Even Small Cuts Matter

by Kate Piercy As we argue in our Spotlight on Spending series, which aims to highlight wasteful or ineffective government spending in Illinois, looking at every type of spending, from smaller to bigger amounts, and asking “Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money,” does matter. David Vaught, state budget director for Illinois, also recognizes the importance...

by Kate Piercy

As we argue in our Spotlight on Spending series, which aims to highlight wasteful or ineffective government spending in Illinois, looking at every type of spending, from smaller to bigger amounts, and asking “Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money,” does matter.

David Vaught, state budget director for Illinois, also recognizes the importance of looking into all levels of spending, and talked to The State Journal Register about the “nuts and bolts” of state spending, where Illinois needs to look for cuts, and areas where it can be more efficient with tax dollars.

For example, Vaught explained, “The state reimbursement rate for private vehicles is 50 cents per mile, while the cost of driving a state car was only 39 cents a mile. So one of the cuts we want to do is reduce that mileage reimbursement rate to 39 cents so we don’t create a false incentive for the use of private vehicles by employees instead of the cheaper alternatives. That’s just a $6 million cut but, you know, we’ve got to find a lot more of those $6 and $10 million cuts.”

It may “only” be $6 million, but every penny, dime and dollar counts, and taxpayers have to count every penny for their own family budgets; the state should do the same.

Only when Illinois starts evaluating every item of spending, whether it’s necessary and the best use of taxpayers’ money, will the state have a chance at turning around its budget situation.

This is not easy work, but it is crucial. For more on Vaught’s i