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State Representative Michael Beard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8872
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS COLUMN
STATE SPENDING TARGETS IN PLACE
I would imagine most families analyze their financial situation periodically to determine their own personal budget. If people need to make a major purchase, they have to find out where the money is going to come from or what they have to cut back on to make their plan work. State government is no different.
Recently, the Minnesota House approved a state government spending package for the 2006-07 biennium. The final total approved by the House was $29.84 billion, which is more than $2 billion larger than the amount spent in 2004-05. This amount also equals more than a 7% increase in state government spending, or put another way, equals $400 more for every person in Minnesota. We adopt this resolution every two years because it sets the maximum limit on state government spending.
During the resolution debate, an amendment was proposed that would have allegedly added more money to K-12 education in the state, but it was defeated. The problem with this amendment was that it did not explain where the additional money would come from for the K-12 increase. Common sense tells me if this had been approved, we would have had to raise income or sales taxes, institute a clothing tax, or further cut other programs to make it work.
In addition, the amendment did not allocate where the money would go, meaning there was no guarantee the funding would be dedicated to local classrooms. I think it is somewhat irresponsible to approve a tax increase without knowing where the money is coming from and determining how it is going to be spent. I am open to increasing education funding. I am not open to raising taxes for no reason.
The House’s overall budget figure should be more than enough to meet the growing needs of state government. If we wouldn’t have been able to agree on this resolution, it could have created another stalemate where nothing gets done during the session and nobody wins. A $2 billion increase should be enough to meet the rising needs of K-12 education, higher education and the growing cost of government health care programs.
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News Items
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- State Budget Round Two: Increased taxes, spending on the horizon - (Posted: May 3 2013 10:27AM)
- Tax increases unnecessary with positive budget news - (Posted: Mar 11 2013 12:00AM)
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