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State Representative Paul Thissen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5375
For more information contact: Carrie Lucking 651-296-4169
Press/News Releases
Governor kept his budget promises, now it's legislative Republicans' turn
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result. For the last eight years, Governor Pawlenty got lost in a fiscal craze of shifting costs and driving up property taxes – all of which have further squeezed middle class pocket books.
Along the campaign trail, Governor Dayton said that balancing our budget would be extremely difficult, but that we had to stop the madness of the middle class squeeze.
Today, Governor Dayton is keeping his promise to Minnesotans. He said that he would support our children’s schools, and he has. He said that Minnesotans blessed with wealth should pay their fair share. That promise has been kept as well.
Now the focus will be on the Republicans. Can they keep their promise of producing an all-cuts budget? The Republicans have repeated, over and over, that we have more than enough money and they can readily cut $6.2 billion from the state budget, and promised an all-cuts approach with no new money that will allow us to magically live with our means.
Minnesotans deserve to see what the Republicans’ all-cuts budget honestly looks like, compare it to the governor’s budget, and make an informed decision about which is better for our state.
I’m curious about the expressed Republican outrage at the Governor's budget. Where was their outrage when our children started being warehoused in overcrowded classrooms? Where was their outrage when police and firefighters were laid off due to cuts? Where was their outrage when property taxes skyrocketed $3 billion over the past 8 years? Middle class families have paid more and more in the past decade, so the Republicans’ outrage over this budget is just a little too little, a little too late.
Minnesotans know that more and more money has been coming out of middle class pockets with rising property taxes, tuitions, and fees. Average families live it every day. The middle class is paying hidden taxes, and it’s time to shine the light of reality on that fact. Governor Dayton is taking that issue on directly.
While the Republicans are busy finding a way to make sure that the richest Minnesotans don’t share a part of the budget solution, the House DFL Caucus will work diligently to preserve the Minnesota values of shared responsibility and broad prosperity as the budget process unfolds.
We will work every day to defend those working families’ pocket books at every step in the process.
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Rep. Paul Thissen is DFL House Minority leader. He represents Richfield and part of Minneapolis in the Minnesota State House of Representatives.
News Items
- Speaker Thissen to Establish Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs - (Posted: May 29 2013 1:15PM)
- Minnesota House Finishes 2013 Session with Balanced Budget, Historic Investments in Education, Job Creation, Property Tax Relief - (Posted: May 21 2013 12:44AM)
- Governor Mark Dayton & DFL Legislators Hold Invest in Education “Pep Rally” with Minnesota teachers, parents and students - (Posted: Apr 21 2013 4:21PM)
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