The GOP released its detailed budget proposal yesterday.
Via MDE, here’s the breakdown:
It’s the “live within our means” budget the GOP has been talking about since the beginning. No tax hikes – small cuts, indeed, for some Minnesotans.
Etched in billions, the dramatic battle pits DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s fight to raise taxes against Republicans, who insist that spending must come down.
Dayton quickly rejected the Republican plan.
“Earlier today the governor reiterated his belief that budgets are a reflection of values and priorities … Based on the spreadsheets the GOP put out today, it appears those values and priorities are cutting education, cutting health care, cutting jobs, cutting veterans and raising property taxes,” Dayton spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci said.
Of course, there is not a cut to education.
With little middle ground apparent, Capitol veterans say the fight already has the markings of an extended session that could drip from a timely May adjournment into the summer.
Totally worth it.
The House and Senate, which released slightly different budget blueprints Thursday, would spend almost $1.3 billion less than Dayton proposed on health and welfare programs.
Those outlines give the programs — which eat up a third of the state spending — a bit more money than they are now getting but not enough to keep up with projected health care costs.
And, as we’ve noted many times, the projections and how we arrive at them are a huge part of the problem.
The lawmakers added some sugar to their budget medicine. The Senate plans to build in tax cuts for businesses, while the House wants an income tax cut for middle-income Minnesotans.
Either of them would be a perfectly fine idea.
House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, called the House move misleading.
“They’re putting money into the pockets of middle-class Minnesotans with one hand while they’re reaching into the other pocket of middle-class Minnesota families with the other hand,” he said.
Rep. Thissen: Please show us the portion of the budget that requires DFL-dominated city governments to jack up property taxes.
Get on that right now. Goodness knows you’re not doing anything else.
The lesson of Wisconsin is that you’re going to take a hit anyway, why not take bold action.
This budget proposal isn’t bold action.
The Strib is providing the hit. I’m somewhat encouraged by the fact that the Strib mentioned cutting, cutting, cutting rather than gutting, gutting, gutting. That’s progress. It must be the new tone of civility.
How will local municipalities pay for the senior square dancing lessons? The bright colorful banners hanging from lamp posts in their desolated town centers? The local dog catcher?
Have Republicans no compassion? No shame?
I agree with Tony. Put forth a budget with meaningful spending cuts which Gov. Dayton will inevitably veto and thus have to walk the plank if there’s a govt. shutdown. With strong GOP voices like Amy Koch et al, I believe the Republicans could actually come out ahead in the P.R. war, leftist media be damned.
Honestly, I don’t think the average person pays any attention to government at any level, until it affects him/her.
You don’t realize the federal government has tinkered with regulations until you notice the replacement shower head begrudges a meager trickle and that your new 60 watt-equivalent pig-tail light bulb costs nine times as much as the incandescent ones did.
Nobody will care about a state government shut-down until they see it on the news.
The DFL rant was that they didn’t have a GOP budget proposal, now they have one. They cowered away when it came to the Mad Mark proposal, let see what they’ve got to counter the GOP. They shouldn’t give Mad Mark, Bellicose Bakk, and Twiddles Thissen any quarter.
“There is not a cut to education..” Why not, especially with the product they put out? Second biggest cost item, right? Republicans to some degree are still acting like Democrats.