Where is the deficit? We talk about 'You got to raise taxes, government has to invest.' I'll say it again, government in the state of Minnesota is scheduled to get a 7 percent increase in the next biennium. Government will have more money to spend in the next two years than it is spending right now.
You see, Minnesotans? There is no spoon. Whoa. The deficit is all in your head! If the budget crisis doesn't exist --bam-- no plan needed.
Even with his attempt to melt our minds by going all Neo on us, no one is fooled. Despite Emmer's selective accounting, we know we're facing a historic budget crisis, and as Tom Scheck immediately points out, the major reason for the uptick in state spending cited by Emmer is that Tim Pawlenty's kicking of the budgetary can is coming home to roost. (Mixed metaphors win elections)
With over a billion in school shifts and half a billion in temporary cuts coming off the chopping block, many of the gimmicks bullied through the legislature by Tim Pawlenty--with the full support of Tom Emmer and House Republicans-- are putting the state in an even worse situation next year.
Instead of owning up to his role in the budget debacle we find ourselves in -- and provide us with what would actually be a "new direction" -- Tom Emmer has decided to try and confuse us. Whether it's mashing up $20 billion and 20%, or comparing Minnesota to a wagon full of Clydesdales, Tom Emmer is willing to say anything, except what he would actually do to the services we all use and rely on if he became governor.
The problem? It's pretty hard to dance around the fact that he introduced things like cutting the minimum wage while pushing for lower taxes on corporations. We wont forget that --when he bothered to show up to vote-- that he consistently sided with big businesses instead of working Minnesotans. For the new direction the Minnesota needs someone ready to make the hard decisions to move us forward. We need someone who can lay out a plan to get Minnesota back on track, not more Pawlenty-styled governing by press release.
Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court, on a 4-3 decision, ruled against Governor Pawlenty's choice to unilaterally cut the state budget. The Star Tribune's Lori Sturdevant explains:
The 2010-11 state budget was never balanced. A $3 billion deficit remains. Only when a budget is lawfully enacted and state spending is "allotted" for the biennium can a governor "unallot," Chief Justice Eric Magnuson's opinion said.
As the regular legislative session winds down, the question on Minnesotans' minds is what now? With Governor Pawlenty's unilateral budget cuts from last summer erased, now is the time for a balanced approach to balancing the state budget.
The legislature obviously agrees--the Minnesota House, on a decisive and bipartisan vote (105-27), decided not to ratify Pawlenty's cuts. Only the most conservative members of the House voted to ratify Pawlenty's cuts, which shows just how little support Pawlenty's approach had.
This morning, the House and Senate put forward a plan to balance the state budget. The plan ratifies most of the Governor's unallotments; however, most of them are temporary cuts, not permanent reductions. More importantly, the legislature's plan includes $435 million in new revenues to solve the budget crisis.
There still seems to be a feeling that the state's budget crisis could be solved before the legislature adjourns on May 17. Hopefully the legislature will recognize, after this past year's unallotment, the need to quickly pass a balanced budget.
I don’t envy congressional candidate Allen Quist. He has to take on Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has a record three entries in our 2010 March Badness bracket. Before you get too worried about his chances, let me tell you that he could have a come-from-behind victory on his hands.
Quist said that beating “radical” liberals in Washington is an even bigger battle than fighting terrorism. “Terrorism? Yes. That’s not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C. with the radicals."
His opponent is Unallotment Pawlenty, who should be charged with a flagrant foul for his potentially unconstitutional use of unallotment power over the summer. His unallotment sucker punched local governments by cutting critical services.
In this dramatic match-up of Pawlenty vs. Pawlenty, who will win?
In one corner we have Climate Pawlenty. Climate Pawlenty was once a champion of cap-and-trade legislation, but that was when he was a minor-leaguer. Now that Climate Pawlenty dreams of making it big in the majors (as a potential candidate for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination), he’s got to make some adjustments to his game plan.
One of adjustments this year was a complete reversal of his stance on global warming, questioning “how much of it is man-made” and accusing scientists of “data manipulation and controversy.”
