Governor Tim Pawlenty's plan to balance the state's books over the next two years falls short in several areas, including education, child care and health care, labor leaders and others say.

Pawlenty's almost $30 billion budget depends on revenue from a state-licensed casino and cuts in the state-run MinnesotaCare health plan.

"It's clear that, in times of limited resources, you can't do everything, and certainly can't do everything well," he said Tuesday in announcing the plan. "We have this explosion of welfare health care costs that is devouring our budget at a rate and pace and scope that is unsustainable."

Minnesota has a $700 million deficit, not including inflation. The governor's budget is considered a starting point for debate in the Legislature.

His proposal would drop almost 30,000 adults without children from MinnesotaCare and cut funding to hospitals ? areas that already were slashed in the last state budget.

"These cuts are ruinous to our patients, and they will ultimately drive health care costs up, not down," warned Erin Murphy, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

"People still have health care needs," said MNA President Monica Vollmuth. "Without health coverage they'll wind up using the emergency rooms at 10 times the costs." The expense is simply passed onto Minnesota taxpayers through higher premiums, longer emergency room visits and more uncompensated care to hospitals, she said.

The cuts mean low-income Minnesotans will bear the brunt of balancing the state budget, said Tarryl Clark of the Minnesota Community Action Association.

"An alternative would actually be to expand MinnesotaCare, because it has been a proven model," she said. "You can expand it to use it as a purchasing pool for small businesses and others around the state."

Education needs not met
Pawlenty's budget does call for increased funding for education, but educators say it's not enough to meet current needs ? or make up for past shortfalls in funding.

"The details of the budget are still unclear, but the governor said he is proposing a modest 2 percent increase in the general education formula for each of the two years in the budget plan," said Education Minnesota President Judy Schaubach. "However, because of proposed changes in how state funding is calculated, it is unclear whether individual school districts will ultimately see increases or decreases in overall funding.

"Additionally, the governor?s proposal did not address restoration of $185 million in funding cuts that hit our schools this year. Those cuts affected critical programs, including many that helped at-risk kids. The budget plan appears to fall short of keeping our schools on pace with inflation. At the same time, Minnesota?s lack of investment in education is threatening the nation-leading outcomes our teachers and students produce year-in and year-out."

Organizations representing low-income workers and child care workers decried Pawlenty's proposal to freeze the reimbursement rate for child care providers.

That decision amounts to a $70 million dollar cut in child care programs that would hurt Minnesota families and children, said Ann Kaner-Roth of the advocacy organization Childcare Works. "What that means is a continued and increased restriction of access for low-income, at-risk children to any level of quality licensed childcare programs."

Silent on jobs
"What Minnesotans didn?t hear in either the governor's State of the State address last week or in his budget message is any plan to deal with the shortage of good jobs?jobs that pay a decent wage," noted Kris Jacobs, executive director of the JOBS NOW Coalition.

"Minnesota is known for having the best quality workforce?with the highest educational achievement and best-proven work ethic?anywhere in the country. Minnesota's workers need the opportunity to live up to the governor's exhortation that we all pay our own way. One good way to get our economy moving is to raise the state's minimum wage."

Legislation has been introduced in both the state House and Senate to raise the minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 an hour.

Call for honesty
Pawlenty's budget proposal would hurt working families, and the governor isn't "leveling" with Minnesotans about it, said Diane O'Brien, communications director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

"He's lied about how he is going to balance the budget. He keeps backing away from the fact that there really isn't enough money in the system for the state to do its work," she said.

"He's refused to fix the budget with any kind of integrity, and to look at a fair tax structure and to make strategic investments that will benefit Minnesota. And, we all need to think about holding the governor accountable for the situation that we're in today, and to the real pain that he's causing to real people throughout Minnesota."

For more information
View the governor's budget proposal at www.governor.state.mn.us