Yesterday I published a blog post analyzing Governor Bentley's false claim that he has "already saved taxpayers $1B annually." I pulled documents from the Alabama Department of Finance that showed the General Fund budget actually GREW $1.2 billion since 2010 instead of shrinking $1 billion annually. This was all in context of the Governor's ongoing attempts to justify tax increases to "close the budget hole" in the General Fund budget.
As expected, I have received criticism for my investigation. Some said that "obviously" he was predicting future savings... even though that's not what the Governor said. He said, and I quote, "In 2012 we set out to save taxpayers $1B annually, & we did it!" He is clearly touting an accomplishment, though it is one that I proved is nonexistent.
But a more serious criticism is that I only looked at half of the budget. "The GF makes up only half of the overall budget, and it is quite possible the majority of the spending cuts come from the ETF." While I will reiterate that the context of this claim is the Governor's ongoing parade about a supposed "shortfall" in the general fund, producing the ETF data is easy enough.
As you can see, the Education Trust Fund grew $2.18 BILLION from 2010 to 2016... an average of $364,702,811 per year. (Keep in mind that the 2016 figures show what the Governor has requested, not what the Legislature has passed.) That means the ETF grew faster than did the General Fund.
So, was the Governor really talking about spending cuts in the Education Trust Fund? Clearly, the answer is no.
Overall, Alabama's total budget grew from $25.6 billion in 2010 to a projected $29.8 billion in 2016... a total increase of $4.21 billion in spending. Funny, but increasing spending by $4.21 billion over six years doesn't sound like austerity, and it certainly doesn't leave room for billions in spending cuts.
So, once again I ask the Governor. "What the devil are you talking about? HOW can you have cut '$1B annually' when spending has grown by $4B since 2010? Please justify this preposterous claim, or just come out and admit the lie."
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As expected, I have received criticism for my investigation. Some said that "obviously" he was predicting future savings... even though that's not what the Governor said. He said, and I quote, "In 2012 we set out to save taxpayers $1B annually, & we did it!" He is clearly touting an accomplishment, though it is one that I proved is nonexistent.
But a more serious criticism is that I only looked at half of the budget. "The GF makes up only half of the overall budget, and it is quite possible the majority of the spending cuts come from the ETF." While I will reiterate that the context of this claim is the Governor's ongoing parade about a supposed "shortfall" in the general fund, producing the ETF data is easy enough.
ETF-2010 = $12,475,452,809
ETF-2011 = $12,754,180,680
ETF-2012 = $13,272,602,143
ETF-2013 = $13,262,616,659
ETF-2014 = $14,539,307,408
ETF-2015 = $14,634,219,083
ETF-2016 = $14,663,669,675
As you can see, the Education Trust Fund grew $2.18 BILLION from 2010 to 2016... an average of $364,702,811 per year. (Keep in mind that the 2016 figures show what the Governor has requested, not what the Legislature has passed.) That means the ETF grew faster than did the General Fund.
So, was the Governor really talking about spending cuts in the Education Trust Fund? Clearly, the answer is no.
Overall, Alabama's total budget grew from $25.6 billion in 2010 to a projected $29.8 billion in 2016... a total increase of $4.21 billion in spending. Funny, but increasing spending by $4.21 billion over six years doesn't sound like austerity, and it certainly doesn't leave room for billions in spending cuts.
So, once again I ask the Governor. "What the devil are you talking about? HOW can you have cut '$1B annually' when spending has grown by $4B since 2010? Please justify this preposterous claim, or just come out and admit the lie."