Posted: 4/30/03

On Day of Prayer, our governor has no conflict

With nearly four months of on-the-job experience to evaluate, itís easy to come up with some early ratings for Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Heís smart, personable, articulate and easy to like. One can have philosophical disagreements with the man while respecting his point of view. I think the reverse also holds true for the governor; he respects the positions that others may take.

But in the first four months of his term, it is clear from this desk that our governor is somewhat of a conflicted man. When it comes to gambling and increasing taxes, there is a sense of conflict that shows through.

I donít envy the task facing Gov. Pawlenty. Eliminating a $4 billion plus budget shortfall is no small task. But the governor is taking on the task with untiring effort.

Lest we forget, Gov. Pawlenty ran on a pledge to balance the budget without raising taxes. He repeats that theme daily and there is no conflict in this message. He will not approve any form of ìtaxî increase and there is legislative backing to protect that pledge.

No one, at least no one in their right mind, wants to pay more taxes. But Iím conflicted as to how this budget can be balanced on the strength of budget cuts doing most of the job. And subliminally, I think the governor has the same fear.

We are now seeing that trend leak out in some of the proposals that are moving through the legislature.

Gov. Pawlenty has made it clear that he does not believe gambling is a function of government. The philosophical view is puzzling based on the fact that state voters a decade ago approved a constitutional amendment to establish the Minnesota State Lottery and Native American casinos in Minnesota are wildly successful.

Earlier this spring he told the ECM Editorial Board that he would not support any form of expansion of gambling.

But in recent days he has softened on that position as the Racino bill has passed the House. The plan to put slot machines at Canterbury Park in Shakopee would generate some $150 million each biennium to support the stateís budget. Gov. Pawlenty has now said he is willing to study the legislation.

Is this a conflict or an admission by the governor that new revenue sources are essential to help solve the budget problem? It is not a tax increase but the end result is much the same.

Taxes arenít the only way the government gets into your pocketbook. When it comes to government services, there are fees attached.

While the governor wonít raise taxes, he is willing to go along with greatly increased fees to generate more state revenue. A conflict? It all depends on definition.

There is another fact that Gov. Pawlenty canít avoid. By making major reduction is state aid paid to local forms of government, there is almost certainty that local property taxes will increase to help offset some of the lost revenue to maintain local services.

The governor is truthful is saying the state wonít raise taxes but indirectly the stateís action is merely passing the buck to city councils, town boards and county boards. Another conflict?

It is interesting to note that the governor would like to establish a reverse referendum provision that would allow citizens to block local tax increases. That policy, along with establishing levy limits on the taxes that a city, town or county can raise put more restraints on local government.

It almost gives the impression that it is local governments, not the state, that are in budget trouble. Perhaps the state should consider the same rules of governance that they may try to pass off to local governments?

After meeting and hearing Pawlenty, I believe he is doing what he feels is best for the state. In his mind Iím sure there is no conflict.

As May 1 rolls around today, there is one area where the governor certainly has no conflict. When he was asked to sign a state Day of Prayer proclamation, he did so quickly and with conviction.

This is something that has been sorely missing in our state the past four years. During the administration of Gov. Jesse Ventura, there were hundreds off proclamations from his desk, but not for the Day of Prayer. It would seem like a most harmless thing particularly in the light of its support from all levels of government including President Bush and former President Clinton.

The governor was right in signing this proclamation to give support to the many state communities where Day of Prayer is observed. In Forest Lake, a program is planned at noon today (Thursday) at Lakeside Memorial Park.

One of the areas that the Day of Prayer targets is government. Perhaps now more than ever, our government needs all the help it can get and a few extra prayers wonít hurt.

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