Simple--you play accounting games with the state's money. During the legislative session, the Guv attempted to take $50 million from the Health Care Access fund. Fortunately, he wasn't able to get that. Now, MinnPost is reporting that Pawlenty is responsible for a section of the final compromise bill which takes $15 million from the State Airports Fund. And this isn't the first time he's tried these accounting tricks: we already took $15 million from the fund as part of a similar effort to balance the budget without raising taxes in 2003. We just paid the money back as required by law, and now we've taken it again--except without any provision requiring that it be paid back. He's relied on similar accounting mechanisms throughout his tenure as Governor.
It's time for T-Paw to grow a pair and stand behind his membership in the "no new taxes" cult. He knows that he can't legitimately balance the budget without raising taxes, so he's making up the difference on paper. This sort of juggling isn't sustainable, and he's hoping that by the time we all catch on to his parlor tricks, he'll be on to bigger and better things. If he really believes in his "no new taxes" pledge, he should have the courage to enact the massive service cuts it would require and face the judgment of the voters.
Of course, we can't hold the DFL majority in the legislature blameless. 2008 was better than 2007, but they were still outmaneuvered at times by Pawlenty. Because this provision came in the final hours of the session, there was no time to push back against it. In 2009, I hope they will force the Guv to make the tough choices. We have the winning message of investment in our infrastructure and in our people, and it's time to force Pawlenty to show the state how bankrupt his policies are.
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