What does a billion dollar deficit really mean?

Guest Column By State Senator Mike Folmer (R-48th)

With the state and national budget debate in the news each day, words like “billion” and “trillion” are almost commonplace. A billion and trillion might not seem like much, but it is — it’s nine zeroes. A billion seconds ago was 1959; a billion minutes ago, Jesus walked the earth; a billion hours ago, was the Stone Age.

Our current state budget is $28 billion and is more than $4 billion in the red. Years of living above our means has caught up with us, and passing a balanced budget without new or higher taxes will be a challenge. Every day, there is a news story or protest in Harrisburg about the problems of proposed budget cuts — no one wants to be cut.

A popular plan is to cut spending within the General Assembly or eliminate the Legislature altogether. If Pennsylvanians are asked to share in budget cuts, the Legislature must “walk the talk” and tighten our belts as well.

Years ago, the Senate implemented a salary and hiring freeze as well as a moratorium on paid internships and employee tuition reimbursements. Personally, each month I return my automatic legislative cost of living adjustment to the state treasury. I have opted not to participate in the state pension system or legislative health care plan, and I do not file for reimbursement for travel expenses within the 48th Senatorial District. I also do not accept per diems for days spent in Harrisburg, nor do I use a state car. Additionally, in my first term in office, I closed two district offices.

If the entire General Assembly were eliminated, it would save about $300 million annually. If discretionary legislative spending were eliminated (i.e. “WAMs” or “walking around money”), it would save an additional $300 million annually. Even with those moves, the state would still be $3.4 billion short.

What comprises the billions of dollars in the state budget? Education funding encompasses $9.6 billion and an additional $26 billion in federal, state and local tax dollars. Public welfare gets a total of $8.6 billion in state funds along with another $1.8 billion in federal funds; corrections accounts for $1.6 billion in state funds, and $172 million in federal tax dollars. All told, these three departments account for nearly 81 percent of the total state budget.

Almost all other functions and departments of state government — including the General Assembly and the Governor’s Office — would have to be eliminated to balance the state budget without any cuts to education, welfare and prisons and/or without new or higher taxes. This is why the current budget debate is so rancorous and why the final decisions could be painful.