Dear Friends,
Recently I've been seeing some pretty creative attempts by my friends in the majority to take credit for the hundreds of millions of dollars that was recently repaid to schools as a part of paying down the school shift.
Let's be clear: Democrats promised the people of Minnesota that they would prioritize paying back our schools. House Democrats made school shift payback House File 1 – the first bill of the session – indicating they were serious about paying back our schools to fulfill their promise, however, they failed to pass HF1. In fact, it was never even brought to the floor or voted on, and was never given a committee hearing.
When push came to shove, Democrats declined to use even $1 dollar from the $2,000,000,000 in new taxes they raised on the hardworking people of Minnesota to make good on that promise. They simply couldn't say no to their far-left special interest allies who were demanding new out-of-control spending.
Simply put, Democrats failed to deliver on their number one priority, and broke a promise to the people of Minnesota.
Instead, they chose to use surplus revenue generated from the 2011 GOP budget. Over the past two years, the Republican budget – which was certified last week – has generated more than $3 billion dollars in greater-than-expected revenue. That's right: without raising taxes, the Republican budget brought in more money than the Democrat budget did with their $2 billion dollar tax increase.
Democrats fought the Republican budget tooth and nail. Governor Dayton said back in 2011 that Republicans "owned" the budget, and were responsible for it.
So to me it's pretty disingenuous for Democrats to hold a press conference, as they did last week, touting the school shift payback that relied on revenue generated from a budget they fought against. It's taking credit where credit is not due.
It's bad enough to break a promise to Minnesotans – it's even worse when you try to cover it up by taking credit for the work of others. Minnesotans deserve better.
Take care,
Glenn