Mondale/Carlson budget solutions fall flat
Friday, July 08, 2011 at 7:45 am
- 5 Comments
Leaders on both sides of the aisle balked on a bipartisan proposal to end the Minnesota budget stalemate through a combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts Thursday.
The commission, led by former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale and former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson, was praised by Democratic leaders, although Gov. Mark Dayton ultimately rejected their proposal of a tax increase for everyone, rather than just the very wealthy, which Dayton has proposed.
Democratic leaders used the commission’s findings to nudge Republicans towards compromise.
“The bipartisan commission agrees that we need a balanced budget approach that combines responsible spending cuts and smart reforms with new, permanent revenue that allows us to protect our key priorities,” Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) said in a statement. “This is also the position of Gov. Dayton, Democrats, many moderate Republicans, the vast majority of Minnesotans, and even the state’s economist.”
But House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) told the Star Tribune that the proposal was a “retread of failed tax-and-spend policies.”
The commission was never popular with Republicans. Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton released a statement earlier in the week that criticized the effort.
“At the end of the day, the budget resolution is not about Gov. Dayton’s obsession with expanding government or about former Gov. Carlson’s obsession with his ego,” Sutton said. “It is about creating growth and prosperity for all Minnesotans.”
Follow Jon Collins on Twitter5 Comments
Comment posted July 8, 2011 @ 7:50 am
As I tweeted to Arne&Fritz on Thursday: Um, gee, thanks, fellas. You can go back to the putting green now.
Arne may think he is is outre, and the GOP may consider him a “Quisling,” but with a proposal to raise taxes on all Minnesotans — a flat tax for the poor and the rich — he didn’t do Mark Dayton any favors. In fact, the Carlson-Mondale plan undermines Dayton.
Comment posted July 8, 2011 @ 9:50 am
“But House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) told the Star Tribune that the proposal was a “retread of failed tax-and-spend policies.”
As a Republican, Zellers can only support borrow-and-spend policies.
Comment posted July 8, 2011 @ 10:15 am
I didn’t like the proposal either, but I was really hoping for an end to this shutdown. I hope that at least the proposal will give each side some ideas on how it could appeal to the other. Name calling will do nothing to get us out of this. This problem didn’t start with Carlson’s ego, and if Dayton is exhibiting obsessive behavior, he certainly isn’t the only one. Get back to work guys, we’re losing money and patience.
Comment posted July 8, 2011 @ 2:06 pm
It doesn’t sound like Dayton is a firm “no”. He wants the tax increases to hit the top and thinks the bottom has been taxed enough already. Probably only a small adjustment is needed to make it acceptable. The Republicans seem obsessed with getting exactly what they want, and their reaction has been to name-call Carlson and Mondale, especially Carlson, who they seem to really hate.
Comment posted July 8, 2011 @ 9:28 pm
After the Slapshot Tim years of property tax increases I can see some merit in these guys stepping out of the shadows to identify what has worked in the past as the route to the future.
Having said that I’m with Dayton that the trickle down has to be more of a spigot to get things moving again.
So in my opinion the committee was right to identify taxation but in agreement with Nick’s point on undercutting Dayton they’d have done well to emphasize a high end bracket as the better target.
Jeff Wilfahrt, Rosemount, MN
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