Senate Republicans wave magic wand
Senate Republicans today unveiled a plan that would solve the budget deficit by increasing spending and not raising taxes. Sound too good to be true? Yes, it is. First, they rely on gambling revenue, which isn't going to happen this year. Second, and more ridiculous, is that they request a new forecast which they say would magically erase the budget deficit.
Isn't that an idea? Try to pick and choose economic data to fulfill the mere letter of the law. They think that the forecast would show such huge revenue increases that there would no longer be a deficit. Of course, there is no reason to believe that. Then there's the problem that this forecast would be completely unexpected and not part of the normal schedule. I don't know how long it takes to do all the research to determine the forecast, but we have exactly two weeks to go in this fiscal year, and I don't think they could pull it off.
In short, this is not a real plan. And even if the next scheduled forecast shows a surplus, that money could simply be used to repeal the increase in income taxes that Senate Democrats are planning. Or, better yet, that money could be used imaginatively in such a way to ensure that all Minnesotans paid a fair amount of tax.
There still isn't much going on in terms of coming to an agreement, but below the surface frustration is rising. There may be some interesting stunts pulled in the near future by some angry legislators. Stay tuned.
posted by MN Politics Guru @ 19:00
1 Comments:
Was the wand in the right hand, or the left when they waved it? ;-)
The important message that really comes out of this is the underlying discontent that is building among the "nonplayers" in this sordid soap opera.
Yesterday's articles in the Pioneer Press about the House members from both sides of the aisle getting frustrated with the standoff also adds to my theory that the roots of this dispute have more to do with individuals than anything else.
For example, Ray Cox's weblog points to the fact that the Agriculture, Environment and Economic Development bill has only two remaining sticking points: a difference of $14 million (that's not a typo folks) and a squabble over the composition of the LCMR. Reasonable people could--and would--settle that faster than you can get a pizza delivered. I work in one of the agencies affected by this bill, so I had the chance to talk with our legislative liasion and he/she verified that these were the two remaining sticking points. Dumb. Get 'er done. Make progress.
The Senate Republicans do offer an important contribution to this discussion: IF the forecasts indicate that income is (in fact) increasing, that alone could settle a lot of things. The danger, of course, is that it IS a forecast, but if you are old enough to remember the soiree that was the 1981 session (regular plus three special sessions), the forecast itself was one of the items du jour that were hotly debated in that era.
It is also worth mentioning for those of you who may not recall, the end result of that particular year (1981) was an income tax surcharge that did not get repealed until 1984 or 1985.
While I do not approve of the way the Gov. and the Republican leadership are managing this debacle, they do have a valid point in that health care costs are the single largest cost driver.
At some point, both sides are going to need to find ways to give this 900 pound gorilla some Prozac (from Canada, via the state website no doubt), otherwise we can expect the current scenario to repeat itself every other year.
On this issue, it will not matter who is in charge down the road. As W.C. Fields once observed, "There come's a point in every man's life when he must grab the bull by the tail and face the situation."
Au revoir. Peace.
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