Mark Twain is sometimes credited with the remark that history doesn’t repeat itself--but it rhymes. (This is a polite version of the Edna St. Vincent-Millay remark that we are fond of quoting around the office: “History isn’t one damn thing after another; it’s the same damn thing over and over again.”)
A key problem with discussions concerning a proposed state budget is that historical perspective is often lost. The proposed budget may be compared to the budget in the current fiscal year, but beyond that, comparisons with budgets from even a few years ago are rarely made. The following talking points attempt to fill that void by examining how spending has increased over the years.
