Dear Editor: Is Montana's Budget on Fire?

Dear Editor,

Is Montana's budget "on fire"? Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian special interest group, would have you think so. And it is sending out postcards and online ads claiming that Republicans who worked with Governor Gianforte to produce a balanced budget are "pouring gasoline on the fire."

The problem is that the "accountability information" AFP is peddling is false.

Did the state budget "explode" by $16.5 billion? NO! That number is the two-year appropriation in the General Appropriations Act (HB 2). It is not how much the budget increased. The actual increase in the tota...