warrants a tax reduction. Grocery Sales Tax, Used Car sales tax, Income Tax reduction. Doesn’t matter. Take your pick. On the other side of the aisle, the democratic leadership says spend it. Restore state employees’ cost of living increases, or maybe make a onetime payment to Arkansas’ foster parents. Both are agreeable points of view. We’d all like to pay less in taxes. That’s a no brainer. And helping children stuck in the Foster Care system would surely make you feel good. Right? But folks, truly, neither of those options make sense at this time. Governor Beebe asserts and we agree that we need to hold on to that money. We need to leave the tax system alone and see if this develops into a trend before we eliminate taxes. We need to work hard to reform Medicaid and utilize this money to shore us up there if necessary. We need our state legislature to remember, they have not won the lottery. This is our investment in our state, our future, and treating as such will make this A Better Region 8.
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