Debating and prioritizing the wisest use of your tax dollars is the single biggest responsibility you place on us as legislators.

I start any budget with the premise that we are not spending the government’s money, we are spending your money. There is one stark fact about our state’s budget this year: There is less tax money coming into the state this year because of the slow economy and we still must fund important functions like education and healthcare that are based on complex formulas. The challenge is finding the best way to deal with that conflict.

The first thing everyone must remember is that the General Assembly is not Congress. We must approve balanced budgets and we have no way to print money to cover shortfalls. We may spend only what comes in from tax revenues. So when our state is facing another major cut in revenue, we must make cuts in spending. We have cut more than $1.5 billion over the past three years, causing many of my colleagues to seriously examine an important question: “What are the core functions of state government?”

Raising taxes to cover higher budget requests is the easy way out, but history has shown that states that raise taxes during recessions wind up with slower rates of recovery. That is not acceptable.

Plus, in a time when neighbors — such as North Carolina — are furiously raising taxes, it puts our state in a much more competitive position if we leave our taxes low.

Cutting programs is not always popular. We know that. But in lean times, our conservative philosophy dictates that government should live like a family — you have to tighten your belts and spend less. However, that is not the philosophy shared by all of the members of the House.

We will make tough choices about the best places to spend your tax dollars. We are doing everything we can to push every available dollar to public schools and our healthcare system. Those are two of the most critical functions of state government. To hold those harmless, a number of other agencies are facing significant cuts.

While the budget cuts might be painful in the short term, they will make South Carolina a better, more stable place to live and work in the long term.

Two other major items of note this week: First, the House and Senate agreed on the ESC reform legislation that will drastically overhaul the agency. This is a top agenda item that we believe will go a long way toward streamlining government and boosting job creation and job placement.

Second, the House and Senate finally came to terms on the anti-“Employee Free Choice Act” constitutional amendment. This amendment will guarantee employees the right to a secret ballot in union organizing elections in our state. You will have the right to vote on this constitutional amendment during the November elections.

If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (803) 744-3073 or dennismoss@schouse.gov