I’ve continued to push for responsible budgeting and have often highlighted how some of my colleagues desire to spend money unwisely. Their actions result in the cry for “more money” when we haven’t even fully funded things such as schools, buses, and local (county) government per the requirements of law. Tax dollars are collected locally and sent to Columbia to pay for these things, but the funding has been used for other purposes for many years. This also results in local entities raising taxes to meet the shortfalls, effectively taxing us again for those services. The number of Medicaid recipients, on the other hand, has grown by double digits in the last four years alone – gobbling up any new money that comes in. That money, along with our projected surplus, could go toward making certain that our teachers, students, and counties have the resources they need. I fought for, and actually made some progress last year on funding these legal requirements (which led to my first-ever vote for a budget). I’ll push for more progress this year and continue to demand that we live within our means as I do in my own business and personal finances.