Letter – Share in the pain of budget cuts

Talk about it

To the editor:

I very much appreciate the common sense that our Minnesota Senate is using to solve our state’s $4.6 billion deficit. Taking an across-the-board approach to funding cuts is the wisest idea. Then everyone shares in the pain of cuts.

The K-12 education accounts for 40 percent of the state budget. If it doesn’t share in the funding cuts, other important services to our county and community will be hurt, possibly too deeply to repair.

Health and human services only account for 28 percent of the budget. These services would be slashed. Most of this funding is used to support the elderly in nursing homes and people with disabilities. Disability services alone account for $7,786,559 in Douglas County. Most of the money goes for wages for caregivers and most of these caregivers spend their paychecks locally.

Also, the across-the-board cuts should help keep county and city services from being deeply cut and hopefully keep property taxes from rising drastically.

Thank you, Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen, for trying to protect all our government services with the across-the-board funding cuts approach.

Linda Store,

direct support professional

Osakis, MN

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