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It was just ëgo through the motionsí

To the editor:
Last Saturday our Republican representatives to the Senate and House of Representatives held an Open Forum ñ Town Meeting at the Kaffe Stuga in Harris. They began by meeting and greeting the people there and opened the floor to the citizensí concerns. As the meeting progressed I became more and more convinced this was just a ìgo through the motionsî meeting. It seems their minds are already set on how to balance the budget and it doesnít seem to really bother them who they step on along the way. If you are elderly, a student, poor, a government employee or just a plain average citizen you are going to see services and a way of life we have become used to disappear before your very eyes. Rep. Nelson was caught in a flat out lie regarding the sessions held, before the Governor was forced to do the unallotment for this fiscal year. His attempt to place the blame squarely on the Senate was totally inappropriate. This is a politics as usual ploy to not accept responsibility for making the decisions they were elected to make. Shame on both houses! They share the blame for the situation we find ourselves in. Recently Gov. Pawlenty chastised local units of government for balking at the cuts and that officials should be fired if they couldnít provide essential services and absorb a ìminimalî cut. You know what ñ the legislature isnít doing its job either when they canít come to any kind of consensus and we find our selves faced with unallotments.
One of the proposals on the table is freezing every public employees salary to balance the budget. It is said this would solve 20 percent (1/5th) of the deficit. As a public employee and Minnesota citizen taxpayer I am willing to do my part in whatever is necessary to get out of this mess that has been created but I feel this should be done fairly. If we are to absorb 20 percent of the deficit that means I absorb my 20 percent plus 20 percent for four more people. I would also be faced with the ramifications of whatever the other 80 percent of the solutions would be. I donít think that is fair.
We need to cut government waste and spending ñ no question about it ñ but we also have to ensure we donít leave some of our most vulnerable citizens in the dust to accomplish that. Every state agency is looking for ways to be more cost effective. That will help in balancing the budget but that cannot be the only answer. The budget is ever growing ñ we will cut where it makes sense to cut but we also need to increase revenues to meet the needs of all Minnesotaís citizens.
Corrine Meyer
Stanchfield

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