So Much Money And So Many Needs (Editorial)

Times like these must be hard for legislators.
The state budget forecasters say they expect the state’s surplus to grow to $843 million for the next biennium. That’s up from the previous prediction of a $721 million surplus by the Department of Finance & Administration economists.
No doubt the eyes of some of the legislators are beginning to glow as they ponder what they can do with so much money once they get their hands on it.
Gov. Mike Huckabee, in making his required balanced budget proposal, would spend $250 million of the projected surplus on tax relief, another $209 million on school facilities and put $200 million into a “rainy day” account. The governor also recommended $109 million for various construction projects.
But legislators are more likely to listen to Governor-elect Mike Beebe’s plans than anything Huckabee has to say. And Beebe, who spent 20 years in the Legislature, is on record as wanting to phase out, over time, the state’s 6 percent tax on groceries, which generates about $224 million a year.
With the news of an even larger surplus, Beebe thinks the phase-out of the grocery tax can be speeded up. After the election, Beebe said the only question left was whether to phase it out in specified increments over time or phase it out using a formula tied to revenue growth.
It’s easy to understand the temptation the legislators face.
A tax refund or tax elimination can be a powerful thing to brag about come election time.
But we hope the powers that be are more prudent — and remember the surplus is a one-time deal.
If the state rushes through it and the economy turns stagnant, as it eventually will, then what?
Gov. Huckabee’s idea of a “rainy day fund” is a good one. Prudent households operate the same way — keeping some money on hand for those unexpected emergencies.
Some legislators will want to go through the surplus as fast as they can. And every state department head will have a hand out for his or her share.
Most are already crying about their needs, most of them surely legitimate.
An enormous surplus can be gone in a hurry. That’s another lesson this country should have learned by now.