Some states like Nebraska have thus far responsibly managed their budgets, even in tough times, and I could not ask Nebraskans to pay for poor governance elsewhere.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I believe Nebraskans appreciate the fiscal discipline I've brought to state government, balancing the budget without raising taxes and prioritizing education funding.
Budgets that don't balance, public programs that aren't funded, pension funds that are running out of money, schools that aren't funded - How does that help anyone?
The budget doesn't have much control over the government. Then again, the government doesn't have much control over the budget.
Every family in America knows they have to do a budget. Every small business in America knows they have to do a budget. Every local government, every state, knows they have to do a budget.
Budgets are moral documents. Federal funding should reflect the priorities and the values of the majority of the American people.
By necessity, budgets require hard choices.
We need to focus on issues where we all agree, which is spending discipline and control and making sure that government, both in Springfield and in Washington, doesn't take more from your family budget.
A nation is not a budget, no matter how much ideologues want it to be so.
I am not about to let the people who so mismanaged the state budget now try to manage local government.
States, virtually all of them, have a constitutional requirement to operate on a balanced budget.