The Missouri House of Representatives passed a proposal to cap state spending that would damage Missouri’s economy and its ability to create jobs and fund critical services. To read the full Missouri Budget Project press release, click here.
By relying on a cuts-only approach to the state’s budget crisis, the Governor’s budget proposal will make it harder for students to get the quality education they need to compete in the global economy and for Missouri to attract jobs to our state. To read Missouri Budget Project Executive Director Amy Blouin’s full statement on the Governor’s budget, click here.
The state of Missouri will face a budget shortfall nearing $800 million in FY 2013, making it more difficult than ever for the state to make vital investments to create jobs and boost our economy, according to a new analysis. The shortfall is more than $300 million more than previously estimated by the state.
Click here to read the full press release with comments from Executive Director Amy Blouin.
A new national report found that Missouri was one of only a few states that tax working poor families below the poverty threshold, emphasizing the need to carefully reform its outdated income tax structure. To read the full Missouri Budget Project press release on the issue, click here.
New census data highlights the increase in poverty and the plight of Missouri’s middle class following the economic recession. As families struggle to make ends meet and provide for their children, government services have kept even more Missourians from falling into poverty. To read the Missouri Budget Project press release on the new data, click here.
The Missouri Senate rejected a provision that would eliminate more than 105,000 low-income seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities from eligibility for a modest tax credit that is critical to keeping them in their homes. To learn more about the credit and the vote to maintain it, click here.
The number of Missourians living in poverty or without health insurance rose dramatically while earnings dropped, according to preliminary Census Bureau figures released today. Government investments in critical safety net programs like Medicaid are critical in assisting families to weather the economic storm. More information about the census figures is available here.
Congress is embroiled in a critical debate about how to address the national debt. While all policymakers concur that the current level of debt is unsustainable, consensus ends there. The policy options Congress chooses will have lasting implications for our country. The most successful and responsible effort to reduce looming deficits and the long-term debt would include a blend of spending reductions and measures that increase revenue. To read the entire guest commentary, click here.
State tax rates do not cause people to leave – or move to – a state, according to a new report that busts a common myth advanced by those who want to replace current state income taxes with a system that favors the rich at the expense of working Missourians. To learn more, click here.
The Governor cut $115 million in state funds as he signed the FY 2012 budget bills. However, the cuts may be unnecessary as legislative leaders recently indicated bipartisan interest in utilizing the state’s rainy day fund and other options for Missouri’s disaster-related needs. To learn more, click here.
The Missouri legislation session has concluded. While the legislature largely protected many priorities for Missourians, specifically senior citizens, they failed to use a balanced approach in addressing the state’s ongoing budget crisis and missed critical opportunities to ensure that the state’s priorities will be able to be funded next year. To see the Missouri Budget Project’s press release on the conclusion of the session, click here.
The legislature agreed to a FY 2012 budget that cuts approximately $700 million. While it salvaged some critical programs, it also relies on the passage of several other bills and does not take a balanced approach to ongoing revenue shortfalls. To learn more, click here.
Governor Nixon plans to sign legislation this morning eliminating the corporate franchise tax over a 5 year period. When phased in, the law will cost the state $85 million annually. To read the Missouri Budget Project press release on this action, click here.
The Missouri Senate made damaging long-term changes to the state’s safety net and rejected federal money that would spur the economy in exchange for additional benefits for today’s long-term unemployed. To learn more, click here.
House Republicans announced a draconian budget plan that would dramatically slash Medicaid and replace Medicare with a voucher system, leaving millions without the health insurance they need. To learn more, click here.
Even while facing a budget shortfall approaching $700 million, the Missouri House is debating a bill to eliminate the corporate franchise tax, costing the state $85 million annually when fully phased in. To learn more, click here.
According to a new report, more than a quarter of a million Missourians currently face potential catastrophic expenses as a result of health care costs related to accidents or serious illness. A provision in the Affordable Care Act will soon help these families protect both their health and their budgets. To learn more, click here.
Legislation and petition initiatives have moved forward that would eliminate the state’s personal and corporate income taxes and replace them with a greatly expanded sales tax. These proposals are wrong for Missouri. To learn more, click here.
This morning, Wednesday, 2/9, the House Committee on Tax Reform will hear a mega sales tax proposal, which would eliminate personal and corporate income taxes and replace them with a greatly expanded sales tax. A broad range of groups say this is unwise policy, and the committee should reject this risky experiment. To read more, click here.
