Governor Gordon came down hard on the legislature in the article below for trying to put a cap to the governor’s exponential increase in spending since he took office in 2019.
He says we need to ‘protect our people and communities of Wyoming.’
What he fails to tell you is that his budget (since he took office)
- has increased 64% since he took office
- his surplus (excess revenue) has increased $9.1 billion (he has taken in more revenue than expenditures – he is taking more money from you than he needs to run his government to the tune of $9.1 billion)
- his state cash reserve is now $34.6 billion (an increase of $11.5 billion)
Does a 64% increase in revenue take care of our people? They are the ones who have to pay for it.
Does a surplus of excess revenue of $9.1 billion under his leadership sound like he is taking care of you or your communities? He has taken more revenue from ‘the people and communities’ and put it into his personal (state) cash reserve.
His personal (state) cash reserve is now $34.6 billion – increased another $11.5 billion (mainly from excess surplus) during his leadership. But he graciously tells us he is going to give us $913 million over the next two years from that cash reserve. $913 million is a 1.3% return on his investment. But Wyoming’s real inflation rate is 4.6%. His rate of return cannot even keep pace with inflation.
Who is the one who is really endangering the people and communities of Wyoming? The legislature which is trying to put a stop on the governor’s exponential increase in spending and his increasing surpluses? Or the legislature who is trying to give money back to the people and communities who need more money in their pocketbooks to afford things or to pay their employees?
The governor is right – Wyoming is NOT Washington.
-
Washington has
not seen a 64% increase in their revenues since Governor Gordon took office
-
The United States
has a higher GDP and a lower inflation rate than Wyoming
-
The United States
has a higher median household income (in the other 49 states) than in Wyoming
-
Wyoming state
employees earn wages that are 7.9% higher than private sector wages
Wyomingites could only wish they were Washington right now…
Since Governor Gordon took office in 2019:
· His state budget has increased 64% ($6.3 billion in FY19 to $10.3 billion in FY25)
o How many Wyoming households have seen their household incomes increase 64% since he took office?
o ~40% of all Wyomingites live on fixed incomes – how many of them have seen their fixed incomes increase 64% since Governor Gordon took office?
· His surplus (Revenue minus Expenditures) is $9.1 billion ($58.8 billion in state revenue MINUS $49.7 billion in state expenditures)
o $9.1 billion = $62,429 for a Wyoming family of four
o Your governor has taken an EXTRA $9.1 billion from families and companies
o How many of you would like $62,429 back in your pocketbook to pay your employees or to pay your mortgage, rent, food, clothing, insurance, etc.?
o He has intentionally moved an additional $9.1 billion from the private sector into his personal savings account…
· Governor Gordon now has a $34.6 BILLION cash reserve fund
o That cash reserve fund has increased $11.5 billion since he took office 7 years ago
o $34.6 billion = $235,786 for a Wyoming family of four
o Wyoming’s private sector GDP is only about $34 billion – we have as much money in our state cash reserve fund as an entire year’s worth of private sector economy
· University of Wyoming
o The University of Wyoming student population has DECREASED 12%
o But, under Governor Gordon, the University of Wyoming budget has increased 40%
o In ‘the real world,’ if a company’s customer based had dropped 12% and their costs had increased 40%, the company would go out of business
o Can the governor please tell us why he wants to further increase the University of Wyoming budget by 40% when its enrollment has decreased 12%?
The impact of the governor’s economic policies on the State of Wyoming
o Wyoming’s median household income is 8% below the United States average
o Wyoming’s real GDP is 10.3% behind the United States (3.1% vs. 13.4%)
o Wyoming’s real inflation is 7% higher than the United States (30% vs. 23%)
o Low wages…below average GDP…above average inflation
o Why would we keep doing what the governor says
I could continue to go on and on regarding the governor’s non-sensical article, but I think you get the picture…the governor has no clue how to run a state-based economy.
Either the governor has no clue what his budget really is or the people who write his articles on his behalf (his policy director, his deputy policy director, his communications director, his strategic communications director) have no clue what his budget really is.
THE COMMON CITIZENS OF WYOMING ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THE LIES COMING FROM THE GOVERNOR AND HIS SYCOPHANTIC STAFF.
It’s never a good thing when your staff refer to the elected representatives of Wyoming WHO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE as ‘nuts!’
The governor needs to CALM DOWN. His efforts to move Wyoming into a socialist economy are being met with resistance that he is not used to seeing. That’s what socialists do – THEY HATE when they are presented with facts. It drives them NUTS!
Hopefully the policy director, deputy policy director, communications director and strategic communications director will share the numbers above with the governor.
Yours truly,
B Alfred Marshall
P.S. As y’all know, all of the numbers above come from the governor’s own executive branch departments (Audit, Revenue, etc.) – at this point, he can look them up himself…