Like most states, Missouri’s constitution requires balanced budgets–on an annual basis–forcing the governor to make cuts when revenues fall below budget projections. As reported in the Springfield News-Leader and elsewhere, the Missouri Department of Economic Development has announced that the budget for its Division of Tourism must be sliced by 35%, or $7 million, which will result in a loss of 2,500 private sector jobs in the hospitality industry.
For discussion, here are a couple of my reactions to the cuts in spending for tourism.
Why do the taxpayers subsidize Missouri’s tourism industry? Read the rest of this entry
