Joel Sawyer Budget Quotations

This is about whether the House is going to pass a budget this year that limits state spending and shows sympathy for the hardworking taxpayers of our state.

When Dan Cooper puts together a budget that shatters state spending records, I can understand why he's sensitive about someone looking over his shoulder. But Gov. Sanford's job is to look out for the hard-working taxpayers of this state, and that's always going to be his top priority.

We don't believe the House plan represents a true spending limit. This budget is completely at odds with what the House indicated we could expect.

You can have one budget that grows government at 10 percent or break the budget into three different bills, but the bottom line is this does not seem to be in keeping with the notion of a true spending limit.

That doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense given this year's budget situation.