The headline says it all: "Stimulus funds to cover budget deficit in governor's office".  I've been complaining about the stimulus since it was in the planning phase.  I could understand allocating more money for unemployment benefits or food stamps since more people would need the help in the short-term, but I found the massive spending spree troubling.  I figured a good portion of the money would be wasted, and I'm beginning to see that I'm correct.

     The Governor's office budgeted $4.7 million, but it is on pace to spend $5.3 million, for a deficit of $589,218.  Part of the deficit is due to the General Assembly removing $300,000 from a contingency fund.  The rest is due to the reassignment of employees to the newly created Office of Economic Recovery and Reinvestment (OERR), which oversees stimulus money.

     I'm wondering why the OERR needed to be created in the first place.  Why not just convene a committee to oversee the distribution of money to the appropriate departments?  Second, if you can transfer the individual, then why can't you transfer the funding for their salary, which was originally budgeted in their own department's budget?  Also, since the governor's office is now responsible for the employee salaries, does this mean their old departments have more tax dollars to spend?  What a great example of our stimulus dollars at work!

     Stimulus dollars should not be used to address budget deficits.  The purpose is to stimulate the economy.  All expenditures associated with the stimulus money should end when the federal funding ends.  Using stimulus money to plug holes in the budget encourages the state to put off the tough decisions, while negating any positive effects from the stimulus funds.  To summarize, live within your means and use the stimulus money for temporary "extra" spending.