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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: ON FEES VS. TAXES

 

“The governor has saddled the state with a billion dollars in new hidden taxes just to protect his relationship with a special interest group.  Minnesotans deserve better.”

 

-     Minnesota DFL chair Brian Melendez

        (Star Tribune, “State fees found taxing to some; State taxes may not have gone up, but fees have soared, according to a report from non-partisan Senate staff,” January 26, 2006.)
Text Box: A Pattern Of Lawless Behavior Continues to Surround Governor Governor Tim Pawlenty violates State Campaign Finance laws a third time The Minnesota Campaign Finance & Disclosure Board fined Governor Tim Pawlenty’s campaign committee $7,000 for illegal contributions that exceeded state law limits during 2005. This is not the first time Pawlenty violated state campaign finance laws. For 2002, Pawlenty received the largest fine in state history for illegally conspiring with the State Republican Party to produce TV ads to free up campaign funds for Pawlenty to spend on other campaign activity. The board fined the Pawlenty Campaign a record $600,000. And last December, the governor was fined by the board and entered into another Conciliation Agreement with the board because he was found to have accepted contributions over the legal limit. At the time, Pawlenty’s campaign staffer Michael Krueger responded to the board, “…We have taken steps to prevent a repetition of the data entry errors that led to acceptance of these contributions.” Yet, just four months later the Pawlenty campaign was fined again for the same lawless behavior. This leads one to question who is handling the Pawlenty Campaign’s finances. Pawlenty’s campaign treasurer, Ronald Esau, was found to have engaged in mortgage finance fraud. The Pawlenty Campaign announced in September 2005 that Esau resigned. Yet, Pawlenty’s 2005 year-end report indicates that Esau’s company was thereafter paid over $9,000 and that the campaign still owed $6,000 to Esau’s company for services rendered. Pawlenty staffer Michael Krueger has his own ethics controversies. Krueger continues to face questions regarding his involvement in a College Republican fundraising scandal while he was executive director of the National College Republican Committee. The NCRC duped vulnerable adults and senior citizens into draining their savings accounts to support the organization. The media should force Pawlenty to account for whether Esau and Krueger are handling Pawlenty’s books behind the scenes.

Pawlenty Unplugged Facts about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty www.pawlentyunplugged.com

Actual Conciliation Agreement

Contact : webmaster@pawlentyunplugged.com

FLIP-FLOP ON ETHANOL

 

 FLIP:  Governor Pawlenty in 2003 slashed $20 million in ethanol subsidies from the State’s budget.  (Star Tribune, “Where the cuts will hit hardest; Ethanol: $20.1 Million; Corn growers and factories say they feel plowed under,” February 8, 2003.)

 

FLOP:  After being criticized by corn farmers, Governor Pawlenty the next year sought to reinvent himself by announcing a 20 percent ethanol content mandate.  (Senate Majority Research Memorandum, “Governor Pawlenty’s Changing Positions on Ethanol,” October 8, 2004.)

FLIP FLOP ON THE FAMILY FARMER

 FLIP:  Tim Pawlenty claims he is a friend of the family farmer. 

 

FLOP: Pawlenty ha s consistent record of supporting large, corporate farmers over independent, family farmers.  In 1998, legislator Pawlenty voted to allow the expansion of large corporate-style feedlots.  Two years later, he blocked an amendment to expand agricultural assistance to farmers statewide. In 2001, as House Majority Leader, he voted down an amendment to ensure fair milk prices for dairy farmers.  As Governor, Pawlenty formed a task force loaded with agri-business corporations to advise him on livestock issues--the task force recommended usurpation of local control over feedlot sitings. 

Big Question: When can politicians use words like 'weenies?'

Text Box: Gov. Tim Pawlenty took a star turn on the Big Question blog last week with his unexpected (but not unprecedented) word choice.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty took a star turn on the Big Question blog last week with his unexpected (but not unprecedented) word choice.

Talking to national reporters, Pawlenty described Republicans who run away from President Bush this year as "weenies." A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee press release treated the remark as a direct reference to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kennedy -- an unfair leap into creative writing.

In the incident, we also see Pawlenty's subtler political talents on display. You use a word like "weenie" and you know you'll be quoted, and you know you'll come across as a funny, candid pol who talks like a regular guy. It worked.

Finally you also see a gift that not all politicians can manage: recycling a well-traveled line while making it sound fresh.

How do we know Pawlenty's "weenie" remark has been around the block before? Here's an excerpt from an October Star Tribune story:

"I don't embrace everything Bush says," he [Pawlenty] said. ..."But politics is smarmy enough without people bailing out on friends just because times are tough. That's a weenie move."

