Denise Tolbert characterized it well when she bluntly said, "We are broke Minneapolis" and when she also said that the State of Minnesota is broke now that the Gov's veto has been overriden. It is comical to see Moe and Pawlenty teaming to try to beat the Gov.
With respect to Minneapolis, I remember well from last April the first piece of campaign literature of former C. M. Joan Campbell, the chairperson of the Ways and Means and Budget Committee of the City Council. It blatantly said: the City of Minneapolis is financially healthy, and well managed. Beware of naysayers who will try to tell you otherwise. (That is very close to a precise quote.) The voters of Ward 2 showed their opinion of their Council Member who was effectively the Chief Financial Officer of the City Council. A newspaper report claimed that it had been about 40 years since an incumbent DFL City Council Member had been defeated in a primary election. So much for the former mayor and her Council buddy Campbell who were determined to carry out their monument-building obsession, nevermind it's effect on the financial health of the City. I don't mean to slight former Council President Cherryhomes on this count. Taxpayer-subsidized development has gotten so out of control in Minneapolis that the MCDA and NRP need to be shut down for ten years, so that businesses and individuals and neighborhoods are weened from the notion that they have almost a patriotic duty to belly up to the public trough, filled to the brim with TIF and other funds, and slurp fast and furiously as though the money might otherwise overflow and run into the storm sewer thus polluting the river. This City requires not a simple moratorium on MCDA and NRP activity for ten years - rather a complete shut-down of those bureaucracies. Robert Johnson Ward 2, Precinct 10 Denise Tolbert wrote: > > Thanks to Dibble, Wagenius, Mullery, Gray, Walker, Davine, and > Skoglund for voting "no" to overrride the Governor's Veto. I, for > one, am not looking forward to seeing the Sate of Minnesota lose its > credit rating. I take enormous pride in the State I was born and > raised in and I do not want it credit rating dropped to the point > > I am just appalled to absolutely no end that the State Legislature > would deplete every single reserve fund in the State just so they can > stick it to the Governor. Face the facts Minneapolis: with the > passing of this budget bill by the House and soon to be the > Senate---we are effectively broke! > > I heard Moe speaking yesterday about how he was able to provide > "assurances" to legislators that educations' cuts would be minimal--at > the expense of what???? There is nothing else to pull from which > means education's backside is game. There is no amount of promises > that can save education from the reality that they will be cut and cut > big!!!! You know why???? Because aside from raising property taxes > during the "next phase", draining the budgetary reserves "this phase", > and cutting LGA there is no where else to go. So for those > legislators that thought they were going to save education just got > snowed! Anybody that can read can see the ax coming for education. > > No care was taken at all to think of the consequences. No care at all! > The consequences being that our budget deficit grows exponentially > with each passing year, and the Legislature has absolutely no idea on > how to fix it! Even the short-term one they just passed doesn't even > fix it the problem. And these same individuals who crafted and lauded > this awful budget bill are the same people who want to run for > Governor. Well, I for one, refuse to support anyone that supports our > credit rating going down the tubes, makes our State so broke that we > couldn't even respond effectively to a five alarm fire, let alone > another Grand Forks, just so they can stick it to the Governor. > > We are broke Minneapolis--- and the storm is still coming. We have > nothing, and the budget bill passed by the House and soon by the > Senate will break us even further. I don't know how that can be good > news. They haven't solved our budgetary problems; in fact they have > worsened, and now instead of raising tobacco and gas taxes, the State > Legislature is going to come into "phase two" and raise property > taxes. What are Moe, Sviggum and Palwenty thinking?! And some of these > people want us to trust them with the governorship when their judgment > in budgetary matters just stinks! > > If the State Legislature thinks the common folk are not paying > attention---think again! This is all people at my job and in my > community can talk about--is the fact that we will be broke! In this > respect, there are alot of supporters for Governor Ventura's remedy. > At least his solution would have solved the problem fundamentally and > for good, rather than this quick ifx through the elections of November > 2002. > > Am I an upset camper??You betcha! You know, I was speaking with > friends about whether they would be attending the caucuses this year; > some said yes, but I was suprised that a number of my fellow activists > said they would not be attending caucuses. I asked why, and they cited > situations like the budget battle. They have already have made up > their minds, and frankly so have I. I will be attending my caucuses on > March 5th but I will not support Moe or Dutcher or any other > candidate that fails to place the economic vitality of the State > first, and not thier own political backsides! I love my State and I > don't want it going to pots for anything! > > Thank again to Reps. Dibble, Wagenius, Mullery, Gray, Walker, Davine, > and Skoglund for taking care of the health and vitality of Minnesota > and seeing to its needs first! I just hope and pray that the > Minneapolis delegation in the Senate will do the same. > > Denise Tolbert, Ward 10, East Harriet Farmstead > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
