The state budget presented six weeks ago by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon may have overestimated revenues by as much as $1 billion, lawmakers warned Tuesday.
The stunning deficit could force lawmakers to go beyond program and service cuts to consider major structural changes to state government.
“It is clear that even as Missouri’s economy begins to rebound, state revenues will continue to lag for a prolonged period of time,” Nixon, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday. “As a result, we will need to downsize the scope of state government, while protecting necessary services to the citizens of Missouri.”
That announcement was underscored Tuesday by the release of state revenues for February, which showed a year-to-date decline of 12.7 percent compared with this time last year, and a 14.6 percent drop in revenues for February.
A Democrat over-estimating revenues and under-estimating costs? In the show-me state, even? I’ll bet the sun rises int he east and sets in the west again tomorrow.