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Governor ridicules Rep., DFL budget proposalby T.W. Budig Gov. Jesse Ventura Feb. 8 ridiculed the Senate DFL and House Republican budget proposals, saying both caucuses are gambling thereíll be no inflation over the next three years. ìThis is the classic Alfred E. Neuman ëWhat me worry?í scenario,î said Ventura, reading a prepared statement at a Capitol press conference. Both House and Senate in their budget balancing plans ignore an automatic 2.5 percent inflation adjustment that has been part of state budgeting in recent years. ìHow can legislative leaders look at K-12, higher education, health care and business with a straight face and tell them that they are being spared,î Ventura said. Ventura warned that the ìtemporary political fixesî the House and Senate are proposing would endanger the stateís triple-A credit rating and have other negative long-term consequences. In addition, he criticized Senate DFLers for using the entire cash flow account in their budget fix and chastised House Republicans for raiding all the reserves except for the cash flow account. ìHouse Republicans should own up to the fact that if they rely on simplistic solutions like hiring freezes and borrowing ñ in the long run ñ services I propose to save, will suffer,î said Ventura. Ventura accused Republicans of putting out ìmisleadingî information in selling their budget proposal. Specifically, he disputed the House Republican assertion that the administration had hired some 479 employees in January. Ventura said 164 of these employees were hired by MnSCU ñ hires over which he had no control. And some 250 of the 479 are part-time hires that will work an average of less than two months. The House Republican proposed hiring freeze will never save $100 million as claimed, said Ventura. ìTheir plan is a disaster waiting to happen,î he said. The governor also question Republican claims that their proposal cuts some $2.1 billion in 2004-05. ìItís really quite ironic that they donít want to raise cigarette taxes this year ñ but mark my words, if they donít, next year they will have to consider raising taxes like sales, income and taxes on business,î said Ventura. The Senate and House budget proposals remind him of someone who patches up a House in order to sell it. ìThen the new owners comes along and gets stuck with all the bills when the place falls apart,î he said. Ventura took no questions from reporters. ìHe gets up there and pounds his chest and blames us really isnít being productive,î said Pawlenty, speaking on Minnesota Public Radio. ©ECM Post Review |