There is little reality based talk nationally about how the economy went into the tank. Most of the proposed solutions are simply political payback for the Obama side or more interventionist programs and spending that helped cause the collapse in the first place. (Funny how those 2 have more in common than they don’t)  Republicans share in the blame too for how they allowed liberal interventionist policies and mandates to creep in under their watch, but when you look at the solutions from the Democrats today, you can see their finger prints all over what went wrong, thus no one will talk about it in the media. You just hear, “Where was all this when you Republicans were in charge?” As if that is supposed to make up for how Democrats are doing more of the same that torpedoed the economy and free markets. 

Well, in Minnesota, no one seems remotely interested in even whispering about how Minnesota is nearing the top of a bad list. On Tuesday, there will be a new budget forecast. And it isn’t looking good. The $4.8 Billion deficit from the beginning of the session is now about to grow to a $6 to 7 Billion deficit. 

Democrats so far have refused to even hint at their budget counter proposal to Pawlenty’s. Republican legislators seem to be bowing to, er backing Pawlenty’s proposal. And frankly his proposal is as devoid of the past lessoned learned as is the rhetoric from almost all Legislators. 

You see, the problem with our state spending is that it is unsustainable. 

The budget’s ‘Big 3 and 3′

As complex as the state’s $37 billion budget is, there are a few simple truths about it. Hanson calls them “The Big 3 and 3.”

On the spending side, 85 percent of the budget goes to just three items: health care, education and local government aid.

On the revenue side, 85 percent is raised by just three taxes: individual income, sales and corporate.

The three spending items are the 3rd rail for Democrats. They can’t cut any of them with out losing their base. The 3 revenues, or taxes, are the economy as we know it. Increases taxes on them, in an already bad recession, and you can forget about a recovery any time soon.  

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

Part of the reason our state’s economy is getting zapped and zapped hard is because of the intervention and high taxes imposed by government. So when there is a downturn, raising taxes on businesses, business owners, or products businesses sell would be, well, the dumbest possible thing. Unfortunately, that is on the table for Democrats. Obama has already proposed it nationally, and well, the local Democrats have proposed such things before. 

Legislators and Governor Pawlenty have been living high off the hog for a few years now. They learned absolutely nothing from the 2003-4 budget deficit. They didn’t acknowledge that the problem in Minnesota is the Government spending. Their eyes were bigger then that taxpayer’s ability to feed their agendas. 

Oh sure, Democrats think Pawlenty is a cheap conservative, but an honest person knows different. Spending has been in the fast lane to increase-ville under Pawlenty. Pawlenty and Democrats have been increasing state spending nearly 10% every time the budget comes up. Why any one St. Paul who calls the marble hallways their working home is surprised to see such a large deficit is further proof that the job at hand is above their pay grade. 

We need massive reforms to our state government. This should be a teachable moment. This should be the perfect storm to knock some sense into the tax and spend liberals down there. Their desire to make Government everything to everyone is what got us into this mess. Their agenda to grow Government at every turn is why the budget is so short on revenue. Someone should be talking to the regular Minnesotans about how we got into this mess! 

For over 4 years the Government and Legislators have been living well beyond their means, er our means. And that’s the real problem, we are the means. I believe Pawlenty’s desire to be a national candidate is at best a pipe dream now. Had he managed his state better and had us on the right side of the worst state deficits list, he’d still be a contender. But the fact is he grew Government a lot and his state’s balance sheet went to heck under his watch. His 2% showing at the CPAC poll is proof that he’s a non-factor for conservatives in 2012. 

I would hope he can use this mess as a chance to change things. It would be nice to see someone on the right step up and push for real reforms with their bully pulpit. I mean Pawlenty refuses to even touch the largest single item in the budget, education. The guy can’t be taken seriously as a national conservative leader if he is going to ignore the fact that we’re over funding a failing and shrinking program right here under his nose. 

Minnesota is in really bad shape. It isn’t the budget deficit that is the problem, but rather how no one involved in creating this budget deficit with out of control unsustainable spending is willing to admit any sliver of guilt.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm and is filed under 2010, It's The Spending Stupid, MN Governor, Minnesota, Minnesota State House, Minnesota State Senate, Politics, Redistributor In Chief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.