Let me ask you a question. When you go home to make up your budget or balance your checkbook and find you have a little extra cash than you planned, do you make plans to go out and spend it once? And then spend it again?And then maybe spend that amount one more time until you're in the hole instead of ahead?I know I don't, and I'm guessing you don't, either. But there is one man who'd like to do that with the state's surplus, and that's Sen. Tim Mathern.

Already he's introduced two plans, one for a state-owned refinery that would cost upwards of $1.5 billion, and another for a $1 billion "tax plan."He also has a tuition plan that would cost upwards of $89 million, plus a whole lot of other plans he hasn't even stopped to consider the cost of, yet.

All the while, he frowns upon the prospect of a $1.2 billion surplus that the state will have, thanks much to the tremendous economic growth we've had in the past few years. What's ironic is he's tried to pass more than that in taxes over his career. He sure seems to hate that surplus, but he's shown he sure does like to spend it. You tell me if this sounds like sound fiscal policy.

So when Sen. Mathern says he's going to give you a tax break with one hand, I'd suggest you pay close attention to what he's doing with the other. He's a tax-and-spend liberal, and that's something that's never going to change.