Balancing Arizona’s budget can be as simple as stacking boxes of tissues, Secretary of State Ken Bennett said Thursday.

The newly appointed state official spoke about the budget to College Republicans at ASU, using the tissue boxes to help clarify where the state’s money goes.

“We don’t have a choice but to turn around and get the budget balanced,” he said.

Bennett used tissue boxes as a visual aid, with each box representing a specified amount of money.

Each tissue box was placed in a category: K-12 education, higher education, health and welfare, environment, workers compensation, lottery and miscellaneous expenditures.

Arizona’s total state spending is $27 billion per year, with a majority of the state’s funding going to health and welfare, and education systems, Bennett said.

“All states are at one level or another in a situation like this,” Bennett said referring to the state’s budget crisis. “Unfortunately, Arizona [has a larger] problem compared to other states.”

This is because of state revenues that went down by $1.6 billion in the past year while spending went up by $1.5 billion, Bennett said.

“I don’t think we’ll get these numbers back in structural balance in [just] one year, however,” he said. “If we just go back to 2007’s spending level, we can accomplish a large part of what needs to happen.”

The state’s spending level in 2007 was $9.6 billion, Bennett said.

In 2008, the economy started to slow, and instead of getting the expected $9.8 billion in revenue in 2007, only $9.6 billion came in.

Political science freshman Billy Schneider said Bennett’s talk put a lot into perspective for him about why the state is in a budget crunch.

“I never realized what went on with the budget until now,” Schneider said. “[Bennett] definitely put it in a very clear way with the tissue box visual.”

Political science senior Benjamin Stewart, president of College Republicans at ASU, said Bennett clarified a complicated subject for the group members.

“The budget is so complex — when you’re spending so much money, it’s kind of hard to fathom,” Stewart said.

Stewart said he was surprised to see how much money the state actually spends on health care and education.

“I’m not all for cutting a ton of higher-education money, but I think there obviously has to be a little here and there,” he said.

Stewart added that the visual representations that Bennett provided offered clarity, which is important for any college student to understand, especially with tuition costs.

“Everyone has to become fiscally responsible,” Stewart said. “I think people need to be educated.”

Bennett was appointed by and succeeds Jan Brewer as secretary of state since she took over as Arizona’s governor for Janet Napolitano on Jan. 20.

Bennett, who graduated from ASU with an accounting degree in 1984, has been involved in Arizona government since first serving on the Prescott City Council. In 1998, he ran for the Arizona Legislature and served as a state senator.

Bennett also said that as secretary of state, second in line to be governor, he hopes to be more involved with the budgeting.

“Gov. Brewer wanted me to be more of a lieutenant governor,” Bennett said.

Bennett said he is confident the state’s financial problem will work out eventually.

“We’ve got to get the economy going again, and we’ve got to get control of our spending,” Bennett said.

Reach the reporter at brianna.mattox@asu.edu.