The Myth Of The $7.5 Billion State Budget

I have run into this for years, and it never fails to irritate the heck out of me. Are people so willing to believe falsehoods and misrepresentations of reality?

Allow me to explain. (I'll use 2009 budget figures here, as they're the latest I have readily available.)

A recent article in the Anniston Star made the claim that the state's General Fund budget was approximately $1.6 billion dollars a year. I've heard similar claims about our Education Trust Fund being less than $6 billion... for a total state budget of around $7.5 billion.

Don't believe it. The claims are total hogwash, and anchored in a firm grounding of willing self-deception.


You see, in each budget there are two basic types of funds allocated: earmarked and non-earmarked. Earmarked funds must be spent on specific items, while non-earmarked funds can be spent on whatever the Legislature wants to spend it.

If you look at the 2009 budget document, you'll find that the unearmarked funds in the General Budget totaled $1.8 billion... a number suspiciously close to the Star's $1.6 billion figure. The ACTUAL amount of money spent in the 2009 General Fund budget was $11.8 billion... but hey, money that is statutorily earmarked just doesn't count, now does it?

It's not just the Anniston Star that willingy makes this mistake. I've heard LEGISLATORS talk about their GF budget coming in under $2 billion, as well. It's malarky, but it sure makes them sound like they don't have a lot of money, doesn't it?

In 2009, the state of Alabama spent more than $24.4 billion, $11.8 billion in the General Fund and $12.6 billion in the Education Trust Fund. And if you'd like to see summaries of how much money the state has spent over the past decade or so, complete with links to the budget documents, you can find that data here.

The argument goes that, since the smaller amount is all that anybody really has control over (the rest being earmarked ahead of time), then it's reasonable to treat that smaller amount as the total amount. Personally, I think that's garbage. If the state spends the money, earmarked or non-earmarked, then we need to count that money when we refer to the budget.

So, the next time you hear somebody claim the General Fund is less than $2 billion, you know enough to call the speaker (writer?) a liar and tell them the TRUE figure is far closer to $12 billion than $2 billion.

Responsible government STARTS with honestly dealing with the budget numbers, no matter what they are.