Daily Herald, editorial

After a relatively good start, the Republican-controlled Legislature has begun to spew out budget ideas that appear to have a lot more to do with politics than with getting Minnesota’s looming $6 billion deficit under control. It’s still early in the session, and legislative leaders ought to make a course correction now, while there’s plenty of time.

Among the bills that lawmakers launched in the past week or so were one that would unilaterally freeze teachers’ pay for two years. Anything unilateral is almost certainly bad, but aside from that it’s a real power-grab for the state to take control of something that has always been the province of local school boards. Another bill calls for massive cuts to the way the state apportions tax revenues among cities, a program known as LGA. The redistribution has generally been good for Minnesota and, even if it must go, a gradual phase-out over many years would be a far smarter course than a yank-the-rug-out-from-under maneuver. Most recently, a committee gave initial approval to a plan that calls for cutting the state government’s payroll by 15 percent. Sounds like savings, but how much thought went into that 15 percent figure? Is it even workable?

The one thing all of those bills have in common is that they are a chance for recently elected lawmakers to look and talk tough without regard for an overall vision of state finances. Far better is the suggestion that came forth in the current session’s very first week: Step back, take a look at the state’s overall spending priorities, and then build a budget that meets those priorities first — within the limits of expected revenues.

Building a budget piecemeal is roughly akin to building a house with an axe. It can be done, perhaps, but the result will be ugly.