Monday, January 26, 2009

On those kitchen table conversations...

A bunch of right wing groups have come together and put up a website to propose actions to fix our state's budget deficit.

It's a veritable who's who of Minnesota conservative organizations, headlined by Minnesota Majority, Minnesota Family Council, and the Taxpayers League.

The website has an excel function that allows you to cut each area of the state budget to trim down the $4.8 billion deficit.

We've heard numerous Republican legislators parrot Governor Pawlenty's line about families having tough conversations at the kitchen table.

That part is true, we are having those conversations. We're cutting back on eating out and other activities, relying on some of our savings as well.

But the Republican leadership fails to recognize the other part of the conversation.

We're looking at how to raise "revenue" as well. I'll work more hours at work or maybe take on some more part time work opportunities.

Increasing the revenue side of the picture has to be in play and the folks at Minnesota Budget Solutions refuse to even acknowledge that possibility.

I get it, you don't want to raise taxes, even for those in the Top 1%.

But please, don't play this silly game that real Minnesotans are only having conversations about what to cut.

2 comments:

JLeuze said...

Yeah, by now plenty of people, including myself, have little left to cut and have no choice but to find extra income.

It looks like the right wing groups have been having tough talks around the kitchen table too, that's a pretty cheap looking website!

Even if it is powered by WordPress, hopefully those shabby graphics and that stupid long dotcom will spell failure for the right-wingers...

Triple Threat said...

So, everyone out there just needs to have the conversation and decide to increase their family's revenue. Just go out and get an extra job that nobody but 300 other people want. Sell something that nobody wants to buy.

When you have a pork laden budget like Minnesota the spending side has to be cut first because that is where the most room to close the deficit is.