MA State Budget Must Read. (sale, refinancing, transfer)

[TomDot]

I have attached the complete report of the MA State Financial Report.
If you go to page 312 you can see that the Total MA state budget has increased from 31.1 billion dollars in 1998 to 44.9 billion dollars in 2007.

In fewer than 10 Years our state government has added 14 billion dollars to the state budget.

This report does not include the budget for FY 2008 which is 47.3 billion dollars.
That means that the state budget has increased by 2.4 billion dollars in one year.

http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/report.../2007_SBFR.pdf

Just thought people should have the facts.

[clevedark]

Why and where did it go up? Was it outrageous, or was it something that all state budgets are trying to cope with?

I can't read that whole document. I don't know how to read budget speak and I give up by the third page. Please interpret!

A funny aside, did you notice that the post above yours about Dynasty Models went up the same minute as yours and has had almost 1,800 views while this one has had 1!!!

Yes, we are a nation of ignoramuses.

[clevedark]

OK so maybe the dynasty models post didn't go up the same minute. I'm looking for a laugh anyway.

[Cart24]

Tom,

The overall budget amount is $47b as you stated, but that number is inflated. Actual State Spending is $31.8b.

According to the MTPA the budget includes the following:

1. Gross Lottery Receipts – Page 312 lists spending for the “Treasurer and Receiver-
General” at $5.267 billion for fiscal 2007. This amount includes $4.7 billion in gross
lottery receipts which are not part of the state budget, broken down as follows:
− $3.225 billion in prizes distributed to winners;
− $250 million in operating costs;
− Slightly more than $1 billion in distribution of lottery funds but which is already
included in the $7 billion under “Administration and Finance.” In short, the only
portion of the $4.7 billion that actually makes its way into the budget has been counted twice pn pg 312.

2. Capital Spending – Page 312 includes $3.1 billion of capital spending which is not part of
the operating budget. Of that total, $1.6 billion is for new capital spending and $1.5
billion simply reflects refinancing of existing bonds with no spending whatsoever.
Capital spending is funded through the sale of 20- and 30-year bonds; the principal and
interest on the bonds is paid from the operating budget as debt service. Therefore,
including capital spending amounts to double counting.

3. Fund Transfers – Unlike page 314 which counts spending only once, pages 308 and 312
track the movement of funds so there is some double counting. The total of double
counted fund transfers on pages 308 and 312 is $2.5 billion. The General Fund is the
state’s major fund, but there are many other funds which hold money for specific
purposes such as health care. For example, there are $1.7 billion in health care
expenditures in five discreet funds that are counted twice – once when the monies are
transferred from the General fund into another fund, and a second time when they are
transferred from that fund for budgetary spending. Obviously, the money is spent only once not twice.

4. Federal Grants – The Commonwealth receives about $2 billion in federal grants for a
wide variety of purposes which are separate from federal reimbursements for Medicaid
and other programs and are not part of the operating budget. For example, in fiscal 2007
the federal government gave $230 million to the state for distribution to local
communities for at-risk students as part of the No Child Left Behind legislation.

I am not saying that government spending is out of control, just simply showing that the numbers are inflated based on further research.