Good job, Governor!

Sweetness0726 on December 20, 2008 at 3:14 PM

I feel for you. My property taxes went up way too much over the last five years. Pawlenty could’ve approved lower budgets, and either increased LGA (with corresponding property tax caps) or forced the DFL to cut income or sales taxes in exchange for some increases in spending. He did nothing but let the state House GOP implode. If you think Chisago taxes are high (which I can’t believe it, Chisago is a bedroom community), come to Hennepin.

Just remember increasing a program by 5% instead of 10% is considered a cut in the program using liberal speak.

angryed on December 20, 2008 at 1:37 PM

That is the money quote.

You had me until this one. This is quite anti-free market.

fossten on December 20, 2008 at 2:52 PM

Can we keep at least one single shred of decency and compassion? Just one? Im sorry, but free-market principles dont make it any easier to ignore the fact that someone going bankrupt or dying for lack of health insurance is downright inhuman. Sure make it more expensive if you have a preexisting condition…but dont leave those people with zero options…thats sick.

8. Mandate that all Health Insurance companies cannot deny coverage

epluribusunum on December 20, 2008 at 2:31 PM

You had me until this one. This is quite anti-free market.

1. Enact Tort Reform
2. Ban labor unions and discard all current contracts
3. Eliminate the War against Drugs
4. Eliminate the USPS
5. the Dept. of Education
6. the BATF, and all other overlapping federal law enforcement agencies except for the FBI
7. the Dept. of Interior, Social Services, Veteran Affairs, Forests, Indian Reserves, the whole lot
8. Mandate that all Health Insurance companies cannot deny coverage but can charge higher rates for pre-existing conditions.
9. The elimination of the FDC, FAA, almost all Governmental Regulatory agencies.
10. Enact a Freedom Parity Act that requires all legislatures, to eliminate two laws for every new one they pass.

So there!

angryed on December 20, 2008 at 1:37 PM

Actually the poorest kids wont even see an increase…you see the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) covers $5000 a year. With the tuition increase…CUNY tuition still doesn’t even hit $5000 a year. The students who actually need the money wont lose a dime. Only the union is fighting the tuition increase. The Faculty Senate is on board…even the Student Government is on board. Anyone saying otherwise is just full of it.

There is a mentality out there in this country that at no time should any citizen ever be made to go with less stuff from the government. And with the MSM on the same side, the notion of government ever gutting spending and/or services is laughable.

Just remember increasing a program by 5% instead of 10% is considered a cut in the program using liberal speak.

I totally agree with you. I’m just mad because I live in a liberal area, and ever time a bond/school referendum gets on the ballot, it wins. Before Ventura’s property tax reform, property taxes were cheap here. Now less so. I could move, I guess, to a more conservative area.

IR-MN on December 20, 2008 at 12:14 PM

It really depends on what you’re going to the school for. If you’re at Hunter for english…yea maybe you’ll have some trouble when you get out. If you go for chemical engineering thats a slightly different story. Same for City. If you leave City with a mech engineering degree you’ll be as good as the next graduate. But lets not forget CUNY is the 3rd largest system in the whole damn country. Almost a full 500,000 students. I’ll take any progress when you’re talking about a system that large. I mean, look at SUNY…they’re all over the place. Unless you’re at Binghamton or Stony Brook you’re screwed.

Tim Zank on December 20, 2008 at 12:18 PM

Its not about better educated people making better choices. Its about what a functioning higher ed system does for a community. Especially on the community college level, the retraining that many people will need to undergo in this economy is done out of community colleges. Plus having superstar researchers (like michio kaku at CUNY) helps bring in new talent to the neighborhood…which helps grades which makes the place more attractive to others which can revitalize a community. Sure the high minded ivies are echo chambers but one should always support their public university system…they yield dividends in all sorts of ways you may have not considered.

Don’t give Pawlenty a pat on the back, Ed. First, during his six years in office, he presided over a budget that went from 25b to near 35b. He almost did nothing to control state spending except vetoing the DFL’s even more insane spending bills. When he did budget cuts, they were to local government aid. And Pawlenty, not enacting any property tax caps, also presided over the largest property tax increase in state history. Now there’s no tax area that’s low in this state. He’s still better than a dem, but let’s be honest about his background.

IR-MN on December 20, 2008 at 11:25 AM

For me, Local Government Aid (LGA) is the embodiment of “spread the wealth around”. It takes peoples money from all over the state, brings it to St. Paul (our state capitol for you who have been processed in government schools like hogs through a slaughterhouse). It is then distributed across the state to those “local governments” who can up with the biggest sob story, make a lethal alliance with some other entity, etc. But, what it means is that “local governments” that can’t make it on their own bleed resources from those “local governments” that can and do support themselves.
It is absolutely the living form of “From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs”.
In other words, I loathe LGA.
Oh, my…is it that obvious?

He is doing it all wrong. You HAVE TO force people to have less money to spend on stuff.

Yes honey, I was “forced” to buy the gun; I don’t make the laws, sweetie.

Also for spending in schools on Winter Solstice school gatherings which just happen to occur around December 25th.