Michel's latest magnanimous but ultimately empty gesture . . .

Michel says he won't accept OT pay

(Created 5/26/2005 2:57:23 PM)

To the editor:

Five months should be long enough. Twenty weeks should be long enough. And deadlines should matter. This week the state Legislature has, once again, failed to complete our business by the constitutional deadline of May 23.

School districts, local governments, health care programs and others are relying upon the Legislature and the governor for a speedy and balanced resolution of our state budget shortfall. Spending an additional $25,000 per day on special session expenses only makes the task more difficult.

I believe there should be consequences for missing this important deadline and will sponsor legislation that would eliminate the daily compensation (per diem) for legislators during any special session. Whether or not this proposal is approved, I will not personally accept any per diem payments and will encourage other legislators to do the same.

We should get our work done quickly and avoid any state government shutdown that would happen without a conclusion by July 1. I will continue to press for balanced solutions for education, health care and transportation and ask for your continued suggestions and input at sen.geoff.michel@senate.mn.

Sen. Geoff Michel

This letter was in today's Edina Sun Current (the May 26th issue). If Geoff Michel and the rest of the no new taxes Republicans (most assuredly NOT including Ron Erhardt, bless his reasonable heart) did not have their noses so firmly installed in the governor's . . . well, never mind. The fact is that it is the governor and the Republicans who have been obstructionist here.

You know, the DFL is not proposing to raise taxes by as much as they fell earlier in this decade. The Republicans sold the tax cuts on the basis that the state would run permanent tax surpluses, and these revenues wouldn't be needed. Well, sometimes that which goes down must come up.

Think of it this way: a farmer named Republican had a team of horses that he used to plow his fields. He called the team Revenue. For several years running, the fields dried out nicely in the spring, and farmer Republican did not need one of his horses in the team to plow the fields. So, he took it out behind the barn and shot it, and yes, he ate it. Don't look so shocked; Spot thinks he gets fed horse meat a lot.

They next spring was very wet, and farmer Republican's remaining horses couldn't pull the plow through the heavy earth. Farmer Republican was unwilling to buy another horse, so he couldn't work the fields very well, and he paid for it in the fall.

Senator Michel's letter is just sanctimonious gas expelled in an effort to deflect responsibilty from himself.