Gov. Blunt's Conservative Prescription

Governor Blunt lays out a plan for Conservative rebirth and cites Missouri as an example of early progress towards their goal.

I am the first Republican governor in 80 years with a Republican House and a Republican Senate, but in 2006 we experienced only small losses in our General Assembly, and Republicans still command large majorities in both houses. In a difficult year nationally, we even beat incumbent Democrats. And some of our policies explain why.

• When we ran for office we told Missourians that government needs to be smaller and more accountable.

• In just three decades, the size of Missouri’s government grew from $1.4 billion to $19.4 billion. In 1971, there were a little over 40,000 state workers. By 2004 there were more than 64,000.

• But in Missouri we committed to change and did what governments seldom do: we began to cut cost. In many departments we did not just reduce the rate of growth, we reduced actual costs. We have created a culture where leaders and managers know that they will be rewarded for cutting their budget and reducing their size.

• We actually have reduced the number of state employees. The fiscal 2007 recommended full-time employee total is under 60,000 for the first time in nearly a decade and I am committed to not going above that number during my service as governor..