Stories Straight?

Minnesota DFLers are trying to ding the Governor over his "no new taxes" pledge.

Seems that local property taxes might rise.

DFLers contend that Pawlenty's "no new taxes" policy while erasing budget shortfalls is a sham because it applies only to income and sales taxes collected by state government. Pawlenty's preference for budget cuts to erase deficits in recent years has reduced local government aid and other property tax relief measures, leading to a recent spike in property taxes, especially for homeowners, DFLers contend.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing by itself; it makes it clear to property owners exactly how much their local government costs.

Still, I have to wonder - did the DFL really think about this?

Pawlenty's office responded to the event by issuing a statement from press secretary Brian McClung, who said the governor was "surprised and pleased to hear that the DFL is concerned about holding the line on taxes." McClung challenged DFLers to support Pawlenty's proposal to impose new limits on increases on property taxes, which he described as "entirely a local tax." McClung also urged citizens to put pressure on local governments to reduce spending and claimed that the projected increases "are not outside the historic range."

Of course, we need to exert pressure not just to reduce spending, but to reduce spending on government. Remember - the bureaucrats' standard response to spending cuts is to cut spending on whatever faces the public - libraries, school programs, etc - while leaving the bureaucracy and its perks untouched.

Posted by Mitch at November 30, 2004 06:44 AM | TrackBack