Commentary; Posted: 4/21/04

State budget needs frank discussion

Rep. Rebecca Otto
Guest Columnist

Last January I organized a forum, hosted by the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce, and that brought together two former finance commissioners: John Gunyou, a Republican from the Carlson administration and Jay Kiedrowski a Democrat from Governor Perpichís administration.

As a state representative and small business owner, I organized the forum because I was concerned about the direction our state finances appeared to be heading in. It turns out that I was not alone.

The state has been given many warnings about our budget problems.

Moodyís, a conservative bond rating firm, downgraded our stateís credit rating. Former Gov. Arne Carlson, former finance commissioners Gunyou and Kiedrowski, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Art Rolnick, and economist Paul Anton, one of Gov. Pawlentyís own economic advisors, along with dozens of other respected leaders of all party persuasions have sounded alarms that our state finances are shaky.

How many warnings will it take before we admit we have a problem?

The stateís ongoing budget problems have largely been self-inflicted. Even when many knew that the economy was headed in the wrong direction, the state spent money irresponsibly and made unwise tax decisions.

As a result, the state ended up with a $4.5 billion deficit. Then, in a desperate attempt, the 2003 legislature went into ìdamage controlî and made penny wise and pound foolish decisions.

From health care cuts that will drive people to use expensive emergency room visits on the stateís dime, to slapping over $400 million in fees on everything from nursing homes to state capitol tours for school kids, the 2003 ìbudget balancing solutionsî simply put window dressing on the problem.

Now, we are back with another deficit, and the ìpolitical spinî is that once again we will grow out of it. Unfortunately, recent budget forecasts show we are headed for another deficit and the only question now is the size of it.

So my question is this: if you have a plumber fix a leak, and it leaks again, and you have him fix it again, and it leaks again, when do you change plumbers?

The legislature spends far too much time on trivial and divisive social issues and very little time seriously looking at the long-term vision for our state, or maintaining our competitive edge.

Good leadership understands the premise of early intervention, whether it is in health care, education, the budget, the economy, investments, or any one of the many areas the state has a vested interest in seeing go well. I am not advocating for either a tax increase or additional spending cuts.

I am advocating for an honest and frank discussion about our financial future to ensure our future success. We just canít afford to wait any longer.

Writer Rebecca Otto serves District 52B and lives in May Township. She is a former school board member in ISD 831, Forest Lake.

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