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Pat Anderson: Who says the center holds the answer?

Here's why tax reform and free-market policies are right for Minnesota.

By PAT ANDERSON

Last update: October 9, 2009 - 9:50 AM

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Making the assumption that a political "hard-right turn" is necessarily undesirable, the Star Tribune editorial "GOP field leaves room for a moderate" (Oct. 6) forgoes rational policy discussion for a bullet-point attack on GOP candidates for governor, myself included. The Editorial Board's prayer for a moderate messiah to redeem the Republican Party assumes that a middle ground between right and wrong is a better answer than "right." I do not agree.

The board did get one thing correct: The Republican Party must move beyond a "no new taxes" philosophy. "No new taxes" is not a governing strategy. Where the Republican Party has failed in the past is accepting that its only role as the minority party is to play goalie and stop the DFL or compromise only slightly to the left. Those tactics do not make Minnesota better or the GOP stronger. In the coming election Republicans must translate their conservative principles into policies that address the "kitchen table concerns" of Minnesotans.

To cut the Editorial Board some slack, the one-minute answer format of the GOP forum lent itself to misinterpretation by asking for bullet-point answers to complex policy questions. As the editorial correctly reported, I do support reduction in state aid to cities and curtailing the ever expanding authority of the Metropolitan Council -- and many of, not all, the proposals made by my fellow candidates. But I do so within the context of an integrated approach to "a better Minnesota" based on economic principle and the principles of limited constitutional government.

An integrated approach to governing Minnesota in 2010 must start with the $6 billion to $7 billion budget deficit facing the next governor.

Taxing the rich and expanding government employment or cracking down on welfare fraud and freezing government spending isn't going to solve the budget problem. The budget deficit must be resolved in conjunction with creating a globally competitive business climate in Minnesota. That requires fundamental reforms to the tax system -- not simply cutting or raising taxes. We must govern by economic principle, not arbitrary definitions of "fairness," and move away from the volatility of taxes on productivity toward more stable and less market-distorting taxes on consumption.

On the spending side, we must face the reality that state resources are limited, and that the state will never be able to give us all that we want or even all that is good and necessary for us. We must confine state spending to what is "necessary and proper" to fulfill constitutional obligations.

On the regulatory front, we must confine state government to the constitutional obligations of enforcing contracts, preventing the use of force and fraud, and promoting public health and safety. We must eliminate regulations that exist only to protect special interests -- mandates telling businesses what they must sell at what price to what people, unnecessary fees out of proportion to services provided, and licensing requirements that create unnecessary barriers for entrepreneurs who wish to compete against established businesses and increase consumer costs while protecting neither health nor safety.

Pursuing prosperity through free-market economic principles creates tradeoffs. It doesn't produce the liberal notion of "fairness," nor does it guarantee that no one is left behind. DFL policy doesn't, either, but lacking the courage of their convictions, DFL candidates seldom engage in the tradeoff discussion.

Fortunately, Republicans understand compassion better than Democrats understand economics. If we do not sustain an economically vibrant Minnesota through creation of private-sector jobs, we will have neither the private nor public wealth to actually improve the lives of the truly vulnerable.

I do not believe in a government program for every perceived problem. I prefer to see things as they are, to speak about them freely without fear and to pursue policies that respect all Minnesotans' God-given freedom to make important decisions about their lives.

And in defense of individual liberty, I do not apologize for lack of moderation.

Former State Auditor Pat Anderson is a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

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