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Health & Fitness

Minnesota Can Meet the Budget Challenge—It Only Has To Be Asked

If the leadership of this state would simply ask the citizens to rise to the challenge, they would come back with a resounding yes.

Alright, let's cut to the chase. Let's examine the Minnesota GOP argument about the budget.  Are they right or are they wrong?

The first main point that they always make is that we spend too much. OK, is there evidence that supports that? Well, if we are spending too much then one would assume that their budget would reflect a number of cuts for unnecessary items. If we overspend, then let's get rid of the fluff. The extras. The waste.

But when you look at their budget critically, that is not what we see. What occurs is a continuation of the IOU in education to the tune of $1.8 billion. Integration funding is eliminated and used to shore up other education areas. In health care, the GAMC funding for the poor is eliminated. Other recipients are dumped into programs that require huge deductibles that they obviously can't afford. So more people will go without health care in a state that has prided itself on working toward universal coverage. In transportation, transit funding is cut severely at a time when gas prices are pushing people to look for alternative commute solutions. 

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These are not cutbacks in areas of fluff. These are mainstay programs. I don't think any Minnesotan wants the social safety net cut like this, especially in hard economic times. And education and transportation are high-priority needs for a state that thrives on a highly educated, mobile work force. 

So, the "spend too much" theme just does not hold water.

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The second point revolves around the Republican argument that taxing the high income earners will be a "job killer." As I have pointed out repeatedly this argument is simply not true. The GOP wants us to think of this as some kind of logic, but there is no evidence that I can find that supports this. Businesses that use pass-through income on their taxes make up a small percentage of the people affected by any new tax bracket. 

On the national level, the Congressional Budget Office (which is widely held to be a nonpartisan analysis) said that tax hikes on wealthier Americans would be less of a burden to the economy than severe budget cuts. A number of prize-winning economists concur. The "job killing" idea is a false premise. And the idea that businesses are going to leave the state over taxes is an extreme stretch of the imagination. Businesses come and businesses go, but tax burden as a mitigating factor is way down the list. A well-educated work force and an efficient means of delivering goods and services are much more important, as well as the simple answer—he bottom line of making a profit. Certainly taxes are one part of this equation, but hardly the most critical. Business wants efficiency and low cost of production.  If the GOP wants to look at the whole business picture then they need to consider the property tax pressure they have exerted as well.

The third point in the Republican argument is that we should "live within our means" and spend no more than we take in.  And that would be a valid argument if they considered the budget on a needs basis rather than the simple monetary basis. During the last budget cycle, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty exhausted his bag of gimmicks and kicked the can of "needs" in government down the road. He used IOUs in education and one time federal money to meet basic budgetary requirements. 

The budget may sit with a 6% increase as the leadership points out, but budget needs have not been met for some time. And there is also little mention of inflation and increased state services during a recession. Basing your argument on raw numbers is insulting to the citizens of Minnesota. Education requires investment. Infrastructure requires investment. Maintaining the safety net requires investment.  

The mantra is that we need to grow the economy. Well, the economy needs to have its needs met as well. It needs education, transportation and a healthy environment. To meet those requirements is the essence of our budget goals... not just an arbitrary dollar limit.

And finally, the argument goes that we do not want government to get bigger. And again, that is not the question. Our focus should be that we want government to work. The Republican argument never really changes—good times or bad. If we have a surplus, give the money back. If we have a sputtering economy, then cut taxes. But government and the private sector need to work in tandem to meet the needs of the state. Government has to fund the basic needs of the state as a whole. Business expects to build on what the government lays the groundwork for. 

Think of the businesses that have been developed from research at the University of Minnesota. Think of the infrastucture needs that are being neglected for lack of money. The highways and bridges that were built many years ago to produce the great interstate highway system—a system that has fueled commerce for decades, yet we refuse to fix it. Think of the education system that, in the past, has been the envy of the country, but now staggers under budgets that are inadequate and that have no vision of the future.

The argument is that government is big enough. We do not need new revenue. Well, you can argue about where the revenue comes from, but to argue that we don't need new money of some kind, is austerity run amuck. 

I refuse to believe that this state can't afford to maintain its leadership status in this country. Minnesota has always been forward thinking and open to all possibilities. 

If the leadership of this state would simply ask the citizens to rise to the challenge, they would come back with a resounding yes. 

Whether it be taxes on the wealthier citizens or a sales tax restructure or new gambling options or closing loopholes—whatever the revenue might be—if you explain to Minnesotans that we need it to keep Minnesota as a place to lead and look towards, they will support it 100%.

We may have a struggling economy, but we are not poor or destitute. This state has risen to every challenge. The citizens of this state only have to be asked to meet it.

-Dave Mindeman, mnpACT!

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