Missouri’s state budget has been propped up by a flood of federal dollars, creating a mirage of prosperity with record-high spending on schools, roads, and healthcare. But for the farmers, small business owners, and families of Chariton County—living in tight-knit towns like Keytesville, Salisbury, Mendon, and Brunswick—this federal cash has delivered little lasting relief. Missouri’s reckless budget overspending, fueled by temporary federal funds, is steering rural communities toward a fiscal crisis. With up to 40% of the state’s budget tied to federal money, the state’s addiction to Washington’s handouts spells disaster when—not if—the federal spigot shuts off. Worse, corporate welfare tax cuts that favor big businesses over regular Missourians have gutted the state’s ability to stand on its own, leaving Chariton County’s rural heartland facing slashed services, crumbling infrastructure, and a betrayal of conservative values.
Federal Cash: A Mirage for Rural Missouri
Missouri’s budget has soared to unprecedented levels, reaching $48.399 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, $51.85 billion in FY 2024, and $51.2 billion in FY 2025, driven by a surge of federal transfers. In FY 2022, Missouri pocketed $21.7 billion in federal funds, making up 31.8% of state and local revenues—5.3 percentage points above the national average. This included $2.7 billion in flexible American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the state and $2 billion for local governments, plus billions more for education, healthcare, and infrastructure. For rural Missourians in Chariton County, this sounded like a lifeline to fix long-standing issues like unreliable broadband, scarce healthcare, and potholed roads. But the reality has been a disappointment.
Chariton County, a proud agricultural hub with a 2024 population of 7,403, struggles with limited internet access, inadequate healthcare, and aging infrastructure. Federal funds promised relief, but much of the money has been siphoned to urban centers or temporary programs that barely address rural needs. For example, $1.5 billion was allocated in FY 2024 for broadband expansion, and Chariton Valley’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) project received $8 million to connect 5,002 locations across eight counties, including Chariton. Yet, many rural areas outside Keytesville still lack high-speed internet, leaving farmers unable to access online markets or precision agriculture technology. The state’s sluggish rollout means full coverage won’t arrive until at least 2027, if ever.
Education funding, a major beneficiary of federal dollars, saw $4.5 billion in FY 2023 to address COVID-related learning loss, including $328 million for school transportation. But Chariton County’s schools in Salisbury and Brunswick are shortchanged by Missouri’s funding formula, which favors larger, urban districts. Rural schools, with smaller enrollments, receive less per-pupil funding, and the end of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds in FY 2024 threatens a 3% funding drop. This could force cuts to teachers or programs in Mendon and Keytesville, hitting rural kids hardest.
Healthcare is an even bigger concern. The $2.5 billion for Medicaid expansion in FY 2023 covered 275,000 Missourians, but Chariton County has no hospitals and few clinics. Residents must drive to Columbia or Kansas City for care, costing time and money. Federal funds have propped up Medicaid payments, but rural healthcare infrastructure remains neglected. The $700 million for home- and community-based services in FY 2023 went mostly to urban providers, leaving Chariton County’s seniors and disabled with little local support. With 2 in 5 children in the county relying on Medicaid, this urban bias is a raw deal for rural families.
Overspending: A Sellout to Corporate Welfare
Missouri’s budget is a house of cards, built on federal handouts and undermined by corporate welfare tax cuts that tilt the playing field against regular Missourians and the middle class. The state’s $6 billion surplus in FY 2022, fueled by federal aid and strong tax receipts, was a golden opportunity to invest in rural priorities like Chariton County’s roads, schools, and clinics. Instead, lawmakers pushed through corporate tax breaks, costing $579 million a year in general revenue, favoring big businesses over small farmers and working families. These giveaways have left Missouri’s budget dangerously dependent on federal funds, with no plan for when they run dry.
Medicaid expansion, enacted in 2021 via a constitutional amendment, covers 325,000 Missourians with a 90% federal match, but Congress is eyeing a cut to 60%, leaving Missouri with a $750 million bill. In Chariton County, where Medicaid is a lifeline for rural families, this could mean less access to care, forcing folks to skip treatments or drive hours for help. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), serving 650,000 Missourians (including 1 in 10 statewide), faces a proposed 5–25% state cost share, costing $400 million and threatening food aid for rural families in Chariton County, where poverty lingers at 12.6%.
Transportation, vital for Chariton County’s farmers hauling crops on Highway 24 or Route 5, got a mere $100 million for rural roads in FY 2024 and $20 million in FY 2025. Meanwhile, urban projects like the $2.8 billion I-70 expansion soak up funds, leaving rural roads battered by farm equipment. This urban-rural divide shows Jefferson City’s priorities: city commuters over rural growers. The state’s reliance on provider taxes, like the Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA), pulls in $1.4 billion in federal Medicaid funds, but a proposed 3% cap could cost $2 billion, threatening rural healthcare providers in Chariton County.
