It’s All Downhill From Here

05/24/2005

Paul Munnis

Once the casino proposal became a failure it was inevitable that taxes would have to be raised to close the $740 million dollar gap in the budget.

Also, in polls conducted in the state it was clear that Minnesotans wanted a better deal for schools and treatment options for those without health insurance coverage and that casinos were not a popular or attractive solution to most Minnesotans.

So in the end, in spite of the semantics, we do have new taxes. We are not going to throw tomatoes at Tim Pawlenty over it either. We do what we have to do in governing even though we may wish that we could do otherwise.

For Democrats there is good news as Memorial Day approaches, people want the social safety net back in place. The world is just too cruel with layoffs, firing, companies going in the tank, and changing skill demands. Job creation is at a low point and there are few jobs available once you have lost one.

A social safety net is a must and we do have to help out our brothers and sisters when they are victims of an economy not of their own making. That is the real morality of politics and that is the message that the Christian Right needs to hear from politicians. They both need a sermon that comes from the people about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and housing the homeless. Ignoring the needs of our fellow Americans is un-American and too cruel. We are all in this great adventure called “America” together for better or for worse and we need to be there for one another. We need car magnet ribbons that say “Support Our Fellow Citizens.”

For Minnesotans what we witnessed this legislative season was also good as moderate Republicans joined hands with Democrats to form enough of a voting block to obtain a centrist outcome for this legislative session. Parties did not get everything that they wanted but the outcome was a respectable one. The result should be needed job creation in our state.

We know that the legislative work isn’t finished and we know that a special session has been called but we are confident that the last of the wrinkles can be ironed out by the lawmakers once they look at what they have accomplished and take on a cooler attitude about what they didn’t accomplish.

To a true politician they should always be able to say: “Well, now next year we will…” and then just move-on.

We had hoped that casino and cigarette money would not be the funding solution for Minnesota because they have financial consequences for the compulsive and addictive personality and these people are in need of treatment and should not be fleeced by government. Sin taxes on tobacco are as old as the government itself though and they will continue long after we are gone from the scene. The casino proposal tanked thus making it a moot point for right now.

At any rate, I am satisfied so far with the conduct of the Minnesota affairs for 2005 and I hope that this Special Session runs smoothly and rapidly adjourns with a satisfactory budget solution.

Let’s not spend this summer rehashing the casino issue or crying in our beer.

Let’s just move on.