Accessibility menu
State Representative Kurt Zellers
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5502
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
BUDGET SOLUTIONS OFFERED
By Kurt Zellers
State Representative
District 32B
With the multi billion dollar budget deficit looming over the heads of Minnesota taxpayers; many of them have been asking when the Democrat Leadership in the House and Senate were going to present their solution to fix this massive budget problem. The Leaders of both bodies finally released their solutions, but neither ‘plans’ include any specifics.
Speaker Margaret Kelliher and House Democrats solve the budget deficit by raising taxes by $1.5 billion, delaying $1.9 billion in K-12 education payments and cutting all programs except education.
But the details are no where to be found. They tell us they are going to raise taxes, but won’t say who is going to have to pay them. Will it be income taxes on all Minnesotans? Will they start taxing clothes and over the counter medicine? They say education is their top priority, but don’t tell us how much they are going to spend in the classroom.
We have been in session for over 3 months; why can’t they provide the Minnesota taxpayers the details?
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and Senate Democrats raise taxes by $2 billion, cut $1 billion from Education and cut all areas by 7%.
Just like their DFL counterparts in the House; Senate Democrats have yet to tell Minnesotans WHO is going to have to pay for $2 Billion in new taxes. Will it be business owners? Will it be increased property taxes? And they have refused to explain why they think it is a good idea to cut education by $1 Billion.
At what point do these ‘leaders’ plan to respond to the Minnesota taxpayers who have been asking, begging, for fiscal responsibility from their government?
But instead of looking for options that could stop waste and fraud and live within our means, we’re hearing a “More Taxes” mantra. The “rich” Democrats have said they ‘might’ tax include over 66% of our small business owners who pay their personal and business taxes together. And if they tax those small business owners more, that means they will have less to pay their employees or put into expanding their business. In tough economic times I really don’t think that’s a good idea to help grow new jobs. In fact, it will most certainly kill jobs.
The facts are clear: we cannot tax our way out of this budget deficit. So let’s get to the root of the problem. Let’s not spend more than we take in. That’s why I have signed on as a co-author of House Resolution 1. This plan would limit expenditures to the amount of money the state is projected to take in for the next 2 years, our budget period, and right now that totals $30.7 billion.
Facing the current budget crisis in our state the solution is quite simple: Do not spend more money than you take in. That is the first lesson in budgeting. It’s the principle every family follows. It’s certainly the way the government should work.
--30--
News Items
- Loss of a friend, Stanley Crooks - (Posted: 2012-08-25 00:00:00)
- MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE APPROVES $167.5 MILLION DISASTER RELIEF BILL Reforms targeted at accountability included in bill - (Posted: 2012-08-24 00:00:00)
- HOUSE SPEAKER KURT ZELLERS AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SENJEM ANDSTATEMENT ON TODAY’S SUPREME COURT HEARING ON VOTER ID AMENDMENT - (Posted: 2012-07-17 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.