The candidates spoke to an energetic crowd of more than 800 delegates and other rank-and-file members – an eye-grabbing field of green in the Duluth convention center. The gathering marked the largest AFSCME convention ever in the state.
Once candidates got past trying to out do each other in boasting of their labor credentials, their AFSCME connections, or their affinity for the color green, their forum was generally short of fluff and serious in tone.
The key question for the public employees is how the candidates will tackle the state’s looming $7 billion budget
deficit – specifically, whether and how they will raise revenue as part of the solution.
Mark Dayton jumped on the issue first. The state must raise taxes on the wealthiest 10 percent of state households, he said without being asked. That stance makes it hard to raise campaign donations from his family, the former U.S. senator joked, but repeated: “If you do better, you ought to pay more. Read my lips: Tax the rich.”
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| A record crowd cheered the candidates. Photo by Michael Kuchta |
Time to quit regressing
The state’s own Tax Incidence Study shows that millionaires pay only 8.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Average Minnesota households, on the other hand, pay 12.8 percent.
But State Sen. Tom Bakk said taxing the rich in and of itself won’t raise enough money to cover the state’s deficit. “We have to have an honest conversation about the state’s problems,” he said. “We’re all going to have to be willing to pitch in. We can’t just tax somebody else.” Bakk proposed restoring income tax rates across the board to their 1998 levels, then adding a fourth tier for the state’s highest earners.
Nearly all the candidates – former state Rep. Matt Entenza, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, current House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sen. John Marty, state Rep. Tom Rukavina, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and state Rep. Paul Thissen – made reference in one way or another to the need for a more progressive state income-tax system or for raising more money from the state’s wealthiest households. But Bakk and Dayton were the only candidates to offer concrete revenue proposals.
“Of course we need to raise revenues,” said Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner. “Everybody knows it and has known it for a long time.” But she offered no specifics.
More than taxes
Most of the candidates also said that taxes alone won’t solve the problem, either. Kelley and Rybak said the state needs to broaden its revenue sources. Rybak, in particular, pointed out that under Gov. Tim Pawlenty, too much of the burden has fallen on local property taxes.
Bakk, Dayton, Rybak and Thissen said the state has to find ways to create jobs and put more people to work as a way of generating more revenue. Rukavina stressed the state’s need to invest in education to create some of those new jobs. Kelliher stressed the need to reinvest in infrastructure, including cellular and broadband technology in outstate Minnesota, to promote economic growth.
Marty and Thissen focused extensively on the need to control health costs while expanding health coverage as part of a budget solution. Pawlenty’s cuts to General Assistance Medical Care “crossed a moral line” that the state should not cross, Thissen said. Marty promoted his Minnesota Plan to expand the availability of affordable health insurance.
Kelley, Rybak and Thissen promoted taking a fresh look at how state and local agencies deliver public services. Kelley pledged to change the tone of relations between the governor’s office and the state’s workers. Thissen said the state needs to tap into the ideas of the people who do the work every day, and Kelliher was among those promising that AFSCME and other unions would have a seat at the table, would be partners with the governor, and more.
Coming to a TV station near you
The debate was moderated by Barbara Reyelts of Duluth’s Northland NewsCenter. It is scheduled to be broadcast in Duluth on Channel 9 from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 10, then by KBJR (Channel 6) in Duluth before being made available for broadcast statewide.
Council 5 also invited all major Republican candidates to participate, but none accepted. Council 5’s executive board plans to interview gubernatorial candidates for a possible endorsement on Oct. 24 in St. Paul.
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for Council 5. Visit the council\'s website, www.afscmemn.org
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The candidates spoke to an energetic crowd of more than 800 delegates and other rank-and-file members – an eye-grabbing field of green in the Duluth convention center. The gathering marked the largest AFSCME convention ever in the state.
Once candidates got past trying to out do each other in boasting of their labor credentials, their AFSCME connections, or their affinity for the color green, their forum was generally short of fluff and serious in tone.
The key question for the public employees is how the candidates will tackle the state’s looming $7 billion budget
deficit – specifically, whether and how they will raise revenue as part of the solution.
Mark Dayton jumped on the issue first. The state must raise taxes on the wealthiest 10 percent of state households, he said without being asked. That stance makes it hard to raise campaign donations from his family, the former U.S. senator joked, but repeated: “If you do better, you ought to pay more. Read my lips: Tax the rich.”
|
| A record crowd cheered the candidates.
Photo by Michael Kuchta |
Time to quit regressing
The state’s own Tax Incidence Study shows that millionaires pay only 8.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Average Minnesota households, on the other hand, pay 12.8 percent.
But State Sen. Tom Bakk said taxing the rich in and of itself won’t raise enough money to cover the state’s deficit. “We have to have an honest conversation about the state’s problems,” he said. “We’re all going to have to be willing to pitch in. We can’t just tax somebody else.” Bakk proposed restoring income tax rates across the board to their 1998 levels, then adding a fourth tier for the state’s highest earners.
Nearly all the candidates – former state Rep. Matt Entenza, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, current House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sen. John Marty, state Rep. Tom Rukavina, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and state Rep. Paul Thissen – made reference in one way or another to the need for a more progressive state income-tax system or for raising more money from the state’s wealthiest households. But Bakk and Dayton were the only candidates to offer concrete revenue proposals.
“Of course we need to raise revenues,” said Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner. “Everybody knows it and has known it for a long time.” But she offered no specifics.
More than taxes
Most of the candidates also said that taxes alone won’t solve the problem, either. Kelley and Rybak said the state needs to broaden its revenue sources. Rybak, in particular, pointed out that under Gov. Tim Pawlenty, too much of the burden has fallen on local property taxes.
Bakk, Dayton, Rybak and Thissen said the state has to find ways to create jobs and put more people to work as a way of generating more revenue. Rukavina stressed the state’s need to invest in education to create some of those new jobs. Kelliher stressed the need to reinvest in infrastructure, including cellular and broadband technology in outstate Minnesota, to promote economic growth.
Marty and Thissen focused extensively on the need to control health costs while expanding health coverage as part of a budget solution. Pawlenty’s cuts to General Assistance Medical Care “crossed a moral line” that the state should not cross, Thissen said. Marty promoted his Minnesota Plan to expand the availability of affordable health insurance.
Kelley, Rybak and Thissen promoted taking a fresh look at how state and local agencies deliver public services. Kelley pledged to change the tone of relations between the governor’s office and the state’s workers. Thissen said the state needs to tap into the ideas of the people who do the work every day, and Kelliher was among those promising that AFSCME and other unions would have a seat at the table, would be partners with the governor, and more.
Coming to a TV station near you
The debate was moderated by Barbara Reyelts of Duluth’s Northland NewsCenter. It is scheduled to be broadcast in Duluth on Channel 9 from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 10, then by KBJR (Channel 6) in Duluth before being made available for broadcast statewide.
Council 5 also invited all major Republican candidates to participate, but none accepted. Council 5’s executive board plans to interview gubernatorial candidates for a possible endorsement on Oct. 24 in St. Paul.
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for Council 5. Visit the council\’s website, www.afscmemn.org