Cutting marks being drawn for South Carolina's next gloomy budget

Image by Flickr user Truthout.org

It's no shocker that South Carolina will once again return to the chopping table as it deals with another year of gloomy revenue forecasts, and this time the Legislature will be looking to trim some $800 million (about 15%) from the fiscal year 2011-12 budget.

And it's also no shocker that the revenue shortfall won't be made up in tax hikes by a Republican controlled state — so the question is where will it come from? Looks like health services, Medicaid, and education.

The Statehouse Report has a week old report that does an excellent job painting the scenario (read that here) while the Associated Press has just done a piece that paints a broader picture of where folks are looking to cut (read that here.)

Also worth a footnote is that Gov. Mark Sanford is trying one last time for his vision of reform and dropping taxes and eliminating gaps — but, well, I think we'd all be shocked if his plan is really picked up wholeheartedly, worth reading about though.  

And this surely won't be the last time we talk about this subject, so don't forget to stay current by bookmarking our budget cuts topic page.

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