Don’t fund projects via constitution

Published 8:49 am Friday, October 31, 2008

The proposed amendment to our state constitution providing in excess of $10 billion over the next decade for the arts and environmental projects is, in my opinion, very bad public policy. Funding public projects and levying the tax to finance those projects is the responsibility of our legislators. This proposed amendment is on the ballot because the Legislature does not want to do their job. If we start funding individual expenditure items through the Constitution where will it end? If we approve this authorization to tax us billions of dollars, who will see to it that these funds will be wisely spent. This is extremely bad public policy. Don’t be fooled by the assurance that it will only cost each one of us a few dollars. We are already putting millions of dollars into conservation by purchasing conservation license plates (my wife and I each buy one) but that is a voluntary program. I urge you to vote no on this amendment.

 
Paul Overgaard

Albert Lea

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