A $2.6 billion hole

March 18, 2009 at 9:53PM

It looked too easy to be true -- and it was. Gov. Tim Pawlenty's revised budget, as presented Tuesday, appeared to say that balancing the state budget in 2012-13 would be fairly easy. Freeze spending at his recommended 2010-11 levels, and that would do the trick, and allow for a 2.8 percent boost in K-12 spending to boot.

Not so, say the budget documents posted Wednesday on the Minnesota Management and Budget web site. Wednesday's figures are at variance with Tuesday's at several points. The most significant is on the bottom line: it shows a $2.6 billion deficit.

Earlier this month, Pawlenty signed a bill that requires him to present a balanced budget plan to the Legislature for 2012-13 as well as for 2010-11. He has more work to do to get there.

about the writer

about the writer

Lori Sturdevant

Columnist

Lori Sturdevant is a retired Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist. She was a journalist at the Star Tribune for 43 years and an Editorial Board member for 26 years. She is also the author or editor of 13 books about notable Minnesotans. 

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