In the other corner, we have a different side of Gov. Pawlenty. What could possibly compete with Climate Pawlenty? Gov. Pawlenty vetoed GAMC, the health care program that provides a safety net for Minnesota’s most vulnerable. Over 1,000 miles (he was in Washington, DC) separated Gov. Pawlenty from the poorest and sickest Minnesotans he kicked off GAMC.
Last night, the March Madness brackets were set and I'm happy to report that my Golden Gophers snuck in at the last minute.
This morning, after reviewing your submissions for March Badness 2010 -- our tournament to decide the most outrageous, ridiculous things conservatives have done in the last year -- narrowed it down to the "seedy sixteen."
So I have one question for you: are you ready for tourney time?
Michele Bachmann returns to defend her title with a couple of her more colorful statements--including suggesting that people "become blood brothers" to defeat health insurance reform--but will one of the Republican newcomers be able to dethrone her?
No bracket would be complete without some sort of prize, so one lucky winner who votes in each round will receive: ProgressNow Founder Michael Huttner's book 50 Ways You Can Help Obama Change America and Brave New Films 5th Anniversary 10-DVD Collection. This box set includes Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price, Uncovered: The Truth Behind the War in Iraq, and more.
Only you will be able to decide which Tim Pawlenty entry will win. His complete flip-flop on climate change or his veto of health care of the poor from a political conference in Washington. It's in your hands, so vote now.
Yesterday, we sent this email out to Alliance for a Better Minnesota members in hopes that Minnesota Republicans would stand by their vote, and not pull the ultimate political flip-flop. With debate underway in the State House, things are still up in the air.
Joe,
Republican leaders appear to be backtracking from their support for a bipartisan compromise to protect more than 70,000 Minnesotans from getting kicked off a state service -- General Assistance Medical Care -- that provides access to basic health care.
In a radio interview, one Republican legislator admitted it's a shift from "what's good for the district" to "party loyalty." It is shameful to let party loyalty displace the needs of veterans and the poor who are seeking access to doctors and medicine.
Take a minute to tell your legislators that their loyalty should be to their constituents -- not political party leaders:
http://ga0.org/campaign/VoteYesOverride
We need to put the pressure on legislators so that they have the courage to stand up to party leaders in order to save this crucial service. The vote is expected on Monday and we need you to click on the link and take action now.
Thank you for telling your legislator to put the needs of constituents ahead of party loyalty.
Joe Davis, Alliance for A Better Minnesota
P.S. The override vote could happen tomorrow, Monday March 1st, so make sure you take action right now.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joe Davis, Alliance for a Better Minnesota
Subject: 70,000 Minnesotans are counting on you
To: joe@allianceminnesota.org
Last week the state legislature put partisan bickering aside to protect the more than 70,000 vulnerable Minnesotans--around 8,000 of which are veterans-- who depend on General Assistance Medical Care to get access to basic health care.
But now, after Governor Pawlenty's veto, some of those same legislators that supported the bipartisan bill are thinking about voting against that very same bill this time around.
Click here to ask your legislator to vote YES on GAMC one more time.
If the legislature does not act, more than 70,000 Minnesotans across the state that depend on the GAMC program will be without the care that they need. This service is simply far too important to the most vulnerable in our state to be a victim of of Tim Pawlenty's presidential hopes, and the ambitions of other Republicans seeking higher office.
That's why we here at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a grassroots advocacy organization, have been contacting folks like you across the state to contact your legislators right away.
Our legislators have the power to make things right but they need to know that they made the right decision the first time. We only need three out of 38 House Republicans to vote the same way they did last week to make this happen.
http://ga0.org/campaign/VoteYesOverride
Hearing from people in their district is the only way that they'll stand up to Tim Pawlenty. Click on the link to contact your legislator and tell them you support basic medical care for the most vulnerable folks in our state, and you support their vote.
Thanks for standing up for what's right,
Joe
Joe Davis
Deputy Director
Alliance for a Better Minnesota
Marty Seifert was one of the 38 House Republicans to vote for the GAMC bill last week, but he has since vowed to uphold the Governor’s veto. Rep. Seifert is clearly showing that partisanship is more important than proving the 8,000 veterans who rely on GAMC with the care they need.
The Star Tribune reported that David Skulborstad, a military veteran who lost his job in 2004, relies on GAMC for more than his prescription drugs or doctors appointments.
