We Know Where Conservatives Stand
May 11th, 2009 at 11:49 am By Chris ShieldsIn the early hours of Saturday morning, Governor Pawlenty let all Minnesotans know where he and other conservatives stand. He vetoed legislation that would have temporarily increased income taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans, alcohol, and credit card companies to pay for schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.
That’s right, protecting the wealthy and predatory credit card companies is more important to the Governor and conservative lawmakers than protecting children, the sick, and senior citizens. Instead, the Governor would rather generate the same amount of revenue by taking out a billion dollar loan and have our kids pay it off over the next 20 years.
The Governor’s plan also calls for massive health care cuts in two years. As we know, excessive cuts in government investment can be devastating in a tough economy. None of this logic matters to conservatives, however. To them, it’s about an ideology that abhors using government as an expression of our collective will. Collective will like roads, schools, courts, police, health care, transit, colleges, fire departments, and many more things. Minnesotans know better. We know you get what you pay for. We know it’s time to invest in our state.
LikeTags: Budget, Governor Pawlenty, hospitals, Nursing Homes, Schools
Raising taxes to keep hospitals and healthcare workers isn’t only just “worth it”, it is IMPERATIVE! Don’t these knuckleheads get it? They were elected to serve the PEOPLE not corporate PROFITS and rich investors.
Of course, a nice smile and feel-good TV ads will get you into office so you can serve your rich friends. We need to keep their feet to the fire. Mn2020 is important to educate but we all need to keep contacting our elected officials and let them know what matters (since they don’t seem to be able to figure it out on their own).
Rich seems to confuse “failing to sufficiantly tax” corporations with “helping corporations”. Simply because the governor does not wish to tax corporations to the extent that Rich believes the governor should, does not mean that the governor is serving “corporate profits and rich investors”. A second but minor point, where is Rich’s retirement? A Roth IRA, pension, or 401k has funds invested in stock, at which point Rich would be one of those “rich investors”.
I have a few problems with these points. First there is no such thing as a “temporary” tax in Minnesota. Thats what their labeled when enacted but somehow get changed to “permanant” along the way. Just like the “temporary” tax on food and liquor served next to the Metrodome that is still being paid today long after it was originally scheduled to expire. Second, why is it wrong for Pawlenty to take out a billion dollar loan for our state buts its O.K. for Obama to take out a 2 trillion dollar loan for our country? Third, who cares about healthcare cuts in 2 years when Obama says it’ll be free for everyone by then?
Brian,
Let me see if I can address your concerns. First, the legislation the Governor vetoed requires the new tax rates to blink off when each account (E-12 education, hospitals, and nursing homes) has a $500 million balance after 2014.
Secondly,the Governor’s borrowing program creates major problems the feds don’t have to worry about. It’s only one-time money, so it sticks us with a deficit in another two years. We also sacrifice future tobacco settlement payments, cutting off even more ongoing revenue. It’s like winning the lottery and taking the smaller lump sum payment instead of the full amount in installments. Unlike the federal government, Minnesota cannot constitutionally go into debt to pay for government spending obligations.
I haven’t heard President Obama talk about free health care. I’ve only heard him talking about making it more affordable and available. Why should Minnesota be so dependent on federal action anyway? We have the third highest insured rate in the nation, let’s keep it that way.
Hope that helps! Thanks for your comments.