The Wake

Gubernatorial candidate Becky Lourey’s Aug. 23 discussion on fiscal policy was essential to convince voters she can finance her sweeping proposals to health care, education and transportation.

Her plans are progressive and well-thought out, but require some major overhauls to our current systems, especially the health care industry. If Lourey wants Democrats to pass over Attorney General Mike Hatch and vote for her instead, she’s going to have to convince a lot of people before the Sept. 12 primary that her policies can work without a huge increase in taxes and that her programs are worth the increase.

“We live in a great democracy, but it isn’t an absolutely perfect democracy,” Lourey said during the discussion. “Minnesota has a long and proud tradition of nurturing success for all its citizens,” she continued later. But “for several years now, the basic assumption about how to build a strong foundation of Minnesota society has been under attack.”

The state senator from Kerrick, Minn. has built her campaign around the idea that Minnesota is ripe for change. She is the only proponent of a universal health care plan, called HealthCare Security, in the gubernatorial race and promises to provide affordable education from early childhood through higher education to all Minnesotans.

She also supports light and heavy rail lines, as well as other public transportation measures and her energy proposal, Minnesota Clean, will reduce the state’s dependency on foreign oil and invest in renewable energies.

But how can a country with a record-setting deficit afford to introduce universal health care, quality affordable education, broad public transportation, all while cleaning up the environment? The mother of 12 claims we don’t have a choice. “Too many Minnesotans have been losers under the changes made in the past decade, and a precious few have been winners,” she argued.

Lourey admits that “we cannot move Minnesota forward to achieve needed, major policy goals without making some major changes.” So, the Little Falls native has proposed the Lourey Fiscal Policy Framework, which encompasses seven key goals to ensure that her proposed improvements to the quality of life for all Minnesotans can be financed.

The seven goals include income tax reform based on an individual’s ability to pay, stabilizing K-12 district financing, creating partnerships to provide better public safety, promoting employer-provided health care, investments in public transportation by raising gas taxes and implementing a carbon tax, a crackdown on tax evasions and the institution of accountability measures in public finance.

Her broad goals seem questionable and nearly impossible to achieve, but Lourey sticks to her guns. When the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, Lawrence Jacobs, asked her if she thought cutting taxes provided the necessary business incentives to maintain a stable economy, she replied simply, “No.”

Lourey says that statistics and history show that government investment increases the quality of life, thus making Minnesota a desirable place for individuals to live in and creating a healthy marketplace for businesses to participate in.

Lourey also says that her fiscal policy framework will be more successful if implemented slowly in a gradual transition. “In fact, it is best to change the system incrementally. My fiscal process framework is evolutionary in nature. Recent Minnesota history tells us that rapid and radical fiscal structure changes bring about unanticipated negative consequences.”

Regardless of the necessity of Lourey’s proposals, the fact remains that she has a rocky road in front of her. Her opponent, Hatch, has refused to acknowledge that he’s running against her in a primary race and is proceeding full-speed ahead toward Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Nov. election.

If Lourey wants to win, she’s going to have to do more than discuss sweeping reforms and fiscal policy. She’s going to have to prove that her plans are what Minnesota’s been waiting for and that she’s what Minnesota needs.