"Having GAMC means I'm alive," he said. "I protected this country. In my moment of need, Gov. Pawlenty chose not to protect me."
Voting to upholding Gov. Pawlenty’s veto means that Rep. Seifert also chose not to protect veterans like Skulborstad. That’s why Alliance for a Better Minnesota will be running online ads to pressure him to stand by his original vote. We’re running 30,000 impressions on the Marshall Independent website alone, as well as on all the top websites visited in Rep. Seifert’s district throughout the weekend.
Clicking on these ads will allow Minnesotans to demand that Rep. Seifert honor his commitment to caring for the most vulnerable and veterans instead of putting partisanship ahead of Minnesota’s priorities.
We only need three Republicans to stand by their vote for the GAMC bill in order to override Gov. Pawlenty’s veto, so make sure you send Rep. Seifert a letter demanding he put veterans and the state’s most vulnerable ahead of partisan politics. Below are some of the ads you’ll be seeing if you live in Rep. Seifert’s district.
Yesterday, Governor Pawlenty told Minnesota that we should protect corporate America at the expense of our school children, the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. There in the audience were two of his Republican allies -- legislators Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer -- who applauded his rhetoric as they hope to continue Pawlenty's failed policies.
At the same time that school districts are "considering layoffs and program cancellations" because of the state's budget deficit, the governor proposed cutting the corporate tax rate and continuing his failed JOBZ program.
According to the Legislative Auditor, the JOBZ program has been mismanaged and lacked proper oversight to protect taxpayer's dollars. But, instead of fixing these problems, the governor protects inefficient programs at the expense of programs like GAMC, which provides those less fortunate with the vital care that they need. The governor calls this controlling government spending even though it sends scores of Minnesotans to expensive emergency rooms instead of providing less costly, more effective preventive care.
At its core, the governor's proposals are about helping corporations at the expense of middle-class families. For every step of the way, Republican legislators like Seifert and Emmer have been advocates for the governor's approach. Legislator Emmer even went so far as to suggest taking money away from programs that ensure clean drinking water to pay for a new Vikings stadium.
We are experiencing unprecedented times and Minnesota deserves better than this from those charged with finding the solutions.
Constituents of Representative Tara Mack corner her on the first day of the 2010 Minnesota Legislature and ask her to support funding General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC).
GAMC is the program that provides health care to the poorest of the poor in Minnesota and was line item vetoed by Governor Tim Pawlenty at the end of the last legislative session.
Representative Mack did not commit to voting for any of the proposals to save GAMC, saying the program was not as important as making sure health care services continue to those the program now serves.
We're getting closer and closer to the next legislative session, and with Governor Pawlenty's reckless unallotments' coming under fire, there is real momentum building to get our full renters rebate back if we make our voices heard.
Because our hearts aren't "two sizes too small" like Tim Pawlenty and his cut to the renter's rebate program, we thought we would give all of you sorting through your inboxes after the holidays two more days to enter the contest.
Right now Peter S., Lydia H., Bao H., and Michael B. are in a dead heat for the most e-cards sent, but there's still time to play catch-up, but only if you hurry.
Remember: the more people you tell, the more chances you have to win the IKEA gift card.
What does Minnesota’s anticipated $1.2 billion deficit and no hope for a special session mean for Minnesotans as the first real snow begins to fall? In the summer it meant fewer lifeguards on duty and cuts to parks and public works budgets. This winter you might notice that the streets are snowier on your way to and from work. Mayors across the state are holding their breath, waiting to see if Tim Pawlenty will cut even more local government aid this month. Politics in Minnesota reports that Mayors Chris Coleman and Wayne Wolden asked the Governor to call a special session to avoid such cuts:
“Minnesota cities are so close to the financial edge that any reduction in the December [local government aid] funding will spell disaster in the form of closed libraries, deeper cuts to police and fire protection and a sharp reduction in critical services, like winter snowplowing,” today’s joint statement from Coleman and Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden, a spokesman for the coalition, said.
The Governor's office said no, and Minnesota's cities are getting worried. If Pawlenty plans to unallot more LGA this month, Rochester will have no choice but to take the money out of its reserve funds, according to the Post-Bulletin. The St. Cloud Times reports that Sartell would have to postpone road repairs and maintenance to cope with the loss of funds.
