At the end of this fiscal year, Governor Sanders reported a $655 million budget surplus, with about $4 billion in reserves. On paper, this sounds great! Having too much money is better than having too little, but we think this means a loss for Arkansas.
It’s what we’re not doing with that money that’s concerning. If the state has so much money, why are Arkansans struggling? Why are families still fighting to afford gas, groceries, and utility bills?
Arkansas isn’t broke, but its priorities are.
Here’s what we’re sacrificing for the $655 billion surplus:
- Expanding postpartum medicaid to 12 months after giving birth. Estimated cost: $2-3 million.
- Ensuring our hungry kids and families don’t lose SNAP benefits because of cuts at the federal level. Estimated cost: $80 million, depending on our SNAP error rate.
- Lowering utility bills. It’s tough to find an estimated cost for this, because it would depend on the method, but we can safely say it would be in the tens of millions. Let’s say $50 million, to be safe.
- Investing in our public schools, some of which are literally falling down around their students’ heads. Estimated cost: $390 million.
Just these four things would cost about $520 million, and most importantly, have speedy and direct positive impacts on every Arkansan. We’d still have a budget surplus for the Governor to brag about, and these programs wouldn’t even touch the important $4 billion reserve funds.
Not funding these programs and saying that Arkansas is doing fine and dandy sounds to us like bragging about how much you’ve saved while your roof leaks, your kids go hungry, and your bills aren’t paid.
Let’s also remember Sanders uses these surpluses to cut taxes, but these tax cuts don’t even help most Arkansans.
So to recap, while corporations get huge tax breaks that don’t help the neediest Arkansans, Sanders continues to cut or refuse to expand programs that would alleviate the burden on families. The state’s flush with cash but its people are falling behind.
