http://www.latimes.com/la-000032345may07.story
They’re not bothering to create a new tax, they’re saying ‘well, this is legally and morally your money, but what the hell, we’re just going to keep it since we can’t balance our own budget’. Do they even bother to pass a law for this absurdity? Nope, they just decide not to pay it out. I suspect that they’ll be able to get away with it, since most people already consider a tax refund more of a government gift than the return of money that should have been in your hands to begin with, but this is the sort of thing that really should have the streets running with the blood of ‘public servants’, or at least prompt recall elections, lawsuits, and criminal charges.
Hmmm… since certain people here tend to be highly literal-minded, the ‘streets running with blood’ bit is hyperbole (exaggeration for effect) and not meant to be taken at face value.
Are you kidding? String ‘em up by their testicles, say I, from my vantage point across the river in the Land O’ Lincoln, which is also undergoing its own budget crisis, necessitating deep budget cuts in things like schools and roads, but somehow finding the money to put up a statue of Jack Benny in Skokie.
These people spent, spent, spent for the entire Nineties–money flowed like water, and now suddenly it’s “oops, guess we spent too much money, so now we can’t spend any more, so sorry that we gave you five million dollars for your visitor center back in 1998, so you went ahead and built it, and now it’s done, but oops! joke’s on you, 'cause now there’s no money in the budget for staff to run it, or even to keep the Web page up, so it’s just gonna sit there.”
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site. It’s a Goose Family personal involvement thing. It’s still there, but there’s no money for staff this year.
And yeah, stringing up politicians by their testicles is bound to cause a little blood to flow. So sue me.
who’s got the twine?
While the streets are running with the blood of the public servants, they should alsoimpeach the Supreme Court.
While I agree that your state is definitely at fault for misjudging their budget situation, would you prefer it if they had to attract (presumably not-so-cheap-now-their-shit-is-all-over-the-news) debt to put your minds and wallets at ease?
I’m no expert on Missouri, but all across the country during the late '90s, governors and state legislatures were upping spending and cutting taxes as if the boom would never end, and voters were mostly happy to go along for that ride. Party’s over, hangover time has arrived, nobody had the sense to keep some aspirin around, and it’s someone else’s fault.
What Missouri’s doing is legal as church on Sunday: the state treasury’s taking a lot longer to get to one part of their job than to others. They’re at least being upfront about it. This one’s really up to the governor and the legislature, who have to figure out how to cut spending and/or raise taxes in a way that will keep the state fiscally afloat, so that there will be money to pay the refunds.
Coldfire: unlike the US government, just about all the state governments operate under restrictions that don’t allow them to borrow to meet current expenses. They can issue bonds to borrow for capital projects, like school or highway construction, but not to pay salaries and whatnot. So chances are Missouri doesn’t have that option.
“…somehow finding the money to put up a statue of Jack Benny in Skokie.”
Skokie?! Didn’t Jack Benny grow up in Waukegan?
Now I am glad I sent in my returns early, I got my refund in 3 days… of course it was only $60 from Missouri, but I am glad. 
I have a bad feeling things are only gonna keep going down hill.
Hell, California has a 20 billion dollar deficit, out of a 100 billion dollar budget.
Of course, I’ll bet those welfare recipients in Missouri are still receiving THEIR checks!