MN House tax bill advances despite Rep. Rukavina concerns about regressive taxes

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Disagreement among senior members of the DFL House Caucus became apparent today as Represenative Tom Rukavina talked about how he lost a lot of sleep last night thinking about the proposed tax bill. He doesn’t have a problem with the progressive taxes in the bill which include creating a new income tax bracket for Minnesota’s richest citizens. He is concerned about regressive taxes in the bill that would hit the lower and middle class. He proposed reducing those regressive taxes by simply adding a 2.5% surcharge to the income tax. The proposal was defeated 6-23 in the House Tax Committee. Continue Reading

Shifting dental care to the ER

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Budget cuts to state dental care programs proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be an expensive shift that will end up costing state taxpayers more, say Minnesota dentists.The governor has proposed eliminating dental care for adults receiving General Assistance, Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, and the Critical Access Provider Payment Program, and replacing it with an ER care program on Jan. 1, 2010. “Non-pregnant adults would continue to receive emergency dental care through hospital emergency departments for emergencies such as severe pain, trauma or infections,” states the budget proposal on page 102. There’s just one problem. Hospital emergency rooms aren’t set up as dentist’s offices. Continue Reading

YOUR TURN: St. Paul Public Schools Budget Forum

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St. Paul Public Schools face a budget deficit of $25 million for the 2009-2010 school year. The school board has held public discussion sessions, and encouraged public input in a variety of settings. We want to encourage TC Daily Planet readers to use this forum as another opportunity for public discussion. The sidebar (yellow background, below) lists proposed budget cuts. Continue Reading

On his knees, band director pleading to stop SPPS music cuts

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“I want to use my body to show how devastating this decision would be. It would be cutting our program off at the knees,” said Chelsea Heights Elementary School band director Dave Perry, on his knees at the St. Paul Public School Board listening session March 26. He added, to enthusiastic applause, “We aren’t worried about losing our jobs, we’re worried about what this is going to do to the kids.”
St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) face a $25 million deficit. Continue Reading

School extracurricular activities on the chopping block

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School districts throughout Minnesota will have to cut their budgets this spring no matter what happens with the state’s revenue shortfall or the President’s economic recovery plan. As district leaders eye potential cuts, they inevitably look toward extracurricular activities as a place where they can cut their budgets but leave core subjects intact. They’re not doing students any favors. Scores of studies show that students who participate in extracurricular activities perform better in school than those who do not. If Minnesota’s goal is to produce students who are best equipped to participate in a 21st Century workforce, then every advantage must be given to them. Continue Reading

From worse to bad

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Lawmakers finally have a definitive number to work with: $4.57 billion.

That’s the size of the budget deficit the Legislature will have to eliminate before its May 18 constitutional adjournment dea

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Budget forecast: time for new revenue & cuts

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Excluding one-time federal recovery dollars, the state’s revenue situation went from bad to worse with the release of the February forecast of state revenues and expenditures. Minnesota Management & Budget (formerly the Department of Finance) is projecting a budget deficit for the upcoming FY 2010-11 biennium of approximately $6.6 billion (not including one-time federal dollars), up from the $5.5 billion projected in the November forecast. This deficit includes the impact of inflation on state revenues and expenditures. The February forecast provides even further proof that Minnesota has a revenue problem. After the additional decline anticipated in the next biennium, real per capita current resources for FY 2010-11 should be 16.3 percent less than in FY 2002-03. Continue Reading

Kitchen table priorities and the state budget

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Governor Pawlenty frequently compares the state budget process to a family sitting around the kitchen table, working on their household budget. Pawlenty says that in difficult financial times like these, families make tough budget cuts and Minnesota needs to do the same. The kitchen table metaphor is a good one to use, but the Governor’s proposed solution takes an approach that no family would ever find acceptable. When times are tough, families do cut back where they can. They eat at home instead of eating out or they may skip a family vacation. Continue Reading