$2 billion mistake

In an article dated Feb. 19, state budget director Steve Anderson mentions there was a mistake in his calculations of the Kansas state budget to the tune of $2 billion. If that is not upsetting enough, Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce said he didn't see the mistake as significant -- essentially saying it's no big deal, it happens all the time.

Yes, if he were part of the federal government with a multi-trillion dollar debt, it would be pocket change, but this is our own Kansas state government -- $2 billions is a lot of money to miscalculate. The state of Kansas could have almost made up the $2.3 billion they lost in the KPERS pension program in 2009, and maybe even given these former employees a raise in their pension, which they've only done once in the last 20 years.

And, if his statement is correct, that these kinds of errors happen all the time, that certainly puts a bunch of confidence in the people running our state financial affairs.

It must be said that the person that caught the error was not a state employee.

We're living in scary times.

Tim Schumacher

Hays