As the state grapples with a budget deficit the size of the Grand Canyon this session, lawmakers are charged with filling the gaping hole and creating a balanced budget.   Proposed “money saving” ideas run the gamut from removing bottled water from state agencies to mandatory furloughs.  However, one proposal, that recurs nearly every session, creates a stir that almost no other issue can.  Privately run prisons.

Most people probably don't care who runs the prisons – as long as it includes hard labor - yet few issues highlight the political divide so well.

1. Taxes! Taxes! Taxes!

2. Say "No" to ObamaCare

3. Just Another Tax Increase

4. Become TLM's Next Director of Development

5. Don't Forget the Taxpayer Protection Pledge

2010 Taxpayer Protection Pledge

Click here for a copy of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge!

The buzz in the Capitol hallways and committee rooms during the first few weeks of the legislative session has been focused on health care for the poor and jobs for unemployed construction workers.  What has not been mentioned is the huge increase in funding for one area of the budget, expenditures that many Minnesotans would view as a luxury but not a necessity in these difficult economic times.

As the poorest Minnesotans face losing health care coverage and proposals to reduce funding for almost every state program are being discussed under the marble dome, one area with proposed and relatively unnoticed additional state resources amounting to tens of millions of dollars is….the Arts.  Yes, with the state facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit and the Governor proposing funding reductions to cities that are threatening lay-offs of police and fire personnel, the arts community stands to gain millions in taxpayer dollars. 

1. Bloated Borrowing Bill Gets OK’ed by Liberals  

2. Two Weeks, Two Bills, Two Vetoes

3. Just Say No to Phone Books

4. Government Gambles on Racetrack Slots

5. Roads vs. Rails – Roads Lose Again

ST. PAUL - With little more than two weeks into the 2010 legislative session, the DFL- controlled House and Senate have pushed two major spending bills through the process.  The first to reach Governor Pawlenty’s desk was a $283 million “fix” for the General Assistance Medical Care program, which was met with an immediate veto.

The second, a billion dollar pork-laden borrowing bill, is headed to a House and Senate conference committee, but will likely meet a similar fate if the bill is not downsized.

Action Required! 

Governor Pawlenty called the House and Senate bonding bills, “unaffordable, irresponsible and filled with local projects.”  He has indicated he may veto the entire capital investment bill rather than just line-item vetoes.

With the state facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, the right thing to do is balance the budget before ringing up more pork barrel projects on the state credit card.

All 15 of these fiscally irresponsible lawmakers need to hear from you today about their vote for the liberals’ bloated bonding bill.

Ask these 15 legislators to please uphold any and all of Gov. Pawlenty’s vetoes!

Read more to find the contact information for these 15 legislators!

The gavel had hardly hit the desk at the start of the 2010 Session, when state legislators began spending more taxpayer dollars. The first order of business in both the House and the Senate was to pass construction-related bonding proposals totaling almost one billion dollars.

Like a Toyota with a stuck accelerator, the speed at which the Legislature took off was mesmerizing.  There was no discussion of the $1.2 billion budget shortfall, let alone the fact that the state has already exceeded its debt-to-spending ratio of the historic three percent limit-a debt guideline that has been in place for 30 years.

Minnesota has a spending problem, not a revenue problem

ST. PAUL - In a surprise announcement last week, Senator Dick Day (R-Owatonna) said he will resign from the State Senate to lead a newly organized effort to bring state-operated slot machines and more revenue to Minnesota. Unwilling to solve the state's budget shortfall with fiscal restraint, the newly minted president of "Racino Now" aims to feed the growing beast of government by installing slots at Canterbury and Running Aces.

Is the answer "yes" or is the answer "no?" The liberals in St. Paul would like you to think that you're not paying enough which is why they tried to raise taxes by $1.5 billion last year. Test your knowledge of Minnesota's taxes, and find out what the answer really is.

When you're done, click the link below for the answers.

1. Where does Minnesota rank compared to others states for income tax rates (1st being the highest tax rate)?
a. 21st
b. 15th
c. 6th