Dear Neighbor,
The House this week approved five public employee contracts and two compensation plans, covering approximately 35,000 workers. I have significant concerns with the bill which passed in the House, but I also am highly disappointed in the committee process.
First, the details of the bill:
The contracts grant 2-percent pay increases and step increases for eligible employees (approximately half). All contracts include a continuation of employers covering 100 percent of employee health insurance premium and 85 percent of dependent coverage (premiums estimated to increase 9 percent in 2013). Who do you know in the private sector that has 100 percent of their health care premium paid by their employer?
The latest numbers from the seven contracts approved to date – with 11 more contracts to be approved – show a $249 million increase in the 2014-15 all-funds budget.
This Democrat plan gives government workers a 2-percent pay raise just one month after most Minnesotans received a 2-percent reduction in take-home pay. The contracts spend millions more of taxpayer dollars, but fail to include much-needed reform to contain taxpayer costs. Our unfunded liability to the state pension systems has a shortfall of approximately $16.7 billion, yet Democrats refused to address this issue.
Republicans tried to improve the bill in the committee process, but Democrats were not interested in conducting due diligence. In fact, one state Representative said in a public meeting that his subcommittee was nothing more than a rubber stamp for employee contracts. That comment should make us all cringe. Thank goodness someone called him out on this. You can click here to see it happen on video.
The bottom line is the governor and his fellow Democrats are yet again favoring bigger government over smarter government. This is a key reason they are calling for massive tax increases on middle-class Minnesotans. Private-sector taxpayers are not reaping the rewards of generous state contracts, yet are stuck paying bill. We will never get our state's budget in order for the long haul with that kind of thinking and lack of accountability at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Tom Hackbarth
State Representative
309 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd