...And probably not the kind we would like. We are in day one of a "partial" government shutdown that is affecting new MNCare applicants, those seeking a drivers license, and a handful of other government services. This morning, Newsmax even got in on the act.
To make a long story short, Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has been trying, ever since he was elected, to bring some fiscal responsibility to this state, which is consistently one of the highest taxed in the nation. For instance, in 2004, Minnesota was ranked 11th in the nation in state and local taxes collected by percentage of income, at over 10 percent. And, as of 2002 we ranked 5th in the nation in welfare spending per capita, at $1,341. This despite the fact that we consistently rank 45th in people receiving food stamps, and 20th in overall percentage of the population receiving welfare benefits. Also, we rank near the bottom in people living below poverty level.
In the area of education the State of Minnestoa spent almost $9,000 per pupil in 03-04, and we rank third in the nation in state funding of public education, at almost 74% of the public school budget. Depite these massive numbers, only 10% of high school graduates actually take SAT tests, which ranks us 38th nationally. And, although we are consistently among the best states as far as graduation rate goes, it has certainly not improved commensurate with the increases in spending that we have been saddled with over the years. (Source: The Taxpayers Network)
Pawlenty and state Republicans are trying to keep Democrats from exploding the budget, and despite their proposal to increase overal state spending by 8%, the Dem's are balking. Last night, Democrats in the senate passed a "no time-line" temporary "lights on" bill, which would have eliminated all incentive to get a balanced budget done in a timely fashion. After passing this weak bill, they quickly adjourned two and a half hours early and took off for the holiday weekend.
Republicans favored a "lights on" bill that would have kept the heat on, one which would have only allowed legislators 10 to 30 days to resolve the $200 million gap in the two sides budget goals. The state house was in the process of passing that bill, when it was learned that the senate had adjourned and there was no point in proceeding.
"The Democrats turned and left tonight when Minnesota needed them most," Pawlenty said at a late-evening news conference.
House speaker Steve Sviggum (R) was not as kind as Pawlenty.
"The Senate wanted to shut down government from the beginning," Sviggum said.
His remarks are based on the charge by Republicans that the Democratic Party, led by Dean Johnson in the senate, wanted a shut-down to use against Pawlenty in the 2006 election, a charge that Johnson denies. However, Johnson does not exactly have a record for thruthfulness. He once promised the Pawlenty administration that he would support his nominee for heading the Dept. of Children, Families, and Learning, before blatantly breaking that promise the very next day. He also promised Republicans he would stay in town last weekend to work on the budget and promptly jumped a plane out of town.
Last week, Pawlenty offered to take leaders from both sides to Camp Ripley, without staff, without lobbyists, and without the media, to hammer out the differences between the two parties. While everyone else agreed, Johnson refused to go, making excuses that sounded suspiciously like he was unable to make important decisions without his staff and entourage of lobbyists.
His refusal has lent credence to the idea that Johnson is forcing a shut-down, as are earlier comments that he felt hardly anyone in the state would notice if it occured, and his lackadaisical attitude that the shut-down was just a "misunderstanding."
One can only hope that Johnson's strategy of making Pawlenty look bad will backfire, like it did against the 1994 Republican congress in D.C. Personally, I think it will. The people are getting wise to Democratic dirty tricks, both nationally and locally. If anything, these latest maneuvers by the Democrats will likely shade the state a little more "red" in the future.
You can read more here, here, and here.
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