Paul Thissen: Innovation in Action

We Need to Redouble Efforts to Get People Back to Work

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released its most recent jobs report. Although the report showed the unemployed rate had dropped to 5.9%, it revealed 13,700 jobs were lost in November and over 22,900 jobs have been lost in the last three months.

The recent economic news nationally and in Minnesota has shown positive signs for our economy, but there are still nearly 200,000 Minnesotans out of work. It’s clear Minnesota faces a persistent jobs deficit that demands our attention and action. While there are signs our economy is headed in the right direction, now is not the time to sit on our hands.

We need to step up our game in seeking solutions that create jobs by strengthen strengthening the middle class and support the many bold Minnesotans who are striving to embark on new careers. Rising property taxes on middle class homeowners and small businesses has made it harder. So have unfair policies that protect wealthy special interests at the expense of the majority if Minnesotans.

The recipe for Minnesota’s success and prosperity is to build a broad and prosperous middle class, where everyone plays by the same rules and has a fair opportunity to succeed. That’s how we will rebuild our economy and create good paying jobs and new careers for hardworking Minnesotans.”

Budget Forecast: “When you have some money in your savings account but you’ve maxed out your credit card, your savings account balance isn’t real.”

Thissen Correct that Republicans Raised Property Taxes

Cities and towns across the state are weighing whether to increase their property tax levies. Complicating the question is a new program included in the latest budget meant to reduce the property tax burden for some homeowners.

House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Thissen says the state’s new approach to property taxes won’t provide relief.

“The bottom line: Republicans eliminated a program that provides $538 million each biennium in property tax relief and replaced it with a program that provides $0 in property tax relief,” Thissen wrote in a recent e-mail to constituents.

Thissen’s claim is correct.

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Thissen Column: Beg Borrow and Steal Budget Hurts Minnesota

Grand Forks Herald, July 25, 2011

The longest shutdown in state history is over. Thank goodness.

As the smoke clears, it is fair to ask what the new Republican majorities accomplished — other than missed deadlines and a painful state government shutdown — in their first year leading the state Legislature. The answer to that question, unfortunately, is nearly nothing other than a beg, borrow, and steal budget that jeopardizes the future of our state.

Let’s look at the facts. This was supposed to be the “jobs, jobs, jobs” session. All too many are struggling these days: 200,000 still are without jobs, and many of those lucky enough to have one are facing pay cuts and still are struggling just to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, the Republicans did not lift a finger to support good-paying jobs for middle-class Minnesotans.

They chose instead to attack job protections, and the budgets they proposed actually will cause layoffs — including many in the health care industry, one of the only parts of the Minnesota economy that is growing right now.

The Republican beg, borrow and steal budget also continues the failed financial shenanigans of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, balancing the budget on the backs of middle-class Minnesotans.

We’ve paid more and gotten less for far too long. Yet instead of defending our wallets, the Republicans raided them — resorting to the old pass-the-buck plan of cutting aid to communities across Greater Minnesota, which means residents will be paying increased property taxes and getting less police and fire protection.

And they are solving a $5 billion state budget deficit by borrowing $1.4 billion and leaving a multi-billion dollar deficit two years from now. That is the height of fiscal irresponsibility.

So, if the Republicans weren’t standing up for middle class families, who did the Republicans work for this session?

Corporate special interests — those who donated hundreds of thousands to Republican campaigns to gain legislative majorities — got to keep their special tax breaks that allow them to hide their profits overseas.

Millionaires also did very well, thanks to the Republicans. In fact, the Republicans were so adamant that the wealthiest Minnesotans not be asked to play a role in solving our historic budget deficit that they took our state to shutdown in order to protect them from paying the same amount of taxes that middle class families pay — not even temporarily.

Not even in order to prevent historic cuts to our state colleges and universities, or cuts to nursing homes and support for seniors and the disabled.

By the way, only 7,700 people would have been affected by the so-called “millionaire tax” — and just half of those even are Minnesota residents. Talk about priorities.

Republican legislators are not working for us. Their budget begs for money from seniors who can’t afford it, borrows from ourselves at a terrible rate and steals from our future by shifting funds for our children’s schools.

It’s a budget that protects millionaires in Wayzata at the expense of folks in Worthington, Willmar, and Wadena.

Those aren’t DFL priorities, and they certainly aren’t Minnesota values. We deserve legislators who will put our kids, our schools, our seniors and middle-class families first.

And that’s exactly what I and my DFL colleagues will continue to do as long as we have the honor of serving Minnesota.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/210670/

Republican “Beg, Borrow and Steal” Budget

The fact is that this is a beg-borrow-and-steal budget. It borrows and steals from Minnesota’s future and begs the people of our state to look the other way as once again you simply kick the can down the road. We can and must do better. Minnesota’s prosperity and future depend on it.