Republicans Growing Government and Spending More in Missouri

On a national level, it's not hard to see the Republican party has become a party of big government. They make lots of promises to cut spending and shrink the size and scope of government before they get to Washington, and then they begin spending on things like expansion of the role of federal government in healthcare like the Medicare Part D expansion.

The problem just isn't related to Washington. It's happening in the state houses too where Republicans also forget they are supposed to be the party of smaller government. In Missouri, in the past decade state spending has shot up from $10 billion ten years ago to over $24 billion.

The Missouri Journal points out the problem in Jefferson City where Republicans have embraced bigger government:

Republican state lawmakers want you to think they are working to spend less of your money, but their rhetoric does not match their record.

As they are out stumping on the campaign trail this summer, crisscrossing districts aroundMissouri, many will say they have cut the budget.

As analysis of the budget-making process byMissouri Journal earlier this year shows, it is possible to cut a budget without reducing state spending, since budgets are spending plans.

Some GOP lawmakers, however, are taking it a step further, insisting that they are cutting state spending, despite total expenditures increasing.

As reported by Missouri Journal last week, the state will likely increase spending this fiscal year, which started on July 1, by around 3.4 percent to $24.1 billion — an increase of $801.6 million.

The amount appropriated for last fiscal year by lawmakers in the Missouri General Assembly, controlled by Republicans, totaled $23.3 billion. Assuming all of the appropriations were spent by June 30, total state expenditures will have increased almost 5 percent compared to fiscal 2011.