Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe’s Hypocritical “Capitol Blame Game”

State GOP Calls on Governor Beebe to Stop Saying “Duh” and Start Cutting Waste

Republican Party of Arkansas; Little Rock, Ark. – Governor Mike Beebe’s hypocritical blame game reached new heights on Wednesday when he faulted $35 million in tax cuts passed by lawmakers for a shortfall in funding for foster parents. Unsurprisingly, in April Governor Beebe flaunted the six tax cuts in his weekly column, writing that legislators “delivered a tax-cut package that will bring relief to Arkansas's working families.”

“It’s hypocritical and silly to criticize legislators for tax cuts his party supported and he signed into law,” said Republican Party of Arkansas Communications Director Katherine Vasilos. “The Democratic Party of Arkansas holds the majority in the Arkansas House and Senate, and three of the six tax cuts were sponsored by Democrat legislators. If the Governor is serious about not reducing the reimbursement for therapeutic foster parents, then he should lead by example and cut wasteful and inefficient spending directly under his control.”

Today, the state Republican Party calls on Governor Mike Beebe to eliminate waste by looking at three specific areas:

1. Governor Beebe’s Wasteful Cell Phone Budget:  Governor Mike Beebe’s office pays $60,777.26 annually for 70 cell phones, although he only has 56 employees.
2. High Ranking Officials Still Double Dipping: Approximately 40 high ranking state employees appointed directly by Governor Beebe are collecting two pay checks for one job, because the Governor refuses to address the problem.
3. Reduce Department of Human Services Conference Budget: The Department of Human Services requested and had appropriated over $1 million for conference and travel for the 2012 fiscal year.

“The people of Arkansas deserve more than a childish, three-letter response of ‘duh’ from the Governor. We hope Beebe will throw aside the partisanship and bitterness and be responsible in cutting government waste rather than hurting foster-care families,” said Vasilos.

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Beebe’s Hypocritical Blame Game“Gov. Mike Beebe faulted the $35 million in tax cuts approved during the legislative session, saying lawmakers tampered with his balanced budget without understanding the consequences of what they were doing.” (Sarah D. Wire, “Foster-care cut starts Capitol blame game,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/24/11)

Beebe: “She [Rep. Donna Hutchinson] voted for these extra tax cuts, she and her colleagues pushed these extra tax cuts.” (Ibid)
Beebe’s Tax Cut Hypocrisy“While so many of our sister states are responding to growing budget deficits with higher taxes and slashing cuts to critical services, this legislature approved a balanced budget and delivered a tax-cut package that will bring relief to Arkansas's working families.” (Governor Mike Beebe, “Another Balanced Budget,” Weekly Column and Radio Address, 4/1/11)

“I signed six new tax cuts into law, including an additional one-half-cent cut to the sales tax on groceries…In addition to this, I signed three other tax cuts specifically designed to keep more money in the hands of working families. These include raising the threshold on the application of used-car tax from a purchase price of $2,500 to $4,000; lowering the income tax on working single parents with children; and providing an annual sales-tax holiday for back-to-school purchases…We also continued our efforts to provide targeted tax cuts that make Arkansas businesses more competitive and that spur economic development. To do this, we further cut the sales tax on utilities for manufacturers, and expanded tourism tax incentives for the Arkansas Delta.”  (Ibid)
“Duh” It’s Not My FaultBeebe: “We got some legislators running around here saying, ‘I can’t believe we are cutting money to foster parents.’ Duh. Duh.” (Sarah D. Wire, “Foster-care cut starts Capitol blame game,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/24/11)
Beebe’s Name-callingBeebe: “She [Rep. Donna Hutchinson] is at best disingenuous and at worst, something much, much worse.” (Sarah D. Wire, “Foster-care cut starts Capitol blame game,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/24/11)
Beebe’s Cell Phone Waste“An interesting blog post was found the Arkansas Federation of College Republican's website…According to the post, Governor Beebe's office pays for 70 cell phone lines while the office only houses 56 employees…In a list published by the Arkansas Times, the Arkansas Governor's office pays for 70 cell phone lines per month totaling $60,777.26 for one year. According to Arkansas FOI website found that Governor Beebe's office does indeed house 56 employees.” (Spree Hilliard, “70 Cell Phone Lines for 56 Employees,” River Valley Leader, 6/21/11)
Double DippingIn a 2010 report by the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, auditors found 42 agency employees appointed directly by Governor Mike Beebe still collecting two pay checks for one job. (Roger A. Norman, “Review of Retired/Rehired Agency Directors and Grade 99 State Employees,” Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, 3/12/10)

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Tags: Arkansas, Governor, Mike Beebe, double dipping, hypocrite, tax cut, Tax Cut Hypocrisy, blame game, name calling, cell phones, RPA, Republican Party of Arkansas To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!