How will LGA reductions will impact snow removal this winter? According to Kare 11, Mankato is dealing with a ten percent cut in the snow removal budget because of state aid cuts. Anyone who has driven through Minnesota in the winter knows how dangerous the roads can get when it’s snowing heavily. This winter, we might have to be extra cautious and hope that there isn’t a drastic increase in accidents with more snow on the roads.
The Foundation’s analysis is a mixture of distortions, selective presentation, and outright fallacies.
The errors commence in the first paragraph of the report. The Foundation refers to LGA as “a uniquely Minnesota form of direct aid paid to local units of government.” In fact, several other states have programs for directing general purpose aid to cities. Minnesota’s program is unique only insofar as it attempts to rigorously measure each city’s need for state-funded property tax relief.
The Foundation’s description of the growth in total government revenue is at best confusing. The Foundation presents information that shows that state and local revenue as a percent of statewide personal income declined from 16.2% in FY 2000 to a projected 16.0% in FY 2011 and asserts that this information proves that “state and local government do not have a shortage of revenue.” How does a decline in revenue as a percentage of personal income prove that state and local governments do not have a shortage of revenue? The Foundation makes no attempt to explain this non sequitur.
Incidentally, throughout most of the 1990s total state and local government revenue in Minnesota amounted to 17 percent or more of statewide personal income—significantly higher than it is today. During the relatively high revenue years of the 1990s, Minnesota’s economy was doing better in comparison to the rest of the nation than during the relatively low revenue years of the current decade.
The Foundation correctly notes that property taxes have increased dramatically during the current decade. However, the growth in property taxes is not the result of increased local government budgets. While real per capita property taxes have certainly increased over the last seven years, the amount of the increase has not been sufficient to replace cuts in state aid; consequently, property taxes have increased at the same time that the total real per capita revenue of cities, counties, and school districts has fallen. It is state aid cuts, not growth in local government spending, that have caused property tax increases during the Pawlenty era.
For more information from MN2020 on the state's local government aid system and the rationale behind it, click here. For a discussion of some of the actual problems with the state aid system, click here.
According to the Washington Post, Tim Pawlenty is still planning to head to Virginia tomorrow to raise money for GOP candidate Bob McDonnell. This is the Bob McDonnell whose blueprint for governing called working women "detrimental" to the family and tha the proliferation in the day care industry was caused by the desire of some women "to break their perceived stereotypical role bonds and seek workplace equality and individual self-actualization."
These statements made us wonder why Tim Pawlenty -- the governor of a state where 69% of women work -- is raising raising money for Bob McDonnell, a guy who says these women are a detriment to the family and society?
So we launched a campaign last week and encouraged women to speak up and make let Tim Pawlenty know what they think about his decision to raise money for a sexist. And here's what some of you had to say:
Beth in St. Paul:
Dear Governor Pawlenty,
As a woman who is not only a mother and a small business owner, who took care of elderly parents for several years, I was dismayed to find out that you are raising money with Bob McDonnell of Virginia.
The thought that my efforts on behalf of my family, my community, and the economy are considered as detrimental to society is outrageous
Please, Governor, do not betray the hard-working women of Minnesota this way.
Aileen doesn't think Tim Pawlenty's decision represents the values we Minnesotans hold dear:
It doesn't really surprise me that you're raising money for this man, Tim.
It does, however, embarrass me.
You represent Minnesota -- start representing Minnesota values!
May from Heidelberg:
I am a working women in Minnesota and I choose to work. My daughter and all of my women friends are working women as well. How dare a man say that we contribute to the breakdown of society!
From James, a Republican:
I'm a Republican and my wife has always worked while raising two wonderful children. Please don't sell your soul again to the right wing nuts in the Party!
Kathy hopes that Tim Pawlenty makes the right choice and uses his time in office to represent all the people in Minnesota:
It is really sad in this day and time that we still need to listen to people, such as Bob McDonnell, blame women in the workforce to the "breakdown in society".
Tim Pawlenty - ditch the bigot and finish out your term representing ALL of the residents of Minnesota as you were elected to do.
Thank you.