The Missouri Budget Project is disappointed that Governor Nixon missed an opportunity this evening to engage the legislature in a real conversation about our state’s future. While acknowledging next year’s expected revenue shortfall, the administration’s only response was to propose additional cuts. ... Read more >
According to reports, initial paperwork will be filed on January 7th to circulate a ballot measure proposal to eliminate the state’s income tax and replace it with a greatly expanded sales tax. Missourians know that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Click here to learn more.
An issue likely to be debated in the 2011 Missouri Legislative session is the proposal to replace state income tax — both individual and corporate — with a greatly expanded sales tax. Proponents of the legislation refer to it as the "fair tax," but Missourians should think twice because it is anything but. Click here to learn more.
The Affordable Care Act was signed into law 6 months ago. On September 23, many Americans will benefit from changes that include requiring insurers to cover children with a pre-existing condition, ending lifetime benefit limits, limiting annual limits and more. Click here to read a summary of the changess and the Missouri Budget Project’s news release.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon today announced an additional $301.4 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2011 (FY 2011), which begins on July 1, 2010. These significant cuts come at a time when the Governor has announced his interest in holding a special legislative session to approve $15 million per year in tax incentives for Ford Motor Company at the expense of state employees’ retirement benefits. Click here to read a news release on this latest round of budget cuts.
Two proposals up for consideration during a special legislative session of the Missouri General Assembly would expand spending on tax incentives for Ford Motor Company by $10 million per year and ‘pay for’ this increase through significant cuts to pension benefits for state employees. Click here to read a statement from Amy Blouin.
Click here to read a news release on the end of the 2010 Missouri legislative session.
Missouri families living below the poverty level in 2009 faced a substantial state income tax liability, according to a report released today by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Click here to learn more.
Click here to read a statement from the Missouri Budget Project on the recently filed substitute to Senate Joint Resolution 29, which dramatically changes Missouri’s tax structure.
Governor Nixon, who has already made nearly $700 million in cuts, vetoes or withholds to the state’s budget for the current fiscal year – and included significant funding cuts in his proposed FY 2011 budget – announced that further budget cuts would be needed this fiscal year to offset the decline in state revenue. Click here to read a press release on the need for a balanced approach to face the budget shortfall.
A new analysis by the National Employment Law Project shows that over 20,000 unemployed Missouri workers will become ineligible for federal unemployment insurance benefits in March unless Congress passes an immediate extension of the unemployment programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. By June, more than 90,000 unemployed Missouri residents are set to run out of their jobless benefits with no further support. Click here to read a news release on this topic.
Click here to read a statement from Missouri Budget Project Executive Director Amy Blouin in response to Governor Nixon’s State of the State Address.
Seven provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), passed in February, are keeping approximately 105,000 Missourians from falling into poverty this year. Click here to read a news release about a new report new report from the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Low- and middle-income families in Missouri pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the richest families in Missouri, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy. Click here to read a news release on the report.
Poor families in Missouri continue to face substantial state income tax liability, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Click here to read a news release about the report.
Click here to read a news release on $203,741,063 in additional budget restrictions, announced by Governor Jay Nixon, for Missouri government offices and programs during FY 2010.
Click here to read a news release on a report from the Missouri Budget Project that shows while the current economic recession has caused significant hardship in our state, the decline for Missouri’s working families started years ago, beginning with the economic downturn in 2001.
St. Louis, MO. – Business, faith and community health care leaders from across the region joined together Thursday at the Family Care Health Center in St. Louis to speak in support of federal health care reform. Click here to read more.
St. Louis, MO – On Friday, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed into law a bill passed by the Missouri Legislature that will extend benefits for unemployed Missourians. An estimated 35,000 Missourians could benefit from this extension. Approximately 15,000 Missourians will exhaust their current unemployment benefits between April and June of 2009 alone.... Read more >
St. Louis, MO – Today the Missouri Budget Project, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy analysis organization, released a report detailing the State’s use of federal recovery funds. The extensive report lists the amount of funding each state agency received, for what purposes it will be used, and how it will affect the lives of Missourians.... Read more >
St. Louis, MO The Missouri General Assembly adjourned today after a legislative session that offered legislators many opportunities to assist low income families during these difficult times, often at little or no cost to the state. While some positive steps were taken, other critical proposals fell victim to political posturing.... Read more >
