Commentary; Posted: 4/16/03

Gov. Pawlenty is in choppy waters, but has budget support

Don Heinzman

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty feels very confident as he steers the ship of state through choppy economic waters.

During an interview with the members of this newspaper companyís editorial board earlier this month, Pawlenty insisted he will veto a bill with a tax increase in it.

He will look at tax reform, but only if it is revenue neutral in the long term. As for more casinos in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area, Pawlenty said he does not favor them.

The governor is staying on his message, mainly that the public does not want a state tax increase and it expects government to live within its means. Wherever he goes in Minnesota, particularly in outstate Minnesota, he finds the majority agreeing with him.

Even his critics agree the young, intelligent and articulate governor has had a good term so far, and heís a welcome relief to the blustery Jesse Ventura administration.

His honeymoon days may be over now that the Senate DFL caucus has presented its budget, calling for a $1 a pack cigarette tax increase and a measure that would tax the wealthy by creating a fourth personal income tax bracket for people with incomes of $136,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married joint filers.

Pawlenty, however, figures he has the best argument for those who say the state should tax people more during these difficult economic times.

Pawlenty says Minnesota government is poised to spend a record $27 billion during the next biennium. That, he says, is $1 billion more in revenues, or an 8 percent increase. The problem, he says, is expenses are projected to be 14 percent more.

The state, he says, ìhas to change that trajectory of expendituresî Government, he says, has to learn to live within its means, he says. While state revenues continue to grow, they are being quickly outpaced by the growing cost of state government at all levels that is exceeding state revenues.

ìHave you had a 14 percent increase in your paychecks?î he asks.

The answer to that question resonates with many families who have had to curtail expenditures.

Because Pawlenty has not reduced K-12 expenditures, which is 47 per cent of the budget he, therefore, proposes to cut human services by $1.1 billion, since it spends 23 percent of the state budget.

This is where the rubber is meeting the road. These reductions will strike hardest on those adults who depend on the state to pay medical bills, which are spiraling out of control.

Legislators are hearing plenty about the need to increase local government aid, to boost funding for higher education, to preserve the gains made in early childhood education and to save such programs as meals on wheels, and other senior and health care programs.

Fees and property taxes will go up to pay for essential governmental services at all levels, particularly for the second year of the biennium.

Thatís the price people will have to pay and those decisions will be made at the local level, where Pawlenty, a former Eagan council member, says they belong.

Gov. Pawlenty, however, intends to keep the ship of state on its no-tax course and full speed ahead to adjourning on time May 15. So far, most Minnesotans agree with that plan.

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