Dear Neighbor,
The House this week passed something to which a number of legislators refer as a “Garbage Bill.” Others are calling it a “Bailout Bill.” Either nickname is well-deserved.
Democrats took all sorts of mismatched, unrelated tax-and-spend provisions, lumped them together and passed them all in a massive 436-page bill that spends $1.2 billion through 2017. Many of the provisions never would have passed on their own merit, but rode the coattails of the few valuable measures included.
Take, for example, the 5-Percent Bill. This is good legislation that Republicans championed to deliver much-needed pay increases to our state’s care providers: It increases funding for the home- and community-based services and intermediate-care facilities for Minnesotans with developmental disabilities. These valuable care workers sacrificed during the recession and it is time to do the right thing and help them catch up on their earnings.
Democrats first pushed for a smaller increase of 4 percent. They eventually came around to supporting the full 5 percent we proposed, but then refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. They held it hostage in the Garbage Bill, tied it to a bunch of pork spending and refused to give our care workers – and vulnerable citizens who rely on them – the dignity of a stand-alone vote.
It is unfortunate Democrats played political games with this important bill.
When is enough enough? Democrats just last year increased all-funds spending by $1,500 for every man, woman and child in Minnesota. They wasted hardworking taxpayer money on pay raises for politicians and a $90 million commitment to build a lavish, unnecessary new office building. Now they want to spend more to bail out Obamacare ($442 million) and more.
We also learned this week Democrats have put together a nearly $1 billion package to fund various construction projects throughout the state. Some of the projects are valuable and would benefit our infrastructure. But, again, those worthy items became the foundation for heaps of suspect projects – more garbage? – to be added.
As I told a local reporter this week, there is no need to bond for a single dollar. The state has cash tucked away in agencies, plus there is a projected $1.23 billion surplus. People ask me where I stand on the bonding bill and I tell them I support some of the proposed projects. I just fundamentally oppose the idea of borrowing to fund them when we have cash on hand.
“But this is a bonding year, so we need to do a bill,” Democrats say to me. I ask: Who – other than borrow-happy bureaucrats – thinks that way? Who – other than the government – goes out and pays with a credit card when ample cash is available? Just think about that for a minute.
It’s this kind of government dysfunction that grates on folks. It makes this businessman’s skin crawl. Minnesota taxpayers deserve better.
You want to spend $1 billion? Fine, just give the state’s credit card a rest and use surplus funds. Projects still can be funded and taxpayers won’t incur debt.
Let’s stop haggling over the final dollar amount for a bonding bill and start talking about fiscally responsible decisions we can make to put our state on a more responsible course for the long haul.
Sincerely,
Mark