Lawmakers should be 'prudent' with spending, tax cuts, Meacham says
By M. Scott Carter
The Norman Transcript
Last fall, former Governor David Boren -- now the president of the University of Oklahoma -- urged legislators to put a moratorium on future tax cuts.
"I think we ought to have a moratorium on tax reductions right now," Boren, a Democrat, told the Associated Press in September of 2007. "I think we're bumping the limits and I think we certainly don't need to proceed down that path."
Since then, other lawmakers, including Moore Representative Paul Wesselhoft, have taken a "wait and see" attitude about addition revenue reduction.
"Don't get me wrong, I support tax cuts," Wesselhoft, a Republican said. "But I think we need to see what the effect of our recent cuts will be. We need to see the whole picture and what our needs are."
Advice that Meacham supports.
"I believe that soon, we're going to get to a point our rate of growth is not fast enough to keep up with our rate of spending," he said. "And when we hit the point were those two lines cross, we've gotta decide 'where am I gonna cut?' We could be making tough some tough decisions soon, as soon as two years."