Memorandum to Senator Olseen and Representative Kalin

Honorable Legislators:

Please do not further waste our time commiserating in print or in person about the fact that balancing the Minnesota budget is a problem! That fact is in plain and obvious sight.

And please do not further waste our time by telling us that you disagree with the Governor's proposals to balance the Minnesota budget. Trying to make political points with that fact does not balance the budget. Your Democrat party disagreement with the Governor's proposals are legendary and traditional and they are obvious from media releases by you and other DFL legislators around the state.



Here is what we, as your constituents, expect from you based on the fact that the task of balancing the Minnesota budget is a constitutional requirement. As legislators it is you who own the budget balancing responsibility. Senator Olseen and Representative Kalin, you rang thousands of doorbells and wore out many pairs of shoes (by your own statements) running for the offices to which you were elected. Over and over you committed in word and printed page and public meetings that you had better answers and good solutions to state government challenges. You assured that you were head and shoulders beyond and above your predecessors and all that needed to be done was for us to elect you. With smiling faces, happy handshakes and enthusiastic voices you assured us you were up to the challenges. You alleged that your predecessors had fallen down on the job of representing us in the legislature and you committed to the public that in exchange for our votes you would provide the answers to our problems and needs. So far the responses we have from you are largely happy talk while avoiding the relevant issues. Now we need responsible actions based on the commitments you made.



Our firm advisory to you on the Minnesota budget issue is that raising our taxes at the state level is absolutely not a viable option for you to use in balancing the budget nor is it fiscally reasonable to further burden your constituents who are already taxed to the hilt at local, county, state and national levels and with known steep and further increases coming at us from the Obama Administration at the federal level.