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State Representative Bob Dettmer
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4124
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
LET’S GET BACK TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
A few days ago we were informed that the State of Minnesota is looking at a $373 million budget deficit. While there are many reasons behind this budget deficit, the driving factor is not a revenue problem, but a spending problem.
Take a look at last session. The majority party authored more than $5 billion in tax increases. They spent the entire $34 billion budget and squandered a $2 billion surplus without taking care of our state’s priorities – roads, schools, nursing homes and property tax relief. They ignored the needs of many to support an expansion of Minnesota’s welfare system and greatly expand the size and scope of state government. Welfare changes that were instituted over the past several years were rolled back and Minnesota’s new title could be “Welfare Capital of the Nation.”
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As your representative in St. Paul it is my duty to govern with common sense and fiscal responsibility. This deficit shows the state is spending too much money. The state budget should operate like the family budget. When there is less revenue, we spend less money. When the legislature reconvenes in February I will work with my colleagues to cut the spending on the luxuries, while making sure we’re spending enough money in the areas that we truly need to fund.
Raising taxes is not the course we should be taking. By raising taxes, we are taking away more money from families and job providers. If we raise taxes on families and job providers we will be pushing an even gloomier economic cloud over our state. We need to encourage job providers to create more jobs in Minnesota. We also need to make sure the government is not putting an undue economic burden on its citizens by growing government at a faster rate than the private sector and the family budget.
We will have to make some tough choices; there is no doubt about that. Governing with fiscal responsibility is not always the most popular thing to do. It is, however, the necessary thing to do - especially in times like these. We need to spend the money more responsibly. The last thing we should resort to is reaching further into your wallets.
A budget shortfall isn’t new ground for Minnesota. We faced a deficit in 2003 but, after four years of careful prioritized spending, we were operating in the black. The state must return to that model of responsible spending.
News Items
- Memorial Day Message - (Posted: May 27 2013 2:18PM)
- Dettmer Statement on HF956 - Omnibus Energy Bill - (Posted: May 8 2013 3:10PM)
- Minneapolis Veterans Deserve Better - (Posted: May 3 2013 3:31PM)
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