At the Minnesota Daily’s Senate District 59 Candidate Forum there were two clear choices: The liberal candidates vying for the DFL spot or the GOP endorsed candidate, Ben Schwanke. As all of the candidates fought about who could best grow government, Schwanke stood out as the only one who seemed to really understand the spending problem our state faces.
This election is about students. Schwanke understands the needs of students because he is one. Students make up 35-40% of the district. Education costs are high. Schwanke knows this, he is currently living through this. This just makes electing him that much more important. He will work to bring down the cost of higher education by reforming the way the University of Minnesota spends the money it gets from the state. Administration costs at the University of Minnesota are the 2nd highest of the Big 10 schools. This needs to change. Tuition money should be used to help the students, not to continually grow school administration costs as educational quality continues to underperform.
The DFL candidates were full of ideas, but they all involved increasing the size and scope of government. In Minnesota, the burden on the taxpayers is high enough, no wonder we are not bringing in new jobs. Raising taxes just does not make sense. At the debate, all of the liberal candidates failed to realize that we need to live within our means. Paul Ostro wants to make Minnesota less competitive by taxing internet sales and clothing. Jacob Frey does not understand that taxing job creators makes less, not more, jobs. Kari Dziedzic said she wanted a “balanced approach,” but when she was questioned by Schwanke on this, she could not name one area of government that she would cut. None of them seemed to grasp the concept that we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity. If we are going to get Minnesota back on track, we must vote against policies that will only make things worse.
The clear choice from this candidate forum was Ben Schwanke. Please join us and support Ben in his election on January 10, 2012.
Need to vote absentee? Click here!
