Editorials
Our View: Deficit gets needed attention
When the discussion of federal spending involves billions of dollars, it’s never “a little too little, a little too late.”
Feeling pressure from the American public on the size of the U.S. deficit and runaway spending, the Obama administration has begun to formulate a deficit reduction plan. Officials are seriously considering using at least part of a $210 billion surplus in the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) fund to lower what is projected to be a $1.3 trillion annual deficit.
The Office of Management and Budget also under the administration’s direction has asked all departments except defense and veterans affairs to plan two budgets for the fiscal year starting next October: one that has flat spending and one that envisions a 5 percent reduction in spending.
Of course, federal spending is complex, and there are plenty of opportunities for Congress and the administration to break their own rules. The proposed flat and reduced spending in all likelihood does not include entitlement spending, such as Social Security, that has automatic increases built into law.
Still, the effort to propose some kind of spending restraint, some kind of fiscal responsibility at a minimum puts the Obama administration on record. If the administration fails, and capitulates to a Congress that seems more and more pre-occupied with other things, it will have to face the music of not only Tea Party protesters but other citizens as well.
Obama’s OMB is also looking at “simplifying the tax code” and “revamping the corporate tax code,” but, according to The Wall Street Journal, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is pushing for significant spending cuts to go with any planned tax increases.
Some members of Congress appear ready to get serious about deficit reduction as well. Sen. Kent Conrad, D.- N.D., who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has said he won’t vote for raising the Treasury’s borrowing limit unless the administration gets serious about deficit reduction.
Some Obama administration officials remain wary that reducing the deficit by cutting spending could choke off economic growth and any recovery. But carrying a deficit nearly three times what it was just a couple of years ago will also be bad for the economy — if not now, then in the long run.
- Editorials
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Our View: Cut's costs exceed savings
Why It Matters
Taxpayers will pay more to treat the mentally ill as crisis center closes. -
Our View: Everyone is important in census count
Minnesota’s representation, funding and national voice, is on the line with the 2010 U.S. census.
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Our View: Library plan touches on dilemma
For many, it was a jaw-dropping proposal. The city of Mankato has a tentative plan to reduce its funding to the Blue Earth County library and the Summit Center by 50 percent.
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Our View: Students must be the top priority
Why it matters
Allegations of sexual misconduct by school employees bring focus to the need to
protect students. -
Our View: School athletics model may need work
Why it matters
School sports will come under increasing scrutiny with tight budgets. -
Our View: Students' efforts aid community
The students behind Brand New Image are great role models.
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Our View: Legislature, governor win one for the people
The Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty deserve credit for coming to agreement on a bonding bill in a truly unprecedented timeline.
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Our View: 'Centrist' Walz walks a fine line
Why it matters
In an election year where partisans are in a rush to define candidates, Minnesotans need to carefully pay attention to what they see and hear. -
My View: Go after the moneyed elite
Professor Ron Yezzi’s letter to the editor, published Feb. 25, was a powerful reminder that the progressive Democrats we elected in 2008 have been unable to change a government that is controlled by the wealthy elite.
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Our View: Tough choices for Rapidan Dam
The Blue Earth County Board faces the continual conundrum of the Rapidan Dam with no good choices in the offing.
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