Budget and taxes
Obama’s Economic and Fiscal Crises Address: An End, Or a Means to an End?
Although President Barack Obama’s first Address before a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening was pitched by the White House as a “plan to confront our nation’s economic and fiscal crises,” more than 70 percent of his speech focused on…
Read MoreWhy Governor Pawlenty’s Criticism of the Federal Stimulus Bill Is Smart Politics
A recent article at MinnPost explores how Governor Tim Pawlenty is out of step with many state leaders, and governors across the nation, in taking a “hands-off” approach when it comes to lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass federal…
Read MoreWhy the Minnesota Senate Recount and Court Challenge Is Helping the Federal Budget Deficit
While Minnesota taxpayers are on the hook for approximately $200,000 to pay for its 62-day U.S. Senate race recount, that long process, and Norm Coleman’s subsequent court challenge, is saving taxpayers’ money nationwide as Minnesota’s Class II Senate seat remains…
Read MoreIs the DFL ‘Overrepresented’ at the State Capitol?
As DFL legislators tore into Governor Tim Pawlenty’s budget plan in committee hearings on Tuesday, the DFL caucus looked very much like a party with supermajority (Senate) or near supermajority (House) status. The DFL’s icy reaction to the Governor’s plan…
Read MoreMinnesota’s 2010 Budget Deficit Among Top 10 Largest In Nation
With updated budget numbers expected in the coming weeks, Minnesota’s current $2.6 billion projected budget gap for 2010 ranks as one of the top 10 largest in the nation, according to new numbers compiled by the Naitonal Conference of State…
Read MoreHow Bad Are Things In Minnesota, Really?
From the rising unemployment numbers to the state budget crisis, the news in Minnesota seems to be getting worse and worse. Adding insult to injury came the recent news last week that Minneapolis ranked as the fourth least desirable metropolitan…
Read MorePawlenty Invokes Obama and Displays Fancy Footwork On Tax Policy in Budget Presentation
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s discussion on the role tax policy should play in the upcoming budget battle during Tuesday afternoon’s budget presentation was a near masterful display of how combining the bob and weave with an occasional jab can make…
Read MoreA Content Analysis of Governor Pawlenty’s 2008 and 2009 State of the State Addresses
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s State of the State Address on Thursday afternoon saw a significant change in the policy issues he raised from his previous address on February 13, 2008. These changes largely reflected the harsh economic reality that has beset…
Read MoreWill the Minnesota-Wisconsin Shared State Services Plan Work?
On Tuesday, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and Wisconsin Democratic Governor Jim Doyle signed executive orders calling for department heads to identify, by the end of February, “Specific activities, programs, and services … for potential cooperative service arrangements.” The orders…
Read MoreThe Frugal Three: Wisconsin Legislators Reject Annual Pay Increase
In a year that has seen rising unemployment, a volatile stock market, and increasing state and federal budget deficits, the backlash on talk radio and in print against legislators in D.C. and at state capitols for receiving pay raises has…
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