The Taxpayers Legaue of Minnesota

A non-partisan, non-profit grassroots taxpayer advocacy organization for Minnesota

Budget Solutions or Fantasy Football PDF Print E-mail
Press Releases
Written by Phil Krinkie   

Budget Solutions or Fantasy Football

ST. PAUL - Yesterday the DFL-controlled Rules Committee in the Minnesota House voted along party lines to join a lawsuit opposing Governor Pawlenty’s budget balancing actions in June.  This action to challenge Gov. Pawlenty’s reductions comes five months after Pawlenty’s decision to balance the state’s budget through unallotment. 

But just last week Speaker Anderson-Kelliher announced that she will appoint a “Purple Ribbon” panel to study the possibility of funding a new billion dollar stadium with 75% of the funding coming from taxpayers.

As the possibility of short-term borrowing looms and the forecast of the largest budget shortfall in state history on the horizon, the Speaker seems to be more concerned about a new Vikings stadium rather than trying to find real budget solutions.

As Speaker of the House last session she was unable to produce a balanced budget.  Now in the face of the worst state budget situation in the last thirty years the Speaker wants to consider spending $700 million of taxpayers’ money on a new stadium for billionaire-owner Zygi Wilf. 

Does Speaker of the House and gubernatorial candidate Anderson-Kelliher want to defend budget cuts to the poor or hand out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to fund a new playground for the Vikings?

These difficult economic times require strong bold leadership and Speaker Anderson-Kelliher shows once again she doesn’t have what it takes to lead Minnesota through troubled economic times.