. . .Despite what you may have heard, a government shutdown is not necessary. The Republican budget as passed by the Minnesota Legislature in May funded government operations, providing an increase in spending. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed it.
At $34 billion, the Republican budget is the largest in state history. It is $4 billion more than the state raised in revenue for the current biennium. But it's not enough for Gov. Dayton. Gov. Dayton wants to raise taxes to grow government.
The problem with Gov. Dayton's budget is that it does not exist. Since revising his tax proposal a month ago, the governor has failed to identify how he would spend the $1.8 billion in additional revenue. Thus far he has not proposed any reductions in spending to close the budget gap. Even with his increased tax burden on small business owners and job providers, Gov. Dayton still doesn't have the money to fund his proposed spending.
His non-existent plan isn't anything he or his administration is apparently worried about. During a recent Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy meeting, the Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner said a plan did not exist. That simple statement defines the governor's. He has no plan. He just wants to raise taxes, and he is getting ready to shut down government in a careless attempt to force the issue.
The Pioneer Press called Dayton’s negotiating stance “political hostage-taking”. Which, of course, it is.
This man has had a balanced budget sitting on his desk for TWO MONTHS and did not sign it. The Republican Legislature did its job.
And to the poster who asked if we’d mind if we could only get drivers’ licenses Monday through Thursday, the answer is yes, I’d mind, because my state taxes pay for service.
The analogy of a natural disaster does not apply here because there isn’t a natural disaster. What we have is a petulant child posing as a governor who is holding his breath in the hopes Minnesota will turn blue.
I have a co-worker who just got elected as township supervisor or some such. He claimed a rep came in and discussed what was going on with them and said that there has been no negotiation by the legislature and that we are not hearing much of what is going on, or that what we are hearing is poor information about it. I tried like heck to convince him that taxing the so-called rich was not the path to prosperity for the several states or federal government and that neither one of us had a legitimate claim to the earnings of anyone else. He got all indignant about the "excessive" salaries of CEOs and such, so it was basically a lost cause.