Posted: 11/13/09 08:21
by Dave Mindeman
It's possible that Gov. Pawlenty may leave office with one other notch on his belt -- a drop in Minnesota's credit rating.
The Strib is reporting a potential for a $1 billion shortfall in the current fiscal cycle due to lower than expected revenues. And that means that the state may have to resort to short term borrowing -- something they have not done since the 1980's.
And Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson gave us another ominous warning:
The state was last forced to borrow to pay its bills during the budget crisis in the early 1980s. If it has to do it again, Hanson said it's likely the state's credit rating will be downgraded.
A credit downgrade will make fiscal management and bonding even more expensive. Pawlenty, the "fiscal conservative", is leaving us with a lasting legacy of severe financial problems.
Granted, Pawlenty can't be held responsible for a deep recession, but he can be held responsible for how he's managed the state finances during it. And remember, he rejected the legislative solutions at the end of last session with his tax bill veto.
Pawlenty has drained all of our reserves....left our cash flow account at low levels...he has forced school districts to borrow as well, when he unallotted a large portion of their state funding....delayed payments for corporate and sales tax refunds....and his solution to the elimination of GAMC aid to the poor is to shift as much as he can to MinnesotaCare, and drain its resources as well.
This state looks like one of those credit card addicts who borrows from one card to pay for the other.
A potential downgrade in our credit rating is something we may have to deal with long after the "Pawlenty era".
Think he'll be mentioning that in New Hampshire?
