Pat, Pat, Pat myself on the back;

The governor said if lawmakers want to trim state spending, they must propose specific cuts to programs. He said he will not accept across-the-board cuts that call for agencies to provide the same level of services while reducing spending by a certain percentage.

The governor also chastised lawmakers who complain that the number of state employees has grown too much. He said many of those positions, the equivalent of 861 full-time employees, have been added at state universities to support increased student enrollment and research.

Define Many. I would be curious to know just what percentage of those 861 employees are working at the universities. Can anyone get me a link?

Oh, and the Republican and Democratic leadership are gearing up to make cuts (like they promise us every year);

Senate Republican Leader Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls said the governor proposed no new programs and is leaving it up to the Legislature to cut spending.

Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls criticized Rounds for not holding down spending in previous years and allowing the number of state employees to grow substantially. Democrats want across-the-board budget cuts.

Yeah, right. I’ll betcha my last dollar that both of these guys will vote for the 1 penny increase in sales taxes to build a new Events Center. Of course Dave has to vote for it, or he will be sleeping on the couch. “I can’t wait to increase the sales tax by one penny so we can build all kinds of things.” – Quen Be De Knudson

By leaving the budget problems to the next governor and legislature. Stay classy Mike;

Rounds has proposed using $32 million in reserve funds to balance the state budget for the year beginning July 1. But the governor has also told lawmakers that the gap between ongoing revenue and spending could grow to more than $100 million in the following year, which begins in July 2011.

That projected budget gap would exceed the remaining reserves. Legislative leaders say any cuts made in the next budget will make the following year’s budget problems easier to solve.

This does not surprise me. The only thing Mike has done during his two terms is reward himself and his friends. But who can blame him? I blame the citizens of SD for #1, re-electing the jackass, #2, allowing him to get away with it #3 allowing the legislators to allow him to get away with it.

Apathy is to blame for our economic struggles, statewide and nationwide.

I found these fun facts from the Heidi Scott campaign interesting;

“Today the Governor announced a record state budget deficit.  He blamed the national economic recession of the past year.  Yet, this budget marks the seventh of eight budgets he has submitted that spent more than the state collects in revenues.  In these eight years, state government has grown at a staggering pace, spending is out of control and governmental accountability is at an all time low,” Heidepriem said.

“Yet to solve this out of control problem, the Governor proposes to balance the budget by raiding relief funds, wasting stimulus dollars, raising taxes and balancing the budget on the backs of our children by making cuts in education. Where is the responsibility?  Where is the accountability?  This is wrong and South Dakotans should be outraged,” Heidepriem said.

“The Governor should do the responsible thing and slash his massive budgets of all fat, reign in all spending, cut unneeded state employees, cap spending, and open all of our state’s 1800 contracts to open bidding. To paper over these structural problems by first using relief funds or one time money is irresponsible and does nothing to solve the culture of bloat and waste in Pierre. South Dakota deserves better and South Dakotans should demand better,” Heidepriem said.

Yet we continue to elect these ’supposed’ Conservative Republicans. They ARE NOT fiscal conservatives. They ARE NOT moral or ethical conservatives. They really are not conservatives in the true sense of the word. They are big government, greedy, Republicans, a trend that started with Reagan and perfected by GW Dush.

And Bob Mercer sums up Rounds’ administration (H/T -DWC)

Rounds is term-limited and the 2010 legislative session will be his eighth and presumably last, a situation that will only further embolden legislators and further undermine his relevancy.

Seven years of little innovation, no new efficiencies or savings of any significance, an emphasis on protecting his hometown’s economy, and showing minimal backbone on spending — he complained but still signed the budgets into law when the Legislature spent more than legally required on public schools, for example– are coming home to roost.

Ah, just kidding;

I love how the Republican’s chokehold on our state has created some of the poorest working class in the nation but they just can’t resist to kick them when they are down;

Gov. Mike Rounds said Monday he will propose a state budget that focuses nearly all spending increases on providing medical services to residents who have lost their jobs during the recession.

The governor said he will ask the South Dakota Legislature to approve $52 million in additional spending in state general funds, with nearly all of it for the state-federal Medicaid program that pays the medical expenses of poor people.

What?! I thought Republican rule was bringing us all kinds of economic development to our state, how could people be struggling?

“We’re taking care of the very basic needs of people who really are down and out because of the national recession,” he said.

A recession that was caused by that jackass GW Dush and continued to get worse under Obama’s appointment of Geithner.

More than 22,000 people are now unemployed in South Dakota, while 110,000 people are in the Medicaid program, he said.

Rounds said since he became governor in 2003, 51 percent of increased spending has gone to Medicaid and other programs that care for the needy.

You heard right, almost 1 in 7 people in South Dakota are on Medicaid. Pathetic. This is the kind of leadership we have come to expect out of the Republicans, yet we continue to re-elect them to the Governor’s office. Unfcknblvable.

