Re: [Winona] County Budget Cuts

[Bob Sebo]

I'm not quite sure why I'm wading into this one, because ain't no way on God's green earth I'm going to change anyone's mind one iota when it comes to fiscal policy, but here is what this ol' country boy thinks.   In good times...remember the 90's when I didn't own nearly enough tech stocks?...state and federal coffers were overflowing with revenue, and we were told it was wrong to collect more taxes than needed to fund the immediate cycle.  At the state level, some money was put away for a rainy day...but most was given back to the people...it was "their money."  State and federal tax cuts...and state rebates...were needed...NOW!   Now we are in the "nasty naughts" (how is that for a nick for this first decade of the millenium?) and we are seeing tout a fait autre chose, as the french would say...a different kettle of fish entirely.  The economy is in the tank...we have lost three milllion jobs since the turn of the century...demand for social services is at record levels...poverty in Winona county is twice the state average...twice!  Oh, and we are at war.   It's looking a little dicey out there right now...even in Winona.  There was an extended discussion of the definition of taxes going on here a bit ago...in addition to being the price of civilization, as was so eloquently opined by Holmes, I see taxes as an investment in community.  Was it Ms. English who observed that when it comes down to brass tacks, she's willing to admit she'll pay for an intervention program if it means her house isn't broken into?  Sign me up for that bandwagon, too.   Right now we need to invest in our community, in my humble opinion.  Some say it is irresponsible to try and tax our way out of this mess...that government needs to learn to live within its means.  As far as I'm concerned that is a load of rubbish.  Given reduced tax collections, especially in Saint Paul, government does not have the resources needed to provide needed services.  We blew that money on tax cuts and rebates.  If we had even saved just some of that money...and tobacco dollars are gone, too, you know...we would have faced a four billion dollar deficit this biennium instead of a fourteen billion dollar shortfall.  We could have almost maybe rode that out.   But that is not the issue here.  Some would use fiscal and tax policies to so emasculate government that it becomes the smaller force in society that they politically desire.  They don't even need to adopt an active libertarian position to accomplish their goal...they simply present themselves as committed to 'balancing the family budget.'  How responsible.   Now, I don't like paying taxes any more than the next person...but I apparently don't like paying them a lot less than some folks.  I don't have a lot...but I realize that when there are folks who have even less than me who need services, we have to pay the taxes to provide those services.  If we deserve a free ride in good times, don't we have to do our share in tough times?  What am I missing here?   Families who used to pay a fifty dollar copay a month for their developmentally disabled child to access services at the DAC are now being asked for a four hundred dollar copay.  Guess what...some clients didn't come back after that one.  The Womens' Resouce Center is down to two full time employees, I think...it might be only one.  If the county zeroes out their funding what happens?  The Historical Society, which I love, certainly isnt an essential service if we're talking about life and death, but who doubts that the county's investment of tens of thousands of dollars in their work doesn't return hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to the county economy?    We have certain basic needs as a community in order to succeed and live the good life.  Education, health care and other fundamental human services are among them.  Where is the benefit of refusing to pay for drug treatment but then paying to lock up a drug offender?  It makes no sense to me.  Wake up people...we have a crisis on our hands.  What did they say Minnesota would be if we lost the Vikings...a cold Omaha?  Without our basic quality of life and tradition of looking out for our neighbors knowing that but for the grace of God there go we, we become a cold Mississippi.  And that strikes me as more than one cold day in hell.   Bob Sebo Winona