Dayton mixes cuts with take hikes in budget plan

February 15, 2011 at 5:00 am in Worthington Daily Globe

ST. PAUL — Gov. Mark Dayton wants to preserve state aid to local communities while raising taxes on the richest Minnesotans and increasing education spending in a budget proposal he released this morning. Continue Reading

Tags: Budget, dayton, Legislature, Politics
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Dayton mixes cuts with take hikes in budget plan

4 Comments

beans4brkfas said: On February 15, 2011 at 3:31 PM

The state of Minnesota has been very busy raising revenues by other methods. They have enforced fees and surcharges on many things that a lot of people use every day. The building permit surcharge used to be 50 cents, recently it went to $5.00. Not much incentive to get a permit and have the work inspected there. but a fair amount of revenue for the state with no tangible benefit to the citizens. Many of the licensed professions now have new filing and surcharge fees that they pay to keep up their licenses. And additional licensing requirements have been added so the average professional has to pay more per year to call themselves “licensed”. Licensing protects the consumer from hacks and frauds and the consumer pays for this in the long run, as it is a cost of doing business. Guess what? the cost of doing business in Minnesota just went up!!!!! Truthfully, many millions of dollars worth of fees and surcharges have been added to the state income. Only a coward would call this no tax increase. Time for the citizens of Minnesota to pull their heads out of the sand and hold our politicians accountable for telling the truth!!!!!

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whatajoke said: On February 15, 2011 at 5:27 PM

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That’s it, punish all those evil rich people! That will fix everything!

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whatajoke said: On February 15, 2011 at 5:36 PM

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Written by Sheila Kihne
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 22:56
The State of the State speech delivered by Governor Mark Dayton today was a predictable snooze-fest.

He’s sticking with his promise to raise one of the highest state income tax rates in the country even higher and he’s pushing for even more money for the bottomless pit that is K-12 public education.

Just like President Obama’s recent State of the Union, it was a love-fest to invest. Read: Take more money from already strapped taxpayers and grow the size of government.

He blamed former Governor Tim Pawlenty for the mess he “inherited” (the pass-the-buck game is getting so old.)

He trotted out former Governor Wendell Anderson and once again we heard about the 40-year-old Time Magazine cover for his “Minnesota Miracle”

He introduced former Governor Al Quie and called him “our leading citizen”.

He’s bringing back former Governor Arnie Carlson’s “Children’s Cabinet” to help our government take care of the children.

He brought back old ideas from his old boss, former Governor Rudy Perpich, like “early childhood education” (read: government-run daycare.)

Perpich talked about government-run schools open from “dawn until dusk” in his 1988 State of the State. Dayton now promises that we will provide for “the state’s children in the very first months and years of their lives.” Okay comrade.

He introduced a teacher from a magnet school in St. Paul (they’re now getting rid of the magnets and going back to neighborhood schools incidentally,) and noted that “he says the biggest issues facing education are the achievement gap and social justice.” Social justice=redistribution of wealth=more failed ideas.

He talked about the need to treat government employees with “respect and dignity”….I’ll have to remember that the next time AFSCME’s Eliott Seide is screaming at a camera and we’re footing the bill for the rest of the green-shirted protesters at the Capitol on their “day-off.”

Governor Dayton’s father Bruce was also recognized along with the company that his family built. Dayton referenced Minnesota companies in the speech, but only in the past-tense.

Mark Dayton proudly protested against his father’s company as well as another great Minnesota company– Honeywell. All while jet-setting around the country for other hobbies and causes. It takes a lot of nerve I tell ya’.

He wants the old-guard Minnesota companies to grow and “invest” in public-private partnerships, he doesn’t want new companies to start-up.

The speech was as depressing as it was dull. It may have sound inspired….to someone in 1972….who supported George McGovern.

I think we need to send our Governor on a restful trip to his happy place and hope that he can find some spring in his step.

He’s going to need it to deal with reality.
CUT and PASTE! COOL!! But true if you have and civil in ya!

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Calvin said: On February 19, 2011 at 10:35 PM

Everyone needs to take a breath and stop fanning the flames of hysteria. Hard problems require hard solutions. Yes, some people will lose jobs. Yes, some taxes will go up. Yes some programs and luxuries provided by government will end, and yes, we all will be asked to do with less, while doing more in return. The sooner this fact is accepted the sooner we can make the changes needed.

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