Bold.

Saturday, January 27, 2001

Bold. That’s a word often associated with Gov. Jesse Ventura.

It should come as no surprise to residents of Minnesota then that the governor’s budget proposal is beyond bold.

For those who may have missed the governor’s budget proposal on Tuesday, he has proposed a rather lean, and for many, a rather mean budget.

The governor is proposing to increase spending $1.5 billion, to a total of $27.3 billion for 2002-03, and he would cut taxes by $2.66 billion, with most reductions in property taxes and income taxes.

Ventura’s budget proposal offers only inflationary spending increases and returns approximately 70 percent of the projected surplus to taxpayers. Admittedly the tax return portion of Ventura’s proposal is indeed concerning. Since returning such a tax cut at a time when the economy is questionable could leave the state needing to raise taxes in the future to maintain current expenses.

Now the governor and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on many issues – for one thing I would need a step-ladder – but admittedly Ventura’s budget proposal is intriguing and a refreshing change.

The governor’s bold plan left many areas feeling squeezed, most notably education. The budget proposal includes a $65 million increase for K-12 schools, less than what

as anticipated. Especially feeling the pinch were the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and University system, who both received far less than what they were seeking.

Ventura’s proposal also puts the breaks on funding for roads and bridges, which is another area of need for our area.

So while some areas perhaps didn’t receive the funding they would have liked, or perhaps needed, the logic behind Ventura’s expenditure proposals appears sound. While pitching the budget proposal, the governor indicated he took into consideration a slowing economy and feared that any added expenditures, during the next biennium, would not be maintainable.

He’s right. At a time when businesses and families are tightening the belt and wondering what’s going to happen next, government needs to be doing the same thing and Ventura’s proposal marks a responsible approach.

Furthermore Ventura’s proposal sends a message that at some point the faucet of more and more government spending needs to be turned off. His budget summary states the proposal is configured around two principles: that government take "no more from taxpayers’ pockets then it needs to provide essential public services," and that the role of government "should not be expanded beyond its current boundaries."

Where this leaves us is the opportunity for government to find ways to do more with less. It isn’t to suggest that the educational needs of our state need to be neglected – they aren’t and won’t be. But the governor’s proposal suggests it isn’t going to be business as usual – it shouldn’t be – and that we need to start holding government employees and bodies accountable for their actions.

Those in the business world live under the umbrella of accountability every day. If you don’t perform, more money doesn’t come. In the Minnesota government world before Ventura, the money always seemed to run to whomever, and for whatever.

At the very least the governor’s proposal has put the breaks on the spending train. Now it’s up to the legislators to decide if the train departs at the same speed, or faster, than it always has, or if the time has come to give the spending train a well-deserved rest.