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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
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MAKING SHAMEFUL AND EMBARRASSING HISTORY Statement from Minority Leader Thissen on GOPs history-making cuts to colleges, universities
One thousand five hundred jobs lost. One hundred thousand course offerings denied. Thousands more in tuition paid by middle class families. The largest cut to our colleges and universities in Minnesota history.
Austerity is one thing. The largest cuts in history is quite another. And the students are the ones who will get the austerity.
Yes, Members, the Republicans are making history here today – a shameful and embarrassing history of squeezing middle class families with skyrocketing tuitions that will put college out of reach for some.
This budget deficit requires difficult decisions, but average Minnesota college students and their families are being asked to bear far more than their fair share of the budget-balancing responsibility. In the Republican budget the average MN college student will:
-Pay more tuition, even though tuition has already increased 70-90% in the recent past
-Get fewer courses that they need to competitive in the 21st century, global economy
-Pay more in property taxes as a result of the elimination of the renter’s credit
-Not be able to take the bus to their jobs OR have to spend $7 per ride to do so
All the while, the richest Minnesotans will be asked to make no sacrifice – they will not pay a dime when college kids and their families will pay thousands.
And for Minnesota, this bill is a disaster.
Cities like Bemidji, Crookston, St. Cloud, and Rochester will see massive layoffs and even potential campus closures as a result of these bills. The local economy will suffer as good-paying jobs are lost and students disappear from these communities.
No matter how much the Republicans want to deny it – Minnesota and its workers must compete in a global economy. Closing the doors to college for some middle class students makes us less competitive, not more.
The Republican majority is following the flawed, job-killing, Pawlenty history of slashing and burning our colleges and universities. That’s a history we should try to escape, not a history to embrace.
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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