June 16, 2009 - Unallotments were announced....

****See the detail of Pawlenty's unallotments here.

****Read Minn Post commentary about the unallotments here.

****David Schultz writes "Unallotments may well be unconstitutional"

Outcomes from the Governor's inflexibility and unwise actions...

****Lori Sturdevant commentary in StarTribune (5/24/09): "Unkindest Cut May Come Back to Haunt"

****Pawlenty gets his wish: Praise from national anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist

****But Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says "Since higher-income families tend to have lower propensities to consume than lower-income families, the least damaging approach (in a bad economy) in the short run involves tax increases concentrated on higher-income families."

****Politics in MN: Class warfare the Pawlenty way

****MN 2020: "It is a shameless act of political spin to equate simple tax fairness with class warfare. There is no good reason households with total income of $176,000 (the low end of the top five percent) or more cannot pay the same percentage of their income in state and local taxes as households with an income of $20,000, $40,000, or $60,000."

**** MnpACT to House Republicans: stand with the Gov now, and when he moves on, you will stand before your constituents, and you will have to explain how the Minnesota quality of life got reduced...Good luck with that!

****Lori Sturdevant commentary in Sunday StarTrib (5/17/2009): "[Pawlenty's prior plan of] borrowing against future state revenues -- is shortsighted and fiscally irresponsible. But that bad choice beats the worse one Pawlenty's veto [of the health care funding] presents."

****Video of Rep. Ann Lenczewski debunking the myth of the "evil tax"..."Cuts hurt people... and disproportionally hurt the poor and middle class"

****Pawlenty's line item veto of $381 million in HHS budget would mean no health care coverage for poor adults without children; hospitals would take the financial hit, so MN Hospital Association suggests increasing the "medical provider tax" from 2% to 3%" (TakeActionMN).  Call it a "fee" (isn't this word game stupid?) and maybe this becomes part of a compromise deal?

****Coalition of Greater MN Cities: "We'll all lose under Pawlenty's Plan"...Mayor Wolden of Wadena: "The real losers in this failure to compromise are the property taxpayers and Minnesota families who depend on critical city services such as police, fire protection, libraries, and safe roads."

****MN 2020: The "solutions" to  the state's budget crisis that Pawlenty would impose unilaterally

 About "unallotment"....
****Doug Grow: "Unallotment - Is this how future Governors will govern?"

****The rules for "unallotment":
    MN Budget Bites: Here are the rules of "unallotment" 

****MN House "Session Weekly" article on unallotment from May 2008

****House Research Information Brief: Unallotment - Executive Branch Power to Reduce Spending to Avoid  a Deficit
  

The problems with Pawlenty's original budget...

****StarTribune editorial says "Tobacco bonds are an expensive shot of one-time money"

****Consequences of the Governor's Budget, a report by the MN Budget Project

****MinnPost article State Cuts to Care Assistants Will Mean Higher Costs Later

****Even though he's now cut it by half, it's still Pawlenty's Loan Shark Budget Solution

****Lori Sturdevant: "Pawlenty proposes pain delay"

About the options proposed by the Democrats...
****Read more detail about the tax bill that Gov. Pawlenty vetoed at "Minnesota Budget Bites" website...Budget bill raises revenues to fund education and health care

****Minnesota's tax incidence study shows top incomes currently pay smaller % to state and local taxes than other Minnesotans..."Tax incidence study points to a system in growing need of overhaul"

**** Report by MN Budget Project: Few Small Business Owners Would Be Impacted by Income Tax Increases on High Income Households

**** Dane Smith describes tax reform proposals by Ann Rest and Ann Lenczewski


Analysis, Opinions & Polls about the budget crisis & the options

**** mnpACT: Pawlenty: Arrogance that knows no boundaries

**** Minnesota 2020: Minnesota's Revenue Problem

****MnpACT: Minnesota's Budget - A Battle for Hearts and Minds

****MN2020: Bleeding Rural Communities Dry - How LGA Cuts Are Hurting Rural Minnesota

****Commentary by Rev. Peter Rogness, Bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA):  "Crafting Minnesota's budget: We're in this together neighbors!"

****State's Catholic bishops call for budget to prioritize the poor and vulnerable: "resolving the budget deficit through spending cuts alone will do great harm to Minnesotans and our economy"

****StarTribune 5/13 editorial: Alcohol "fee" could be dealmaker:  "a toast to the "alcohol user's impact fee"

****MN Budget Project's Revenue Raising Options to Help Solve Minnesota's Budget Deficit

****Citizen's League's very extensive Bridges to a Better Bottom Line, An Outside Look at Minnesota's Budget Dilemma

**** MinnPost article "Minnesota's budget shortfall is so bad even public safety is taking a hit"...
What mix for cuts to public safety?.... law enforcement?... court system?

 ****Commentary about Pawlenty's veto and what the StarTribune polls said Minnesotans prefer as options to solve the budget crisis:  http://minnesotabudgetbites.org/

****StarTribune article about its 4/30 poll on options for the state budget: 4/30/2009 StarTribune poll


What's happening with budget crises in other states?
****See what other states are doing to increase revenues as they deal with their budget gaps at StateLine.org ("State Policy and Politics - Updated Daily") http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=394944

****See a New York Times map of state budget deficits per capita here http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/17/us/20081117_budget_graphic.htm