| Pawlenty pitches job growth, tax cuts to chamber |
By: SUZANNE ROOK, Managing Editor
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Posted: Monday, March 16, 2009 6:49 pm
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DUNDAS — About 40 Northfield Area Chamber members extended a warm greeting Monday to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has been talking to business organizations around the state.
In his 45-minute address at College City Beverage, Pawlenty discussed three main topics: making Minnesota more business-friendly, reforming the educational system and dealing with the health care crisis.
Questions for Pawlenty focused mostly on the state’s budget shortfall, project at $4.8 billion.
In his remarks, the governor criticized the DFL for suggesting across the board budget cuts, rather than prioritizing expenditures as his proposal did.
In Pawlenty’s budget proposal, released in January, the governor maintained funding for K-12 education and for security-related areas, including the National Guard and public safety. Among the cuts the governor suggested: higher education and state aid to cities.
Pawlenty has recommended smaller increases in health and human services, believing that area has grown too rapidly.
— Suzanne Rook can be reached at srook@northfieldnews.com or 645-1113. |
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yeah, you really don't want to see health human services going up too quickly, do you? let's cut higher ed. we don't really need it as we're competing just fine with other countries. oh, wait. but anyway, back to helping businesses. "business-friendly" is fine when it means helping businesses open and giving them entrance into a market. when it means robbing health and education to "help" business, it's a disservice to society.
Who does robtrot think pays for health services and education? Every cent that the government spends is money generated by business. The government does not produce any money - if we're not business friendly then people like Rob will have even less to spend on their precious causes.
Higher education in Minnesota makes very poor use of the money it gets - the U of M has among the highest proportion of tenured faculty of any major university in the country and why does the U need two ice-hockey arenas? Health and human services expenditures have increased far more than the rate of inflation or population growth would justify.
Human Services was projected to grow 20% - that even in good economic times is not sustainable. Thank the DFL for that with the rollback of welfare reforms..etc.
As far as higher education, education or any other budget item the fact is none of them should be on auto pilot. We spend well over half of the entire state budget on education and what do we have to show for it???? Anybody??? And we want to throw more money at education?
Money may be made from trees but it certainly does not grow on them. If there is anything that is for sure is that we have spent way too much on government expansion. Tax cuts are one thing but they do no good for the ecnomoy or taxpayers unless government expenditures are cut as well.
Most state aid to cities is spent with no accountability. When it goes away cities threaten cuts to fire, police and other essential services when that is arguably what your property tax pays for. How about really focusing on priorities and not wants and wishes for a change.
Pawlenty is right... if we are going to drag ourselves out of this mess it will be taxpayers and businesses (small) that do it not the government spending more and more of your taxdollars!