Commentary; Posted: 4/2/03

Does safety net exist for cuts in human services?

Don Heinzman

Former Minnesota Gov. Elmer Andersen drew applause recently when he pronounced that taxes are the way Minnesotans join hands to get things done.

Some readers even wondered if Mr. Andersen was willing to run for public office again. Andersen made it clear that he continues to be a moderate Republican who believes that Minnesotans traditionally have wanted to have good services and to put the common good above the individual welfare.

In that context he said: ìTaxes are the way people join hands to get things done. Thatís the tradition in Minnesota.î

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a more conservative governor than Andersen, believes the times require a consolidation of government to make it more efficient, particularly now when the state is broke.

That re-engineering can only go so far in certain agencies. For example, Human Services is taking a 25 percent hit ó $1.1 billion of the $4.5 billion deficit forecast for the next four years.

Governor Pawlentyís budget calls for cutting $1.1 billion from Human Services where the biennial budget including federal and state funds is $17.2 billion.

Kevin Goodno, Commissioner of Human Services, has the unenviable task of trimming $1.1 billion in services of which 90 percent are health care related.

While trying to maintain a safety net for the children, disabled, mentally ill and the elderly, Goodno faces a difficult task. Run-away health expenses are driving up costs beyond what the state can afford. Even after cutting the $1.1 billion, human service programs will get an 8 percent increase of the projected 23 percent.

How will the human services funds be cut? Providers will lose $800 million, and health care for adults will lose $400 million.

Even with these reductions, Minnesotans will be receiving as much or more assistance than people living in neighboring states, Goodno says.

It indeed does come down to doing whatís best for the common good, either taxing or somehow providing help in other ways. This is at the core of Pawlentyís belief, that those who fall through the safety net will be helped at the local level by individuals.

A reader from Otsego takes issue with the idea that taxes are the way to join hands and get things done. She believes compassion comes from individuals and not from government.

ìThe individual welfare is at the heart of the common good,î she maintains. ìNeither government nor institution substitutes for a single individual reaching out to those around them that are in need.î

She believes there are hundreds of organizations willing to reach out on an individual basis to those in need to provide food, homes, clothing and health services that do not receive a cent of government money.

The reality is that a tax collected at the state level from all individuals is the most effective way of aiding the elderly, mentally ill, children of dependent adults and adults who have no money to afford health care.

Private organizations, many of which receive government money, are struggling to maintain programs because they lack funds. Churches in this region that are organizing to help those in need also are having difficulty finding dollars

Community leaders immediately should take stock of their ability to aid the children, the disabled, the mentally ill and the elderly.

If $1.1 billion in human services is removed, letís hope the local community social structure is there to catch the needy falling through the tears in the safety net.

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