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by U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen
May 25, 2010 
Washington, D.C. — With our economy continuing to lag in the most important area -- jobs -- elected officials should look at every action they take through the prism of job creation. Unfortunately, in both St. Paul and Washington, the priorities of legislators are not always in line with the issues families talk about at their kitchen tables. Jobs and the economy have undoubtedly been the most important issues for Minnesota families in the past few years, yet the focus of government has too often been elsewhere.
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Time to reduce state mandates on education
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 4:44 PM CST
Recent letter-writers have discussed what it means to support Edina's students, teachers and schools. There is also something else we should support - reforming the state-mandated process for settling teacher contracts.
The Edina School District was recently charged a $230,000 penalty by the state of Minnesota for not meeting the state's timeline for teacher contracts. This state-mandated process is one-sided against the district, undermining the good-faith negotiation efforts of our teachers and administration. Statewide it results in settlements districts can't afford. And ultimately the penalty only hurts our kids.
Recently, I introduced a package of legislative reforms to reduce state education mandates and their costs.
Specifically regarding teacher contracts, this legislation would eliminate the state-mandated timeline and penalty, instead requiring binding arbitration to settle final contract differences prior to district budget deadlines. I am also proposing an idea for which the time I believe has come: empowering individual teachers to achieve fair market compensation by contracting directly with a school district.
We also need to reduce the strings attached to state funding. My bills would grant districts greater control and flexibility over their school calendar, and allow a school board to request exemption from a state mandate that is especially egregious in their district.
Much more can be done to reduce federal and state interference in our schools, but these proposals are a step in the right direction. Reforming state mandates is critical to restoring local control to school districts and an important part of supporting Edina's students, teachers and schools.
Rep. Keith Downey, R-41A
Edina
Appeared in the Edina Sun Current 2/18/2010
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The following editorial by Congressman Erik Paulsen was printed in the Eden Prairie News:
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By Tim Pawlenty
Minnesota has a lot of great traditions. Unfortunately, limiting the growth of state government spending isn't one of them. From 1960 to 2003, state general fund spending increased by an average of more than 21 percent per two-year budget cycle.
To put that in perspective, per capita income in Minnesota typically grows at about 5 percent per two-year budget cycle. State government spending grew more than four times faster than per capita income. That's unsustainable and reflects an ever-growing appetite for more and more government spending at a rate that's far outpacing private sector growth.
We've put the brakes on state spending during my nearly seven years in office, limiting annual spending growth to an average of 2.2 percent. But there's no guarantee that kind of discipline will continue.
That's why I'm proposing we let Minnesotans vote on a "Spending Accountability Amendment" to the state Constitution that would cap spending at the level of revenue actually received during the previous budget period.
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Minnesota needs a better business climate -- not more government.
By Keith Downey
Minnesotans have never shrunken from a challenge, and we are ready to rebuild our economy. But do we really need 36 politicians in St. Paul cooking up short-term state government job creation?
Unfortunately, that's the current edition of the House Jobs Task Force (of which I am a member).
Von Bismarck compared the law to sausage -- it is better not to see the end product being made. But Minnesotans should watch this task force closely. After two meetings it seems poised to do nothing, or worse, for the state's economic recovery. At a time when state leaders should be working to improve our business climate and should be relying on our dynamic businesses and talented workforce to create jobs, instead the task force is holding hearings on government-grown jobs, including a jumbo state bonding "stimulus" bill.
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