Fraters Libertas

Welcome To The World Of Mike Hatch: Check Your Wallet At The Door

I know when Mitch Berg puts his mind on something, he comes up huge. Therefore I'm anxiously awaiting his promised article on Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch and the Star Tribune. According to Mitch he's been doing numerous personal interviews, reading hundreds of pages into the Minnesota Legislative record, and spending dozens of hours refining his prose.

This promises to be a spectacular effort of investigative journalism, something rare for the blogosphere - which means this could be a groundbreaking event in the history of the medium. According to Mitch it's coming very, very soon. We're standing by with our links.

But until then we'll have to be content with Hatch's editorial in Wednesday's Star Tribune which blamed budget cuts in the state's Gang Strike Force on our unwillingness to raise taxes:

By cutting the budget of the Gang Strike Force from $7 million in 1997 to only $140,000 in 2003, an amount that barely pays the rent and keeps the lights on. Such actions have given criminals an edge, and in fact, according to news reports, informants told Strike Force members they are relieved about the cuts and are making plans.

This is a direct result of the political expedience inherent in an unyielding "no new tax" pledge. This pledge and its effect on the Minnesota Gang Strike Force directly affects everyone's personal safety.

The very core of government is its responsibility to protect its citizens. There is no question that taxes must be kept in line, but when government leaders convert a "No new tax" pledge into an unyielding policy without regard to the consequences for the citizens they were elected to serve, their actions become irresponsible.

You see in Hatch's world there is only one way to explain budget cuts: "We didn't raise taxes". He doesn't even consider the possibility that perhaps, just perhaps the $7 mil could have been cut from another portion of the budget. I support the Minnesota Gang Strike Force and would like to see it properly funded. But to claim that the only reason it won't be is that we didn't raise taxes is simplistic. I guess in Mike's world it is simple. Need money? Raise taxes.

Here's a suggestion for you Mike. Instead of spending $730 million (at last estimate) on a light rail line that will do little more than making it easier for gang members to commute to the Mall of America maybe we could have funded the Gang Strike Force. And for that matter a hell of lot of other law enforcement initiatives to make the state safer.

And maybe, just maybe if the Attorney General would direct some of his office's resources towards addressing the state's gang problem instead of investigating whether non-profit health insurance companies ordered extra toppings on pizzas for their employees the streets might be safer as well. That's how you protect the citizens.