Shutdown: Talking Point To Pass On

07/06/2005

I’m sending along some talking points concerning the partial government shutdown.  If you can pass them on you your email lists, and ask you SD/CU chairs to do the same I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks and have a wonderful holiday!

Donna
Donna Cassutt
Associate Chair, MN DFL

651-251-6307

· Senate and House Democrats did their job - there is no reason for this shutdown of government.

· Gov. Pawlenty would rather deal with the media than Senate Democrats.  He did not do his job.

· We didn’t have to be in this mess - Gov. Pawlenty’s lack of leadership, his “my way or the highway” approach, his failure to compromise, put us here.  Persistent Pawlenty deficits - severe cuts to schools, health care and roads, and skyrocketing property taxes ($1.1 billion), “fee” hikes and college tuition increases ($1.5 billion) is no way to run Minnesota.

· We had a special session and an unresolved state budget because Gov. Pawlenty is protecting 40,000 people that are making over a quarter of a million dollars at the expense of the other 2 million Minnesota taxpayers.

· The Senate Democrats’ budget fix (tax fairness, wealthiest would pay their fair share) would have fully funded our schools and taken care of our health care needs and would have been fairer than the Pawlenty approach because our plan says that Minnesota families making between $40,000 to $100,000 per year should not have to pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the Karl Polhads. . . 

· Gov. Pawlenty raided funds dedicated to health care to cover his budget deficits.  We have had endless budget deficits under Pawlenty.  We would not be in this perennial budget deficit if Gov. Pawlenty were a fiscal conservative.  He is not. 

· In fact, the Governor’s own Finance Commissioner, Peggy Ingeson, has stated publicly that these deficits will run through the 2007-08 budget, and that there is now way that we can grow our way out of these deficits. 

· Clearly, Minnesota has a revenue problem and Gov. Pawlenty has chosen to ignore the needs of K-12, colleges and universities, and transportation. 

· Too may Minnesotans are stuff increasingly in gridlocked traffic and too many of our roads and bridges are in disrepair - they should know that Gov. Pawlenty VETOED a BIPARTISAN transportation bill last month that would have taken care of our highways, roads and bridges.

· If Pawlenty had signed the bipartisan transportation bill - as any responsible Minnesota governor looking out for the interest of Minnesota families first and NOT his own future political aspirations would have done - it is also likely that we would have solved the budget problem and not have had a special session. 

Minnesotans should be questioning whether Governor Tim Pawlenty has purposely pushed the state government to the brink of a government shutdown, just so that he can stage a last-minute “rescue” with himself as the man on the white horse. What the Governor won’t be acknowledging is his role in causing the shutdown.