Lawmaker Wants Different Answers

Air Date:01/20/2011

By Kealey Bultena

Some legislators say Governor Dennis Daugaard’s proposal to cut all state government by ten percent is a good plan. But other lawmakers are not as supportive.

Democrat Susan Wismer is on the House Appropriations committee. When it comes to the state’s budget problems, she says some lawmakers are asking the wrong questions.

"Instead of just talking about the dollars that are available, we need to talk about what services we think we need to provide in this state. Instead of talking about a ten percent cut, we should be talking about what will this do? Really, do we want our smallest schools to survive in South Dakota, or don’t we? Do we want our nursing homes in our small communities there, or don’t we? Because this will have the effect of closing a lot of those vulnerable institutions," Wismer says.

Representative Wismer says trying to eliminate enough wasteful spending to balance the budget won’t work. Wismer says that means programs will suffer cuts. 

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