Federal Items:
Believe it or not, Congress is still at work – and doing all sorts of bad things.
While the media has concentrated on failures, such as the inability to make any progress on immigration issues, the House has especially been busy enacting a number of proposals to reduce “safety net” spending, eliminate most consumer banking and security regulations, and, reinforce the Trump Administration’s pro-business agenda.
The Fiscal Year 2019 budget includes a series of trims to domestic spending while increasing spending on new planes, ships and other big-ticket defense items.
The official blueprint for future budgets includes “real dollar” reductions of domestic spending by around 15% as part of a plan to eliminate new deficits in 10 years.
Oh yes, virtually all of the consumer protections enacted after the 2008/2009 free-fall will be gone by the end of this year.
And, Congress is quietly applauding EPA efforts to protect businesses rather than citizens.
Fortunately, there are tastes of hope. The Senate recently rejected the deep cuts to food stamps and new giveaways to agri-business in their version of the Farm Bill by an 86 to 13 vote. This improves the odds that the final bill will not include the worst of the proposals passed by the House.
(The House version would have reduced benefits to all Missouri recipients and forced about 75,000 citizens off of the rolls. Around $380 million less in benefits would come to Missouri grocers.)
Still unknown are the full “real world” impact of the Trump tax cuts and the new tariff schemes. Remember, it is possible that the cuts will reduce federal revenue by better than a trillion dollars while higher tariffs add thousands of dollars per year to the typical family’s cost of living.
The Supreme Court’s current majority endorsed a death sentence for unions in government workplaces, allowed continuation of the Trump administration travel ban, and, creates a way for many businesses to discriminate against gays or others they don’t like. (The court did extend common-sense privacy coverage to cell phones and cleared the way for uniform collection of sales tax for on-line purchases.)
The next court session will find an even more reliably conservative bench.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is still president…
State Items:
It is critical to remember that Missouri Republicans did not force Eric Greitens’ resignation out of a sense of decency or a respect for law. The governor had peed so much in the swimming pool that the stain threatened to cover GOP candidates.
New Governor Mike Parson is much more friendly to the established order. He will not attract national attention, nor will he propose radical changes to state government. At the same time, he will not push for better salaries for state employees nor will he stand in the way of efforts to reduce taxes.
Pay attention to Governor Parson’s position on the November gas tax proposal. Will he endorse the “largest tax increase in Missouri state history,” will he speak out against the measure, or, will he be silent?
At the end of May the state’s general revenue was 2.1% ahead of the previous May. Miracle of miracles, by the end of the fiscal year on June 30th the state’s general revenue had soared to 5.0% ahead of the end of last fiscal year! That much, much higher number allows the next round of enacted tax cuts to take effect, and, allowed the new governor to undo many of the with holds enforced by the former governor.
Fiscal Year 2019 began on July 1st. While the new budget technically fully funds the school foundation formula and greatly minimized cuts to higher education, the downward trend in state money as a portion of total support for education continues.
The budget includes a very minor – $700 a year – across the board salary increase for lower-paid state employees. That increase does not take effect until January 1, 2019, and, in many cases will be limited by increases in family plan health premiums. (Targeted but small bumps for prison guards and state troopers were also passed.) When the dust settles Missouri will still have the lowest paid state workers in America.
In what was probably an illegal, early action the state cut funding to Planned Parenthood on a couple of hours notice in June (before the action was necessitated by the new budget). That means that current patients will appointments after that date will not be covered by the federal government grants the state administers. The Planned Parenthood clinics served 38% of the women getting reproductive and other specialized care under the grant.
The Legislature passed a good volume of bills, despite distractions in the Capitol. Among the favorable items passed…
Anti-Human Trafficking Posters and Education in key locations
Extra Purchasing Power For Seniors at Farmers Markets
Raising The Age For Adult Prosecution to 18
Giving New Moms A Year (instead of 60 days) for Drug Treatment
Among the other items passed…
New Accounting Breaks To Telephone Companies & “Help” To Utilities
Restrictions of Public Sector Unions
Prevailing Wage Exemptions
Not passed…
The “Guns Everywhere” Bill
Major New Restrictions on Reproductive Rights
Classroom Censorship On Teaching American History & Other Topics
In the end, the legislature did pass an extensive tax reform bill – House Bill 2450. It became a Christmas Tree of good and bad ideas. It actually raises revenue by eliminating the state deduction for federal taxes paid (as is the law in most states). It makes a myriad of ‘small print’ adjustments in the tax code which will primarily impact businesses and creates the possibility that the individual income tax rate will fall
further in the future.
Stripped from the tree were provisions for a Missouri Earned Income Tax Credit and serious new tax reductions.
It is expected that Governor Parson will not Veto any legislation.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member