Game On!
By Mitch Berg
Mark Dayton vetoes the GOP’s $900 million budget proposal yesterday. His stated reason – at least, the one for consumption by the not-very-well-informed was that Dayton didn’t want to “…force local government to raise property taxes”.
Which is lunacy, of course; as we’ve discussed in this space many times, “Local Government Aid” is merely a money-laundering scam to fob city spending (by spendthrift DFL city councils cut from the same cloth as Mark Dayton) off on state taxpayers; since the largely-GOP-voting cities outside the top five – mostly outer ‘burbs and outstate – rarely actually get LGA. Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Duluth get vastly more LGA per capita than the rest of the state.
Why shouldn’t cities be accountable to their own voters for their own spending?
But I digress. This is the game Dayton wants to play?
Dayton wants to turn Minnesota into a cold California, taxing and spending and telling the taxpayers, especially the business and investing classes ,”like it or lump it”.
Senate Majority leader Koch has the Governor pretty well dialed in:
Dayton made a lot of noises during the campaign about “working across the aisle”. I figured at the time it was just wind in sails; he figured he was going to have at least one friendly chamber in the Legislature.
The Governor’s special-interest masters don’t want to give on a single dollar.
Let’s get ready for a shutdown!
February 11th, 2011 at 8:15 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mitchpberg, narnshow. narnshow said: Dayton: "Let's make Minnesota a cold California!" http://bit.ly/geybQA #stribpol #narn2 – "be happy to pay for a better MN – OR ELSE!" […]
February 11th, 2011 at 8:55 am
Bring. it. On.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:03 am
If we shut down the government, let’s start by turning off the lights in the governor’s office. There doesn’t seem to be much work going on there.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:35 am
Good idea, Kermit!
Mad mark will most likely interpret that as imminent danger to him and his staff, then quit!
February 11th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Government shutdowns make baby moonbats cry.
Why do wingnuts hate teh baby moonbats?
February 11th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Yes, shut the government down, but for goodness’ sake, please, GOP, START TELLING WHERE THAT $6.2 billion deficit is coming from!
February 11th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
“he figured he was going to have at least one friendly chamber in the Legislature.”
The historic change in the leg. was a rebuke by the electorate of the spendthift days of the past. PogoStik and Big MAK are no longer driving the bus, and Mad Mark must soon realize that “one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do”.
Put him in the position where he has to shut government down. Many people thought things managed themselves pretty well when T-Paw had to do it in facing down big spending. For Mad Mark it’s the opposite, shutting it down for not getting all the spending he lusts for. LET HIM OWN THAT!
“His stated reason – at least, the one for consumption by the not-very-well-informed was that Dayton didn’t want to “…force local government to raise property taxes”. Which is lunacy, of course……”
I think soon enough we’ll come to associate Mad Mark with the Inspector Drefus character from the Pink Panther movies. WACK-A-DOO
February 11th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
He WILL have a relapse before the legislature re-convines in 2012. Hazelden get ready to have Moonshine.
February 11th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Maybe we can move the Governor’s Mansion out to the outer acreage at Hazelden. Instead of a legislative session, we can have “group.” We could make “12 Steps” a Legislative office. The list goes on….
February 11th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Poor Mark. If you are going to steal an election, timing is critical.
February 11th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Hey DFL, I bet you wish Big MAK had won the primary huh?
February 12th, 2011 at 7:27 am
“…since the largely-GOP-voting cities outside the top five – mostly outer ‘burbs and outstate – rarely actually get LGA.”
Then why this: http://www.albertleatribune.com/2011/02/07/editorial-insurance-lga-and-the-fire-dept/
and this: http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_38bc8a80-238c-11e0-8201-001cc4c03286.html
and this from very conservative Rochester: http://postbulletin.typepad.com/political_party/local-government-aid/
It may be better for local taxes to pay for local services – I can live with that. But the LGA was endorsed and enjoyed by far more communities than the metro and Duluth…including communities with a strong conservative base.
February 12th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Leslie,
Let’s distinguish – as I didn’t do in my remarks above, but have, laboriously, before in writing about LGA – between the towns for which LGA was intended, small outstate towns with tiny, poor tax bases that needed the help, and the Twin Cities and Duluth, that just plain spend too much.
February 12th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Response of 90% of MN
“Yaaaawn. What’s that? The government is shutdown you say? Let me know when it starts again, will you?”
“But don’t wake me up again to do it.”
February 14th, 2011 at 9:37 am
[…] money from the current budget that hasn’t even been spent yet (a proposal that the Governor vetoed last week, citing his disdain for “piecemeal” budgeting, and showing his fundamental […]