Like this is some sort of surprise;

Gov. Mike Rounds has appointed Kristin Conzet, the daughter of a business partner of his, to replace Republican state Rep. Brian Dreyer of Rapid City, who resigned earlier this fall because of his pending deployment with the National Guard to Afghanistan.

Because, you know, #1 it would be virtually impossible to find some other Republican in that district that is qualified, and #2 and someone who will do Mike’s bidding.

Conzet said she requested that Rounds not highlight the relationship when he announced her appointment.

Oh really? I can’t imagine why? Maybe because you know it is unethical? Oh, that’s right, Republicans only talk ethics and morals, they don’t practice them.

Conzet also feels she has no conflict of interest in voting on legislation that could affect Fischer Rounds. Heidepreim agrees, since Conzet is not involved in the partnership.

Come on Scott! You gotta be kidding?! Yeah, it’s only her father’s company, and she was appointed by her father’s partner. If she was written out of the will, I would agree, but I doubt it.

Once again, Rounds proves he has no shame, and the Democrats let him walk all over them.

Were broke? Get outta here!

Revenue to the state treasury is falling and more people are enrolling in Medicaid, triggering significant demands on the entitlement program. Although the state has federal stimulus money to shore up finances in the 2011 budget, which starts July 1, 2010, the federal money won’t be enough to backfill the budget unless there is a major turnaround in the economy.

Well, that’s what you get when you don’t attract young workers to our state to help pay for the program, that, and we think taxing food is a good way to fund government.

The five major revenue sources to the state are down in the first three months of the current fiscal year that started July 1. Combined, they represent 90 percent of the state’s general fund revenues. The most important – sales tax – was down $33 million or 5.2 percent.

It’s time the state implemented an income tax, got rid of retail taxes and reduced property taxes. We’ll see what solutions are offered;

Bernie Hunhoff, the Democratic minority leader in the House, said his party will have ideas about what to do. ”Democrats are here to work with the governor and with the Republicans to get South Dakota out of this,” Hunhoff said. “It’s not one party’s problem; it’s South Dakota’s problem.” The slowdown in state revenues reflects the pain felt on family farms and main street, Hunhoff said. The situation could call for across-the-board cuts. “Unless we really see an immediate rebound in revenues, the hole is getting so deep that everybody is going to have to share in the pain and sacrifice,” he said.

That’s why an income tax makes sense, it makes everyone share that sacrifice fairly. Abdallah wants to touch the sacred cow, better be careful, or King Rounds will cut your fingers off.

Republican Sen. Gene Abdallah said he wants a thorough accounting of how much money is in each of the state’s reserve funds, including some of the more obscure funds, before he’ll be ready to consider more cuts.

I agree it is time to dip into the reserves, that’s what they are there for, a rainy day.

But how am I supposed to get to my kid’s college football games?

I had to laugh at this short story about Governor Rounds legacy, he hasn’t done much;

Gov. Mike Rounds says one of the things he’s most proud of during his time as governor is that more of South Dakota’s young people are staying put.

He says university enrollment is growing and there’s more opportunities in research and technology, in part because of the underground lab being built in the old Homestake gold mine.

Rounds said he’s also proud to see strong participation in the South Dakota National Guard.

He’s serving his final four-year term. A new governor will be elected in November 2010.

You forgot to mention he has taken a big shit on open government, used his position as governor to promote his personal insurance company, handed out no-bid contracts to campaign contributors like candy, ignored education funding and blew millions of our reserves on bad investments. Other then that, he’s a pretty swell guy.

I talked to a Republican businessman last night about what might be happening in Pierre next year, and two things stuck out;

- A law may be passed to allow 19 yr. olds to drink in beer joints

- Rounds would probably veto any legislation that would allow cities to increase the sales tax

He told me that many legislators are for lowering the drinking age (Dems and Repubs). Eleven other states have done it. But it has to be specific. 19-20 yr. olds would only be allowed to drink beer AND they could not purchase beer off-sale. I guess it is a loophole with Federal highway funding.

And as I mentioned before, the state will probably not give cities the power to raise retail taxes, unless they come to some agreement like letting the state to raise taxes at an equal amount, which we could see our taxes as high as 8%. We’ll see what happens. My prediction is that there would be a citizen uprising and the increase proposal won’t even make it out of committee. Which leaves us at square one, once again with the Event Center.

I still think the council and mayor should just raise the bed and booze tax and start building the damn thing already.

What a surprise? Huh? A guy who owns an insurance company is against a public option;

Despite his criticism of the unfunded Medicaid expansion, Rounds said he did not want to be misconstrued as opposing health care reform — though he did voice skepticism, shared by many conservatives, about the government offering a public health insurance option.

Of, course, he is speaking as our ‘governor’ not as a ‘insurance man’. Whatever.

I did this one back in August of 2006 – Still a classic