Courtney:
Gov. Pawlenty,
I am part of that 60% of Minnesota's workforce that is supposedly, according to Bob McDonnell, so detrimental to family & society. Hm. Wonder how the MN economy will feel if we were to bow to McDonnell's wishes and get out of the workforce? I would bet my 77 cents to your dollar THAT would be detrimental. Perhaps a better word would be "CATASTROPHIC."
GET WITH THE NOW. Women's roles have CHANGED and are still CHANGING. The role of the family is changing. I know the backbone of the conservative movement is to keep things from changing, but it is just the law of physics: everything changes. Please keep this in mind when you reminisce about the precious days in the 1950s when women "knew their place." We are earning our own money now and are a necessary cog in what keeps our society moving. Aside from the fact that a woman GAVE YOU and Mr. McDonnell life. You're welcome.
One woman asks Tim Pawlenty to "put his head on right" and think about how women in the labor force has allowed our country to prosper:
The participation of women in the labor force is what has KEPT society from breaking down. Let's get out of the dark ages and look at more recent history.
Does Rosie the Riveter ring a bell?
Or what about successful nurses and doctors, those that save lives are breaking down society?
Or female Senators and Representatives are breaking down society?
Mr. Pawlenty, put your head on right and stop doing stupid things. Minnesotans have long memories and your moonlighting in other locations with people who don't share MN values. Are you looking to make sure that Minnesota residents make sure that you never have a chance in politics again?
These are just a small sampling of the hundred of comments we've received asking Governor Pawlenty to represent Minnesota values and not support sexist candidates. There's still some time left to make your voice heard -- so if you haven't already, sign the petition to Tim Pawlenty and encourage your friends to join you.
Next week, Tim Pawlenty will take yet another out-of-state trip to raise money for the GOP and its candidates. His last trip took him to New Jersey, where he raised money for a guy with a less-than-stellar ethics record. But the candidate Tim Pawlenty has chosen to help raise big money for really takes the cake -- he's a sexist:
McDonnell argued, among other things, that working women and feminists are "detrimental" to the family; that government policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators;" and that the court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples was "illogical," because at the time non-marital sex was itself a crime.
And he attacks the phenomenon of women working outside the home, writing that the proliferation in the day care industry was caused by the desire of some women "to break their perceived stereotypical role bonds and seek workplace equality and individual self-actualization." Asks McDonnell: "Must government subsidize the choices of a generation with an increased appetite for the materialistic components of the American Dream?"
Why is the governor of a state where 69% of women work raising money for Bob McDonnell -- a guy who says these women are a detriment to the family and society?
McDonnell is free to be as big an insane cultural reactionary as he wants, similarities to the Taliban aside. But is this the kind of insanity with which Tim Pawlenty is trying to associate himself?
If Tim Pawlenty even cares anymore what his home state thinks of reactionary ideologues with attitudes like McDonnell's, he would immediately cancel this appearance.
Yesterday, ABM's Executive Director Denise Cardinal sent out the email below asking Minnesotans to remind Tim Pawlenty that we still expect him to represent the values that Minnesotans hold dear -- and that means not supporting sexist candidates.
Check it out:
Friend--
Minnesota has more working women than almost any other state in the nation. Governor Pawlenty's wife, Mary, is one of them. She met him in law school, served as a judge for years, and now helps run a successful foundation.
But her husband is scheduled to raise money next Wednesday with Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell -- and Bob McDonnell's blueprint for governing states that women who work are "detrimental to the family."
[E]xisting federal child-care programs already cost more than $6.9 billion in 1988. Further expenditures would be used to subsidize a dynamic new trend of working women and feminists that is ultimately detrimental to the family by entrenching a status-quo of non-parental primary nurture of children.1
Minnesotans are proud to have 69 percent of its women in the workforce2 and we certainly don't think working mothers and women are "detrimental" to any family.
Tim Pawlenty may think he's already running for President, but we still expect him to represent the values that we Minnesotans hold dear. That means no support for sexist candidates.
Sign the petition and we'll make sure Tim Pawlenty knows that Minnesotans are proud to have a workforce that supports families of all kinds, even ones that include women and "feminists."
