Today chair of the Capital Investment committee, Rep. Alice Hausman presented the House Bonding Bill and I have been receiving e-mails about my coming vote on the bill. Most of them use a draft provided by the group Minnesota Majority. These drafts seem to confuse bonding and general fund expenditures.
I came upon a good explanation of the difference from Rep. Paul Gardner and thought I would share it with you:
A blurb about the bonding bill
Mid-February will see passage by the Minnesota House of the capital investment or “bonding” bill. I’m already getting a lot of e-mail (generated–I think–by a GOP or conservative group action alert) about the bill, so I thought it would be a good time to review what the bonding bill is.
Every two years the Legislature and Governor work on this bill to provide funding for publicly owned buildings, property, and land. In particular, state agencies have buildings or property that are in need of repair, renovation, or replacement. . . (read more)
Many writers also want to compare the state budget to their own family household budget and I found this editorial from the Winona paper really helpful in understanding the difference:
Darrell Ehrlick: State budget isn’t anything like my family’s
By Darrell Ehrlick / Winona Daily News | Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2010 12:20 am
“So, son, did you build a road today?” That’s a question Ward Cleaver never asked the Beav.
But it’s a question politicians are beginning to ask as an election year begins.
It seems that many politicians love the analogy of government’s revenue and spending plans being like a family budget.
And my response is: Government is nothing like a family budget.
Excuse me. I should say, there is a similarity: They both take money.
After that, the analogy ends. . . (read more)
Yes government budgets are not like a family budget. The family has to use common sense and real budgeting while the government can spend what they want and then raid taxpayers budgets for what it can not honestly budget for.
Maybe you think our District 25B voters will somehow have the wool pulled over their eyes by simplistic analogies and shirking of responsibility. I however seriously doubt it!
Mr. Bly forgets to include mention of all the pork in the bonding bill for art center, ordway, and double and triple dipping some groups are doing with bonding, legacy funds, supposed stimulous funding……
Can you tell me one permanent job created from bonding bill say last 50 years that is not a government employee Mr. Bly?
That is cool that we are able to receive the mortgage loans moreover, it opens up completely new chances.