Governor Pawlenty released his proposed supplemental budget to address Minnesota’s $1.5 billion deficit for the current year. It’s pretty grim reading from a health and human services perspective. MinnesotaCare, the state health care program for the working poor, would no longer be available to single adults. Services for people with mental illness would be reduced. Payments to nursing homes would be cut.
Of course, these are initial proposals and the Democratic majority in the legislature will present their own proposals in the coming weeks. It’s doubtful that anyone will utter the phrase “tax increase” this year. Pawlenty is burnishing his fiscal conservative credentials and state Democrats are hyper-aware of the hostile political environment. As a result, any long-term solution to the state’s financial woes will be off the table and it will be déjá vu all over again next year when we confront a much bigger deficit. We’ve had budget shortfalls for most of the past decade and that seems likely to continue well into the new decade.
BOO-URNS.