Thanks for speaking out,
Denise Cardinal Executive Director Alliance for a Better Minnesota
Via Thank LGA and Minnesota 2020 we come across an editorial in the Mankato Free Press about Tim Pawlenty and his allies' cuts to local government aid, and how they endanger communities in greater Minnesota. From the editorial:
Reinstatement of state aid doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, so small communities will be forced to raise taxes or cut services to levels that may be OK to some, but that may also deter growth, both residential and commercial...
That would create an entirely different outstate Minnesota, an entirely different small-town Minnesota. There is likely to develop, under this scenario, a mishmash of fees and costs uneven across cities in Minnesota. It will create a tax and fee structure that will be less understandable, and less accountable for businesses and residents.
On our Make Minnesota Thrive Drive, we talked with Wayne Wolden, the mayor of Wadena, and he echoed the words in the editorial. The cuts to LGA are pushing city budgets to the brink, and communities like Wadena are left with little choice than to levy regressive fees. Instead of making the tough choices, and showing the leadership that our state needs right now, Tim Pawlenty--with the help of those who sustained his veto of a balanced budget--shifted the choices to communties like Wadena that do not have all of the tools needed to make these decisions in a fair way.
The small towns throughout the state, like Wadena, are a big reason why our state has thrived through previous recessions. If the reckless budget decisions of the past several years continue we may be seeing a shift away from all cities having the basic services that we all use and love, to only those with people wealthy enough to pay higher property taxes and fees being able to afford them.
Just finished interviewing some Minnesota State-Mankato students on the impacts of Gov. Pawlenty's unallotments to the state college system at the Fillin' Station. They had some great insights into what these cuts are going to do to their tuition, and the hurdles that working college students face to graduating with good grades as costs keep rising. Some pictures:
Katie, Megan, and Mathias also talked about how the cuts to the staffing levels hurts their experience at the school. These people are the ones that help shepherd the kids through the school, making sure their experience is the most rewarding it can be. They see a school and a college student body that is struggling with these barriers right now, and certainly not thriving in the way that Minnesotans are used to. However, they were also very optimistic that college kids can overcome these hurdles (in the fine spirit of Minnesota), but if the costs and other hurdles keep rising, it will just become harder and harder for regular people to have access to the education Minnesotans have prided themselves on providing.
We'll have the full video and interview notes up after we get to Rochester. Many thanks to Katie, Megan, and Mathias for talking with us.
It's the start of the last day we've traveled over 1,000 miles already (I think the exact reading on the trip-o-meter is 1,170) and we still have several hundred to go today. Last evening we checked out the Tim Walz townhall which was filled to the brim. For more on what happened over there, you can check out the regular ABM page, which should have those pictures and video up shortly.
Over the past several days several themes have started to emerge. Though the name on the city sign may change, the general feeling between the cities roughly the same. Minnesota, as a state, can do better than this. People from the start of the trip to the end of it have said Tim Pawlenty and his allies took the easy way out. They ducked out of the hard choices, leaving a massive deficit lasting for long after he skips town. He didn't do this in a smart of fair way. The people most impacted by these cuts are those with the least means to cope with them. I'm thinking here of Wadena, who's LGA has been gashed, but doesn't have the kind of tax base that can handle a huge property tax hike so their core services are going to be rocked. Of Cassie and the nurses at Mercy Hospital that are working doubles more and more for patients that are coming in sicker after waiting until they had to go to the emergency room.
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Every city with a college or university is seeing a main driver of their future economic growth put in danger. Classroom sizes are getting larger in the k-12 area, an area where the state prides itself on being a national leader. Every hospital is going to be filling their emergency rooms with folks who could've been cared for in a smarter way, but they were kicked off their health plan. We're seeing a state that's great, but a state that see's the things it uses and loves under increased pressure to provide more to the community, but with no means to do so. We're seeing a state that is figuring out how to survive, rather than thriving, as our state has done through booms and busts alike before. We'll have some more stories from Mankato, Rochester, and Red Wing throughout the day and then a massive round up probably during the weekend. Ok enough typing from me, time to hit the road.
This morning I met with Angela, one of ABM's Twitter followers, in the library at St. Cloud State University. Angela is a graduate student at SCSU and took a few minutes out of what-must-be a busy week before school starts, to share her story with the Make Minnesota Thrive Drive.