For more on "weenie redux," or to join the fray, please visit www.startribune.com/blogs/ bigquestion/
Text Box: PAWLENTY’S FLIP-FLOP ON CORPORATE WRONGDOING Flip: Pawlenty says during his campaign for governor (at the height of the Wall Street corporate scandals) that he has “no tolerance” for wrongdoing or deceptive practices by business officials.1 Flop: Pawlenty not only tolerates corporate fraud by his closest associates, he even appoints some of them to important governmental posts despite their wrongdoing: Pawlenty appoints longtime political ally Vicki Grunseth to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, touting her private business experience.2 What experience is that? Grunseth was an executive of New Access Communications and founder of QAI.3 Both companies were sanctioned by numerous states for consumer fraud, and Grunseth was even personally sued by at least one state before Pawlenty appointed her.4 Grunseth was also director of finance of TelEurope Ltd. and on its board.5 The Australian Securities and Investments Commission halted the sale of that company’s securities on several occasions for providing deceptive and misleading information to investors.6 The sales were intended to raise money for New Access and its parent, NewTel. Pawlenty was on the three person NewTel board until December, 2001. Pawlenty draws $10,000 for serving on the three person board of directors of a telecom company whose largest operating subsidiary is ripping off consumers. (Click here to read more.) Pawlenty says he didn’t know of the fraud. City Pages says of the Governor’s denials: “[E]verybody knows the [telecom] industry regularly plays crooked—except Tim Pawlenty. Like Claude Rains in Casablanca, he is shocked. Shocked!”7 Pawlenty appoints his campaign manager to a top position at the Commerce Department in which he was responsible to regulate the telecom industry, even though the manager had previously been found by the Minnesota courts to have engaged in telemarketing fraud. (Click here to read more.) Pawlenty’s campaign treasurer is found by an administrative law judge to have engaged in deception through an equity-stripping enterprise in which he duped unsuspecting homeowners in foreclosure of their home equity. The Pawlenty Commerce Department imposes no fine. (Click here to read more.) Pawlenty allows one of his closest political associates to help select the Commerce Commissioner, who regulates the telecom industry in Minnesota, even though that associate’s telecom companies had been sanctioned by regulators in many states for consumer fraud. (Click here to read more.) American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida gives $15,000 to the Republican Party. The Pawlenty Administration then settles a case with American Bankers on terms significantly more favorable than offered during the Ventura Administration. The insurer pays $1,000,000 to settle criminal charges that it made an illegal corporate political contribution. 1“A $250K Helping Hand To Pawlenty Campaign,” Star Tribune, 1B, August 13, 2002. 2“NewTel Stock Valuation Questioned – Australia Halts The Sale of Teleurope Securities,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, A4, August 1, 2003. 3“Happenings In Minnesota’s 2003 Legislative Session,” Associated Press, January 9, 2003. 4“Politicians’ Telecoms Wronged Consumers” and “QAI: A Legacy of Success or Slams?,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 13, 2003. 5NewTel Stock Valuation Questioned – Australia Halts The Sale of Teleurope Securities,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, A4, August 1, 2003; “More Questions About Firm That Has ties To Newtel,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, C1, August 27, 2003. 6NewTel Stock Valuation Questioned – Australia Halts The Sale of Teleurope Securities,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, A4, August 1, 2003; NewTel Stock Valuation Questioned – Australia Halts The Sale of Teleurope Securities,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, A4, August 1, 2003. 7“Secrets and Lies: Why Telegate Matters,” City Pages, p. 16, July 23, 2003. Text Box: FLIP-FLOP ON HOW LONG HE WILL STAY IN OFFICE FLIP: As a candidate for the state legislature, Tim Pawlenty said that, if elected, he would not serve more than two or three terms. (Eagan This Week, December 29, 1991.) Pawlenty also said: “We need to get away from people making a career out of this stuff. Political survival has become the sole objective” of politicians. (Pioneer Press, “Pawlenty will run for new legislative seat,” December 25, 1991.) “I’m not going to be there long, so whatever impression I’m going to make, I’m not going to wait long to make it.” (Eagan This Week, November 8, 1992.) FLOP: Once elected, Pawlenty ran five full terms. With four years as Governor, two years on the Eagan City Council, and ten years in the State Legislature, Pawlenty has held government office for over 16 years. Text Box: FLIP-FLOP ON HMO ACCOUNTABILITY FLIP: In 2000, Pawlenty voted to allow patients to sue their HMOs when harmed as a result of a denial of coverage. (HF 3491, 4/06/00) FLOP: The very next year, Pawlenty voted against the exact same provision. (HF 2486, 4/26/01) Text Box: FLIP-FLOP ON IS A FEE A TAX   FLIP:  After the Eagan City Council voted to approve a "storm water drainage utility rate increase," then-City Council Member Tim Pawlenty noted that homeowners were upset and that some considered the "utility rate" a tax rather than a user fee. (Eagan Chronicle, February 7, 1990.)   