Related: Montana Supreme Court says corporations are not people
"With big state surplus, Montana bucks US trend" by Christopher Palmeri, January 1, 2012
Montana was one of only two states to report surpluses from 2009 to 2011, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The other was North Dakota....
When it comes to the surplus, Don Cowles, president of Wild West Shirt Co. of Bozeman, says Montana lawmakers deserve more credit than the governor. For instance, it was the Legislature that opposed Brian Schweitzer’s proposal to give state employees a 4 percent raise over two years.
“The reason the budget has a surplus is the Legislature put a lid on spending,’’ Cowles said. “They didn’t approve a pay increase for employees. They didn’t give the universities the money they asked for. They really held back on their spending.’’
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