Neither party should take credit for surplus in Minnesota’s budget

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Sound Off, Don Heinzman blog – When I hear Senate Majority Leader David Semjem brag about the Republican Party’s prudent managing of the budget, I want to gag.

He’s been saying that the party came to the majority with a $5 billion shortfall in the budget and now supposedly thanks to his party’s budget management, the state has a balanced budget and a $876,000 surplus.

True there is a surplus, but it’s due to $358 million more in unexpected revenues and $205 million money not spent in the last budget cycle. Neither party gets credit for this surplus.

Now, how did the Minnesota Legislature insist on balancing the budget to end the  government shutdown when Gov. Mark Dayton caved?

It delayed paying $700 million to school districts until 2013 on top of the previous payment delay to schools of $1.4 billion.

It borrowed $700 million by selling bonds based on a 1998 tobacco settlement.

Prudent management?

Hey that’s $2.8 billion that has to be repaid.  Any way you look at it, that’s a hole in the budget. – DON HEINZMAN