It is anticipated that the state of Montana will have a surplus due to an excess of tax collections. In my campaign efforts I have been surveying the voters for Senate District 48 on how they feel teh state should handle this issue. The choices that were given were:
1. Give it back to the taxpayers in the form of rebates
2. Spend it on new programs
3. Give some back and spend some on new programs
4. Other- need more information
There was a tie between option 3 and option 2. When asked which programs they felt needed the money, the most common program chosen was education. Education seems to come up the most when speaking directly with the voters of SD48. The demographics for this senate district are:
Average Age of Population: 32
Average Household Size: 2.3
Average Household Income: $32,072
With this information in mind, I am reccomending that the following be done in regards to the state's surplus.
Once the exact amount of the surplus is determined and agreed on, the state should consider:
1. Retaining 1/2 of the surplus and looking into investing it into higher interest bearing securities (either public or private).
2. Refund the remaining half to the taxpayers of Montana since it is their money.
I have yet to hear of someone at the state level reccomend that we not spend some. We need to set some aside in case if we were to have a major natural disaster i.e. floods, avalanches, fires, etc. It is better to be safe than sorry. What are your thoughts?
