Back in January, we used Rainy Day Funds as something of a proxy for fiscal conservatism.
Namely, if a governor resisted the urge to dip into the rainy day fund to help shore up deficits, that executive was probably of a more conservative, economic temperament.
By January 4, both Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman had eagerly tapped into their state's funds, while Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels had refused dipping into his.
Meanwhile, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour also resisted the Big Dipper, but to no avail, as his Legislature overruled him to restore funding for higher education.
Another opponent of any such move was Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal who (on December 15th, 2008) issued the following statement:
“We are not considering use of the Rainy Day Fund to address the deficit this year, as it will not help us with the deficit next year."
This morning, Bobby Jindal's saying it's time to revisit the topic, and it's in the name of politically unpopular cuts to higher education.
The Times-Picayune:
A willingness to tap the rainy-day fund marks a policy shift for the governor. He has previously opposed using rainy-day money to plug holes in the operating budget because it's "one-time" money and would only make the state's budget problems worse in future years.
He said he would only support using the money if it's accompanied by a long-term plan from colleges and universities on how to manage their affairs in an era of declining revenues. "It's very important for higher ed to come up with a plan on how to do more with less," Jindal said.