FLOP:  As Governor, Pawlenty has tried to hoodwink voters by claiming that his $400,000,000 tax on cigarette smokers is really a fee so as to purportedly keep his "no new tax" pledge.  The Governor's insistence on calling the tax a fee prompted a lawsuit in which a district court judge ruled the "fee" invalid.  The judge noted that had it been called a tax, no lawsuit could have been filed. Text Box: FLIP FLOPS, LIKE TOBACCO, ARE A HARD HABIT TO BREAK     Flip:  “I will not support fee increases that are purely or primarily intended to simply raise revenues to resolve our fiscal dilemma.”  (Letter to Senator Larry Pogemiller 5/7/03).     Flop:  “Minnesotans will pay about $559 million worth of new fees and fee increases in 2006 and 2007.  The largest new fee by far is the new ‘health Impact fee’ on cigarettes and other tobacco products.  That charge alone, which will equal 75 cents per pack of cigarettes, will raise more than $401 million.”  (Pioneer Press 7/30/05).  Pawlenty enacted the following additional fees:  $3 on driver’s licenses, $20 for people who fail road test twice, $10 for those who fail their written test twice, increased surcharges on court fines and real estate recording, snowmobile trail stickers, cross country ski passes, boat registrations, sales tax on car leases, and $80 million in other fees.  David Strom, head of the Minnesota Taxpayers League, raised the following question:  “How many flip-flops does it take to make you wonder whether the governor is merely flexible, or is perhaps losing touch with his core principles?”  (StarTribune 7/17/05).  The Governor has never met a fee he hasn’t hiked. Text Box: I KNOW, THE GOVERNOR SHOULD CREATE A TASK FORCE ON FLIP-FLOPS    Flip:  The Governor has appointed over 20 task forces and commissions to advise him on issues.     Flop:  Unfortunately, a number of these task forces and commissions never met, never issued a report, or were ignored by the Governor. Text Box: IS THERE A TWELVE STEP PROGRAM FOR FLIP-FLOPS?     Flip:  Representative Pawlenty:  “As to the type of taxes that might be increased in emergency circumstances, very small increases on a variety of taxes should be considered to avoid disproportionate impact by any one tax-paying sector of the state’s economy.”  (Pioneer Press 10/13/92).     Flop:  According to the StarTribune, “The cost of government in Minnesota today is significantly lower than a decade ago, but the little guy is picking up a greater share of the tab.  Put simply, taxes - in particular, property taxes - are growing faster than the incomes of most.  But the incomes of Minnesota’s most prosperous residents have climbed faster than the cost of state and local government.”  . . . “[A state analysis] projects for 2007 effective Minnesota tax rates - after federal taxes - ranging from 6.8 percent for people with incomes of $323,340 or more to 18.1 percent for people with incomes of $8,344 to $14,056.” Text Box:   THERE IS NOTHING QUICKER THAN A STADIUM FLIPPER. Flip:  In 1997, Representative Tim Pawlenty made it clear that he opposed public funding for professional sports stadiums.  “(If elected Governor) we aren’t going to subsidize billionaires to provide millionaires with a place to play baseball.”  (Pioneer Press 9/21/97).  “He opposes any public involvement, including the use of gambling proceeds, calling professional baseball a ‘cartel’ and blasts “subsidizing billionaires so they can pay millionaires.”  (StarTribune 10/13/97).  As a candidate for Governor, Pawlenty expanded on his criticism:  “The economics of baseball are insane.The owners are doing nothing to address the real problem, which is a lack of real revenue sharing, and free agency is out of control.  They are asking the public to subsidize that insanity, and it’s not a real appetizing proposition.”  (StarTribune 11/7/01).  As a legislator Pawlenty voted against the Target financing bill (5/3/94.  House Journal 7960), voted against the Twins stadium bill (10/97), and voted against the Minnesota Wild loan (4/9/98.  H.F. 3843).  As a candidate for Governor, he also tanked the Twins stadium.  (3/25/02.  H.F. 2214/S.F. 1857).     Flop:  In his first year as Governor, Pawlenty appointed a Twins Stadium Commission (11/18/03) and in March of 2004 he proposed that property tax levies be utilized to build a new Twins and new Vikings stadiums.  (3/15/04, Pawlenty News Release).  By 2005, Pawlenty was calling for a special session to pass up to three (Twins, Vikings, and Gophers) stadium bills. PLEASE PASS THE FLIPPERS.     While Governor Pawlenty proposed a special session to pass the stadium legislation, he sent out a menu to legislators to ask them which stadium they would like to support.  Legislators were heard to comment that they expected him to act less like a waiter and more like a leader.