GOP legislative leaders had barely finished unveiling their targets for the next two-year budget cycle, when Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL leaders struck back.
Dayton's office released a statement reflecting the fact that the House and Senate budget plans, relying solely on spending cuts to eliminate the state's budget deficit, are wildly at odds with his plan to combine cuts with tax increases:
Earlier, House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and Senate DFL Caucus Leader Tom Bakk took their own shots from a podium that had been vacated by GOP House leaders only moments before. Thissen said despite the Republicans' assertion that their plan would provide $300 million in tax relief for low- and middle-income Minnesotans, it would be negated by about $600 million in property tax increases. "They're putting money into the pockets of middle class Minnesotans with one hand while they're reaching into the other pocket of middle class Minnesota families with the other hand and taking out double the amount of money." He called it "a classic example of misdirection." Bakk said the budget targets proposed by Senate Republicans would increase property taxes, boost college and university tuition and increase health care costs, "short-sighted budget cuts" that will cripple the state's economic competitiveness. .
