Preparing for Minnesota Government Shutdown

I am predicting with reasonable confidence that the Minnesota government will be nearing a shut down by the end of the month and a special session will be called. And I also predict with reasonable confidence that the Republican Party obstruction will be the cause. I do hope I am terribly wrong.

Now I will admit that I have a progressive bias about this. I do not deny it. But the evidence is growing that Minnesota's budget problems have little hope of being solved in the conventional way.

The evidence shows that even within the Republican Party, compromises are not being pursued. The GOP legislative leadership has pronouced a "my way or the highway" method (and that highway is filled with potholes that can't be fixed).

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has made it clear that he would like to take a balanced approach to solving the budget. He has already proposed a number of revenue cuts—more than I would have liked myself. And he has already agreed with the legislature that repayment of the school IOU is probably not possible in the current biennium. But he has been clear that some kind of new revenue has to be part of the solution. Whether it is increased taxes on the top 2%, or new gambling proposal, or even a broadening of the sales tax with a reduction in rate, or closing tax loopholes, or eliminating some deductions, etc., etc.—all of these potential compromises have been rejected en masse because the current GOP leadership is insisting that this $5 billion deficit be balanced on cuts alone.

On this blog, I had planned on not trying to be overtly partisan. I wanted to talk policy issues in a general way. But what is happening in St. Paul is not government of the people; it has become government of the Party. The Republican Party may say that principles are their guide for legislative action, but its essence is just an ideology that benefits the few at the expense of the many.

That shutdown and special session (with the additional cost to "we the people") would in all likelihood happen after the regular session ends on May 23. Personally, I had hoped that compromise would win the day. But unfortunately, compromise is not a word in the current GOP vocabulary.

-Dave Mindeman, mnpACT!