Pawlenty’s Revised Budget–Still Shortsighted
March 17th, 2009 at 4:38 pm By Nora FerrellGovernor Pawlenty released his revised budget this afternoon saying it “contains some good news,” according to the Star Tribune.
Well, that’s half the story–healthcare won’t be slaughtered as it was in his first budget and some education funding has been restored, but we shouldn’t be thanking Pawlenty for these new developments. We can thank President Obama and the federal recovery dollars coming into the state. You know the money I’m talking about, the dollars Pawlenty said he didn’t want at first?
The federal dollars do help the state deal with a huge budget deficit this year, but how will we address the budget shortfall after the one-time recovery money is gone? The Governor is kicking Minnesota’s problems down the road.
Our state continues to have a revenue problem, and we urge Governor Pawlenty and state leaders to consider a budget that takes the long view. A shortsighted plan, like the one proposed by the Governor today, won’t help our state grow. Let’s focus on what Minnesota needs to do to put unemployed Minnesotans back to work, to return our public education system to one of the best in the country, to help rural communities thrive, and to foster economic growth in our state.
LikeTags: Budget, federal recovery package, Governor Pawlenty, Revenue
