eUpdate 6/23/09
1. It's Here! 2009 Legislative Scorecard
2. Unallotment, Whine by Whine
3. Make Your Purchases Now
4. Taxpayer Dollars Don't Grow on Fountains
5. What is a Trillion?
1. It's Here! 2009 Legislative Scorecard
The Taxpayers League's 2009 Legislative Scorecard is here! This is the 13th year we've ranked Minnesota's legislators on their votes regarding state taxes and spending. Since many politicians say one thing on the campaign trail and do another thing on the House and Senate floor, we publish the Scorecard to help you see which state legislators are after your wallet, and how they want to spend your hard-earned money.
Our Scorecard also recognizes legislators who voted to hold the line on taxes and reform state spending. The coveted "Best Friend of the Taxpayer" award is for legislators who score a perfect 100 percent, and this year six legislators have received that award. We hope you will click here to view the 2009 Legislative Scorecard and find out who your Best Friends are in the state legislature.
2. Unallotment, Whine by Whine
Many are sick of the whining from the liberals over Governor Pawlenty's proposed unallotments necessary to balance the budget. However, the whining likely won't stop any time soon. So let's explore just a few reasons why the liberals should stop complaining.
First, the $1.7 billion K-12 shift is an old trick that's been around for years. It's nothing new to delay school payments a couple of months, and the DFL majority even passed this same proposal during the session.
Second, Local Government Aid is basically just another transfer of wealth so that some cities can spend without asking their own residents. One half of the state's population lives in communities that receive no LGA. It's time for cities to be accountable to their own residents, instead of asking the state taxpayers to foot the bill for their spending habits.
Third, the Health and Human Services budget is in desperate need of reform. We cannot expect reform to come from the same people who helped create the problem (i.e. the Minnesota Senate). Thank you Governor Pawlenty for pushing spending reform!
Check out more reasons why the whining over Governor Pawlenty's budget balancing has got to stop by reading Phil Krinkie's article here.
3. Make Your Purchases Now
If you've been thinking about making any large purchases, you have about a week before the state-wide sales tax increases. On July 1st, the Constitutional Amendment passed by Minnesota voters last November to raise the sales tax goes into effect. The increased sales tax will collect over $11 billion, which will be dedicated to the arts, outdoor entertainment, and cultural heritage.
The Amendment is a reminder of what happens when you side with the tax-and-spend crowd. The Amendment passed last year thanks to strong support from hunting and fishing groups. As legislators decided how to appropriate the money, liberal environmental groups used very vague "protecting and preserving" language to divert funds to their causes. Now some sportsmen groups are frustrated that their dedicated spending cash won't be used the way they wanted.
That's what happens when you jump in bed with the liberal tax-and-spenders.
4. Taxpayer Dollars Don't Grow on Fountains
As Governor Pawlenty defends his unallotments, he's said it should be more than possible for cities to live on 96% of their existing budgets. He used the example of Minneapolis' artistic water fountains, which cost taxpayers $500,000. Why can't ridiculous spending like that be reduced in order to keep high-priority items fully funded?
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was not happy about being the prime example of unnecessary local government spending, so his Communication Director Jeremy Hanson tried to defend the expensive art project in The Mayor Blog. Hanson tried to make the claim the money spent on water fountains had nothing to do with state aid payments, therefore it is okay to spend half a million in taxpayer money on artsy water fountains.
In response, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson pointed out that what Hanson claimed wasn't entirely true. Half of the $500,000 was from a dedicated fund, and must be used on "water issues" in Minneapolis. Can't a quarter of a million dollars be spent on more important "water issues"? The other half of the $500,000 was from bonding dollars, which definitely can be spent on more important projects like roads!
This story goes to show once again that cities really should not be complaining about reductions in state aid payments until they get their fiscal house in order.
5. What is a Trillion?
The word "trillion" wasn't in our day-to-day vocabulary until a few years ago when federal deficits and spending started getting way out of control. Now it seems we're constantly hearing about federal deficits in the trillions of dollars as if it's no big deal.
Here's and interesting fact about what a million, billion, and trillion really are:
1 million seconds = 11.57 days (less than two weeks ago)
1 billion seconds = 31.71 years (think back to 1997)
1 trillion seconds = 31,710 years ago (roughly 30,000 B.C.)
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