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One year tax experiment suggested

To the editor:
Governor-elect Pawlentyís already fudging. A 2 percent inflation rate was not added to the reported $4.56 billion deficit. Pawlenty was quoted as saying, ìwe shouldnít have automatic escalatorsî in the budget forecast.
Automatic escalators - is that what we call inflation now? I guess if you spend enough time in the legislature, it is assumed, writing the law affords one the clout to re-write the laws of economics, too. Blame me for being a pragmatic businessman. The truth is the state of Minnesota has a serious cash flow problem and is not immune to inflation.
Do me a favor. Pin the recent tax statement you just received to your fridge. The Republicans will say they wonít raise your taxes. But to balance the budget, they will cut state aid to cities, counties and schools. And, unless cities like mine, slash basic services, reduce fire department budgets or lay off staff, they will be forced to raise taxes just to replace lost state aid. The same can be said for counties, municipalities and schools. This is called raising taxes. Apparently, the Republican administration is hoping we arenít smart enough to understand this reality and make the connection between cause and effect.
This really puts our local schools at risk. We live in an area that has a low commercial tax base and increased residential growth and enrollments. Finance Commissioner-elect McElroy has already stated that ìK-12 will be cut.î What will happen when angry taxpayers storm the voting booths to thwart levies intended to make up for cuts in state aid? The school board and administrations will get the blame and our studentsí learning will suffer.
The fact, of course, will be that a Republican governor will be the one responsible for these levies. This is called passing the buck. Maybe we should ask our local Senator-elect Mr. Nienow if this concerns him? Oh, I forgot. His children arenít in the public school system.
Back to the favor I asked earlier. One year from now, compare your new tax statement with the one you just put on the fridge today. I have no crystal ball. But common sense tells me our taxes will be higher next year and weíll be ìtoldî by Governor Pawlenty that our taxes werenít raised. Go figure.
Wade William Vitalis
Shafer

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