Like Francis -- the student we spoke to in Moorhead -- Angela said she struggles to make ends meet following years and years of tuition and fee increases. What's most striking, she said, is that college students at Minnesota state colleges are paying the same amount in tuition as she paid for private college tuition. Many of her peers, Angela added, are constantly worrying about how they're going to pay for another semester's tuition and that affects their studies. To make sure she pays for school and makes her loan payments on time, Angela has moved back in with her parents and borrowed money from them. Most students don't have that option, she added.
But it's not just tuition and fee increases that are affecting college students. Angela shared the story of one of her friends, a fellow graduate student, who is a brilliant researcher, but who struggles with depression. Angela's friend is on MinneostaCare, and wouldn't be able to afford her medication (upwards of $200 a month!) if not for the coverage it provides. When she heard about Governor Tim Pawlenty's plans to cut GAMC funding and force 30,000 Minnesotans off of MinnesotaCare, she began to fear that she would no longer be able to afford to treat her depression.
Check out the video below. We'll have more of our interview with Angela soon.
During tough economic times, one of the best ways to keep people off the unemployment rolls is through some labor intensive projects that will also add some value to city infrastucture, especially when the private capital is dried up like it is now. Like the Recovery Act, which we've seen signs for all over the northern part of Minnesota, these sorts of projects put a floor down where there would otherwise be free fall. Further, when done right, they can create a thriving community around them. Which we can also see in St. Cloud with the gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, new library.
This past legislative session another such public project was among the things vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty in the bonding bill. The project, proposed by Rep. Larry Haws, would have renovated the St. Cloud Civic Center, providing some much needed jobs in an area of the state that sorely needs them (The 6th Congressional District which houses St. Cloud has the highest foreclosure rate in the state). These sorts of projects are even more important when they're located in regional centers like St. Cloud, as the surrounding areas all benefit from the investment too. In a community that has already seen what smart investments can do with their new library, this project would have also helped St. Cloud thrive even during tough times.
We cruised by the Civic Center to check out the scene, would have looked nice with some folks getting to work...
The result of Governor Pawlenty’s budget cuts at Minnesota State University in Mankato? New professors are only being offered one-year contracts, administrators have “interim” before their title, and class sizes are increasing, according to the Mankato Free Press. The university has already cut $8 million from its budget, and Governor Pawlenty has imposed an addition $100 million cut for state colleges and universities for 2010.
Funding cuts at MSU have forced reductions in the number of clinicals offered at the School of Nursing, meaning fewer students are being accepted. In this economic climate, more students are heading to school, increasing class sizes at universities even as faculty and staff are reduced to lower budgets. The astounding impact of this can be seen at MSU:
Faculty reductions have forced class sizes up to the point that there aren’t lecture halls large enough to handle some sociology courses, forcing MSU to hold classes in the movie theater across the street from campus, said Don Larsson, head of the MSU faculty union.
Can you even imagine taking a class in a movie theater? It seems that the days of advertising small class sizes and student-to-professor ratios are over and speaks to the fact that budget cuts have forced universities like MSU to cut faculty to a bare minimum.
Governor Pawlenty also vetoed for the second time the state’s share of a proposed $13 million women’s hockey center at MSU. According to the Mankato Free Press, this facility would be where the women’s hockey team played their games, and would also serve as a facility for the men’s hockey team to practice. The construction of a new center for Minnesota’s favorite winter pastime would also have created jobs in a downtrodden economy.
Hockey and high quality education are two things that make the state of Minnesota so great—and they are both in jeopardy in Mankato. For more on how education is affecting statewide by budget cuts and more from the Thrive Drive, head over to our website.
I don’t envy congressional candidate Allen Quist. He has to take on Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has a record three entries in our 2010 March Badness bracket. Before you get too worried about his chances, let me tell you that he could have a come-from-behind victory on his hands.
What does Minnesota’s anticipated $1.2 billion deficit and no hope for a special session mean for Minnesotans as the first real snow begins to fall? In the summer it meant fewer lifeguards on duty and cuts to parks and public works budgets. This winter you might notice that the streets are snowier on your way to and from work. Mayors across the state are holding their breath, waiting to see if Tim Pawlenty will cut even more local government aid this month. 
This morning I met with Angela, one of ABM's 
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