Tribune staff editorial

The budget compromise forged by the Senate and House Republicans Tuesday is good political news for the legislators and their parties, but as a permanent budget fix for Minnesota, it leaves much to be desired.

Wednesday, February 20, 2002

The budget compromise forged by the Senate and House Republicans Tuesday is good political news for the legislators and their parties, but as a permanent budget fix for Minnesota, it leaves much to be desired.

Unlike Gov. Jesse Ventura, who proposed a mix of tax increases, spending cuts and use of reserve funds, the House and Senate agreed upon a plan that doesn’t raise taxes, cuts some spending – much of it a one-time reduction – drains even more reserves and employs accounting tricks to patch up holes in the budget.

Meanwhile, a projected $2.5 billion budget deficit for the next biennium is left unaddressed, for now at least. Ventura’s plan, unpopular as it may be because of its proposed increases in some taxes, dealt with that future deficit. It is the more responsible, permanent solution.

If Senate Democrats and Republicans and House Republicans didn’t like the idea of tax increases – and in an election year, that no doubt was a major part of their support for this solution – they would have been wise to enact more long-term spending cuts to make up the difference. If this budget deal is enacted, it would really put off those tough decisions for another year. And since the plan uses up more budget reserves, the legislature will have a smaller safety net next time around.

Perhaps these leaders are banking on an economic recovery to bail them out; or perhaps they are simply looking only as far ahead as November. Neither approach is the kind of responsible leadership the state needs.

And the very real threat of a veto by Ventura, who has the power to unilaterally enact some cuts, makes this a more dangerous situation, unless lawmakers have the votes to override a veto.