Bruininks bewails Pawlenty’s budget cuts, warns of ‘enormous consequences’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had scarcely stepped away from the podium Tuesday afternoon after delivering his budget proposal for the 2010-11 biennium before the first salvos of official reaction statements began popping into inboxes.

"At the U, we are fully prepared to do our part to deal with this state budget problem," University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks said in a press release with a time stamp of 1:37 p.m.

No Responses to “Bruininks bewails Pawlenty’s budget cuts, warns of ‘enormous consequences’”

1. Anonymous Says:
   January 27th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

   Throwing money at education and everything else is not the answer. I would hope more and more people can figure that out.

   The “stimulus” is just a pork laden payment to all the states and groups that helped Obama get elected via a racist and divisive campaign. A true “stimulus” is a tax cut to put money back into the economy but liberals need control and power and the only way to achieve that is more spending. Have fun being suckered by liberals and making your children slaves to the government and not only the lazy americans but lazy people around the world. I hope you enjoy taking away the independence from american children in the name of helping them.

2. Anonymous Says:
   January 27th, 2009 at 4:29 pm

   If the governor’s aim is to creat jobs and grow the economy of the state, he should begin by investing in higher education, not cutting it. By asking for an additional %151 million in cuts to the University of Minnesota, Governor pawlenty is, in effect, decimating the state’s future. Talented students and researchers alike will look elsewhere, leaving Minnesota behind.

3. Anonymous Says:
   January 28th, 2009 at 10:43 am

   I don’t know where to begin with you. Enjoy listening to Hannity today and smoking indoors. God bless.

4. Holly Cairns Says:
   January 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

   Pork! That’s the new buzz word, isn’t it. Republicans are using this word to distract from our harsh reality… instead of being distracted, we’ve got to help Minnesota’s hard working families before we all end up paying more, later.

   A budget set to throw 84,000 people onto the health care streets is ridiculous and horrific! Remember the Lazarus story? Yeah, you, Anonymous, might be the one who wishes for a finger dipped in water.

   You said: (Don’t vote for good bills because) “THERE MAY BE PORK LADEN PAYMENTS TO ALL STATES AND GROUPS THAT HELPED OBAMA GET ELECTED!” Ha ha. That is really stupid, if you ask me. We’re in a crisis and all these Republicans, including you (or are you Libertarian) are yelling “PORK”. Let’s get on with this and start to help Minnesota’s hard working families. They aren’t ‘PORK.’ And your tax dollar may be needed to avert total crisis.

   On a constructive note: We shouldn’t launch a huge tax increase– Let’s remember ‘progressive’ Hoover’s mistake, banks started to have trouble and then he launched a huge tax… oops. As secretary of commerce, he should have been able to see a minimal tax over time helps to sustain. When he realized the govn’t needed taxes to run, he should have slowly increased taxes, and he should have regulated against corruption and created jobs.

5. Anonymous Says:
   January 28th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

   I am perplexed that we have re-elected a governor who’s idea pool is limited to cuts. He is unable to think of any revenue enhancing act at all. And just think - yes think about how successful he and the other Republican have been the last decade. No new taxes — no new economy. It’s taking care of his rich buddies, no matter how much it costs the rest of society. It can not be explained in any other way than chronic selfishness and greed. When will this governor learn that Minnesota succeeds as do all its inhabitants. I know it’s a sophisticated concept called cooperation (working together), and that’s hard to accept when you’re used to a law of nature called, survival of the fitest. Minnesota will succeed when we help everyone succeed and when people who have a lot share a lot.

6. Anonymous Says:
   January 28th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

   As a former University of Minnesota graduate I think I can say this with the utmost certainty and if I ever meet Robert Bruininks personally I would tell him the same thing to his face. YOU raised tuition Mr. Bruininks. That’s right you did. Thankfully, I got out of there after only paying once or twice for your double digit increases and not all four years. It’s you who previously said publicly “we are unwilling to compromise the quality programs.” That’ admirable and understandable. I appreciate your tireless and thankless advocacy on behalf of the University of Minnesota but you need to own up to the shell style blame game you have been playing. Let’s get it straight. Pawlenty cut U of MN funding. You and the regents increased tuition. Take some responsibility for it.

7. Anonymous Says:
   January 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

   There you go…using the phrase “throwing money at education and everything else”. I guess your answer is selfishness? How about greed? How about being a member of a society, state, or community, but refusing to do anything for it, except take the perks it offers? If Minnesota is to thrive and prosper as a state, we must start doing what we should have done a long time ago and that is SPEND to improve it. Corporations don’t compete or thrive without investing and neither will the State. It has been shown many many times that the more we invest in education the better the state does in the future.

   The pathetic thing is, Minnesota used to lead the nation in educational achievement and investment. It also had among the highest standards of living than most any other state. Now we are only mediocre, due to Pawlenty’s “screw you, I’ve got mine” mentality. We don’t need a state, county, or city for that. We might as well be a bunch of individuals all looking for ways to cheat each other. Is that how we have won major wars? Hell, we can’t even win a war with tinhorn dictator now. OUR POWER IS IN OUR ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER (COOPERATE), not the law of the jungle. You see how well Africa’s law of the jungle is working out in the Congo?

   I believe the very people who relentlessly want more money back in the form of lower taxes are the very ones who do little or nothing to imporve the State or community. They only use the money for selfish reasons. Well, that’s great for cavemen, but not a sophisticated society. The guy who writes this sounds like the good ‘ol red-neck hill-billy accusing everone else of being lazy, but who’s chief exertion is getting a beer before he plunks his butt on the sofa. I certainly know that his selfishness is not rooted in helping children. He wants to raise ignorant children who aren’t able to compete in the job market, but they’ll probably be good beer drinkers, like the ‘ol man. I’m sorry, but I think you are the LAZY one, because you are unable to muster enough energy to be concerned about your fellow citizen.

   I’ll tell you like my father has told me, “Come here and cry in my pocket, you big baby.” You spend too much time whining because you are too damn lazt and selfish…