commentaries

Guide: stop spending money

The only unresolved issue is how long it will take the legislature to raise taxes to the level of California, New York and Illinois. Brace yourselves.

Fund new programs by cutting underperforming programs. Get serious, hold people accountable for results. Keep a positive business climate. Don't just say "infrastructure, education, research"...show us results. We have a great state and deserve straight talk from political leaders, not rhetoric.

Oh my Lori is either showing her ignorance or her naivete. There may be some infighting between the generations and the ultra liberals vs the liberals (there are no conservative Dems). But in the end, Dayton and the leaders in the House and Senate will get together to inflict their designed damage in terms of higher taxes and a bigger and more controlling gov't.

That plan is easy. Tax, Spend. Spend, tax. spend some more, raise taxes. Increase user fees. Spend that money and then raise taxes.

The conservatives get so up in arms about higher taxes that they somehow believe it haa already happened in MN. It hasn't. And the only tax hikes Dayton has talked about are on the top 2%.

It's the Repubs who have led this state into fiscal irresponsibility-- raiding tobacco funds, raiding the rainy day fund, borrowing from the schools, raising "fees", raising property taxes, their own party can't even pay the rent and was almost evicted from their headquarters. They are morally and financially bankrupt. Yet all commenters here can say is "tax and spend Democrats." It gets old. Democrats pay as they go. They are the fiscally responsible ones. Republicans aim to bankrupt government.

What I don't understand about the repub mantra of stop spending -- see probsolver's post -- is just exactly what do you think would happen to your roads, bridges, utilities, schools, and other things only government can provide if the government, which by the way, is made up not just of the executive branch, but also the legislature and the judiciary, were to just stop, as probsolver suggests. Government has to spend if we are to pay fire and police and emergency medical services, MNDoT to plow your highways in winter and so on. Government also pays for the building of a transit system and its maintenance. Let's see business do that. I haven't heard of a single business that is clamoring to do any of these things. Government is as important to a well functioning society as is business and the people who work in both. I am so tired of hearing repubs saying we have to stop spending all the time. There should be a balance of spending and taxation. We wouldn't have a government without each one. Maybe that is what repubs want. Get rid of government, and all our troubles will magically go away. Wow, that is frightening that people might actually think that.

What is annoying about post like probsolver's is that when they say "stop spending" what they mean is stop spending on services that other people use. You never hear the right wing say cut the service that I use and therein lies the problem. It is easy for me to say cut service A if I never use it. It is more difficult for me to say cut road funding since I drive on the roads.

Wisebrook...hows this... Restrain spending on ALL areas ... Across the board....even area "that i benefit from"