Chariton County’s Raw Deal
You might think Chariton County got little from federal funds, and you’re partly right. Some benefits trickled in, but they’ve been temporary, poorly targeted, and dwarfed by urban spending. The USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program gave $1.1 million to nine Missouri projects in 2021, helping 25,726 rural residents, but none went directly to Chariton County. The RDOF broadband project is a step forward, but it’s a slow crawl, leaving many households unconnected. Schools in Keytesville and Salisbury received some federal funds, but the $375 million for school transportation in FY 2025 doesn’t stretch far in small districts. Healthcare investments, like the $43 million for the University of Missouri’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, help livestock producers but do nothing for human healthcare access in a county with no hospitals.
Economic development funds, like $15 million for rural small business grants in FY 2023, haven’t reached Chariton County’s family farms, which struggle against rising land prices and corporate competition. Federal funds have been a short-term patch, not a long-term fix, for rural Missouri’s challenges.
The Federal Cliff: A Rural Catastrophe
The federal cash flow won’t last. Republican lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Jason Smith and U.S. Rep. Bob Onder are pushing to rein in federal spending, with Medicaid reforms and work requirements on the table. A January 2025 federal funding freeze, though reversed, disrupted Medicaid and child care subsidies, showing how fragile the system is. If the Medicaid match drops to 60%, Missouri’s $750 million shortfall will hit Chariton County hard, cutting healthcare for kids and seniors. A $400 million SNAP cut could strip food aid from 150,000 Missourians, including rural families struggling to put meals on the table.
Public sentiment is turning against federal overspending. A 2025 AP-NORC poll found 90% of Republicans and over 50% of Democrats think the government wastes money on programs like Medicaid. This pressure could lead to broader cuts, leaving rural Missouri to fend for itself. When federal funds dry up, Chariton County faces a grim future. Missouri’s balanced-budget requirement means spending must match revenue, but corporate welfare tax cuts have gutted general revenue. A $2.1 billion supplemental budget request in FY 2025 already signals shortfalls in Medicaid and education. Rural communities could see:
- Healthcare Collapse: Medicaid cuts could leave Chariton County’s kids and seniors without care, with no local hospitals to fill the gap.
- Hunger Crisis: SNAP reductions could hit thousands of rural families, worsening food insecurity in Mendon and Brunswick.
- School Struggles: Losing ESSER funds could force teacher layoffs or program cuts in Keytesville and Salisbury, hurting rural kids’ education.
- Crumbling Infrastructure: Underfunded roads and broadband will choke Chariton County’s farm economy, raising costs for growers.
A Populist Conservative Fight
Missouri’s budget mess is a betrayal of conservative principles—self-reliance, local control, and fairness for the middle class. Jefferson City’s addiction to federal handouts and corporate welfare tax cuts has sold out rural Missouri. Chariton County, the heart of our state’s agricultural heritage, deserves better. Here’s how to fight back:
- Prioritize Rural Needs: Demand funds for clinics, roads, and broadband in Chariton County, not urban boondoggles like I-70.
- End Corporate Welfare: Scrap the $579 million in annual tax breaks that favor big businesses over Missouri’s middle class and small farmers.
- Plan for Federal Cuts: Build rural-focused contingency budgets to protect Medicaid, SNAP, and schools in Keytesville and Salisbury.
- Amplify Rural Voices: As Brian Reisinger argues in Land Rich, Cash Poor, rural legislators should form a caucus to fight for Chariton County’s interests, not urban elites or federal bureaucrats.
Rural communities are the backbone of America, but they’re being squeezed by policies that favor corporate interests over family farms.
— Brian Reisinger, Land Rich, Cash Poor
Missouri’s budget overspending, fueled by federal dollars, has left Chariton County with scraps while urban areas and corporate elites reap the rewards. Temporary funds for broadband, schools, and healthcare have helped, but they’re too little, too late, and too urban-focused to make a real difference. When the federal spigot shuts off, Chariton County’s farmers, families, and small towns will face a fiscal crisis—cut services, less healthcare, and struggling schools. Populist conservatives must demand an end to federal dependency, reject corporate welfare tax cuts, and fight for rural Missouri’s heartland. Without action, Keytesville, Salisbury, Mendon, and Brunswick will bear the brunt of Missouri’s budget blunder, proving rural America is too often forgotten.
