Readers write (June 15): State budget, North Minneapolis, free trade

Gov. Dayton made an election promise to raise the taxes of rich people. Rich people pay most of the taxes. Republicans, on the other hand, have made hard choices that allow for a balanced budget.

The budget problem we now face is Dayton's doing. By vetoing all of the budget bills he created an impossible situation for Republicans to negotiate.

ED GORMAN, NORTH ST. PAUL

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The state has sent out more than 36,000 layoff notices to public employees.

Did the governor, the legislators and their staffs receive notices? How about the state paid lobbyist for the Vikings (i.e., Ted Mondale of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission)?

That seems fair since they're the ones putting us in a shutdown mode and not the corrections officers, state troopers, nurses and all the other state employees who actually work for the taxpayers.

RICHARD GIBSON, ROBBINSDALE

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I realize what concerns arise when one's job is lost, having experienced this myself. However, there may also be a sliver lining in a Minnesota government shutdown at the end of this month.

A petition to Ramsey County District Court has already outlined the need to keep certain services operating during any shutdown. These are the "essential services" of our government. What's missing from this petition are the so called "non essential" government services.

It seems to me that our state's leaders now have a guideline for where the $5 billion over budget can be found. I'm guessing, but a complete review of non essential services would probably find the needed savings and then some.

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If the GOP's main argument against Dayton's proposed new tax bracket on high earners is that it would be a job killer, then the governor should call their bluff and propose an offsetting business tax credit for each job that is created by top earners. That might expose the GOP's real agenda, which seems to be: "No tax increases ever, for any reason. Only cuts. No exceptions."

JAMIE ROBINSON, ST. PAUL

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I had a dream where I went into a fine restaurant with $5 and ordered a steak dinner. When presented with a $40 bill, I told them I only had five bucks and that should be enough to cover the cost of my fine dinner. In my dream, the restaurant owner agreed with me and accepted my money as payment in full.

PAUL MIKELSON, MINNEAPOLIS

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A recent article highlighted the impact of the tornado on North Minneapolis ("Tornado battered an already roughed-up rental market," June 1). City officials and neighborhood leaders were quoted expressing a desire to see damaged or vacant properties on the North Side replaced with stable housing.

Local community development organizations have already been a part of the relief effort and stand ready to help bring this hope to fruition. Achieving this goal will take considerable resources.

Deliberations taking place in St. Paul and Washington will determine how much will be available. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a federal program that helps cities fund housing, foreclosure recovery, and other activities.

State investments in housing programs hinge on the outcome of negotiations between Gov. Dayton and the Legislature. CDBG and state funding will play an important role in helping responsible developers partner with North Minneapolis residents to turn abandoned buildings into sustainable housing options.

JIM ROTH, MINNEAPOLIS

The writer is executive director of the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers

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Cargill CEO Greg Page did a good job of articulating the implications of the ongoing congressional stalemate over approval of key free trade agreements ("Move forward on free trade," June 7). While the U.S. economy has struggled, one sector that has remained robust and continues to offer long-term promise is agriculture.

Within a few weeks, we could find ourselves at serious risk of lost opportunity. On July 1, Canada and the European Union are slated to finalize trade agreements with Colombia, opening the door for even greater deterioration of opportunity for U.S. agriculture and other industries. Minnesota's farmers and rural communities cannot afford this kind of blow.