Transcript:
"I want Minnesotans to know that I care about making this a better state for them, for their children and their grandchildren and that's what motivates me in public service. My life has been devoted to public service, from the time I graduated from college and taught in a ghetto school in New York City. I was a social worker, a street worker, for Boston social service agency. Throughout my stints in government as a state auditor, as an energy commissioner and economic development, as US senator, I have tried to support polices that have made this a better state.
I just see so much going wrong in Minnesota today. I see this state headed in the wrong direction with the regressive taxes which means the rich don't pay their fair share, which is fundamentally wrong and which is putting our state in fiscal stranglehold, so that we don't have the resources that we need for public education, which would be my priority. We have got to provide quality education for all of our children and for our young people that's our future that's their future. We are failing in that responsibility all over the state. We have a school district in Western Minnesota operating a four day school week because that is all that they can afford. That is shameful. That is not preparing those kids for the kind of competition that they will face with China and India and other places around the world. We got class sizes of 30 to 35 students in the elementary grades, 45 to 50 in the high schools. Courses being eliminated. Extra-curricular activies and sports being cut back. We are a state that values education. We have the fourth highest tuition rate for public colleges and universities of any state in the nation we are denying access for our young people or putting them tens of thousands of dollars in debt just to get a college education, just to get started in life.
So we can protect Tim Pawlenty's tax cuts for the richest Minnesotans. That is fundamentally and profoundly wrong. If I am elected governor of Minnesota I guarantee you that we are going to have a progressive tax system in Minnesota. The wealthy are going to pay their fair share. We are going to put that money into public education.
I am going to spearhead universal health care We are going to figure out how to make Minnesota, the pioneering state as we used to be in the past for public services and provide health care - quality care for every Minnesotan by taking every health care dollar out of the hands of the United Health and other insurance giants who are pocketing those dollars in profits and putting them back into healthcare for people, which is where they belong.
I want to rebuild our highway system, so we have efficient transportation, a public transit system that provides a real alternative to highway automobile travel
Continue the commitment that Minnesotans made by passing "Yes-Minnesota" and make sure that money goes natural resource protection and enhancement.
Get the pollution agency out of the business of cooperating with the polluters, put them back on the side of the people and turn it into a pollution reduction agency. So we have a commitment to strong environment protection.
Then do what my predecessor Rudy Perpich did, I had the privilege of working for him, the last DFL governor, whose mantra was "jobs, jobs, jobs", ,who got any plane or any telephone anytime that there was an opportunity to create jobs for Minnesota And
Back then we had a unemployment rate below the national standard, today we are at or worse than the national average.
We have a governor who is a bystander, disclaims any responsibility as things get worse and worse. I'll take that responsibility I'll be held accountable I am going to work for Minnesota, if I am given that that chance. I am going to help put Minnesota back to work!"
Governor Pawlenty's Fatal Flaw
Question: What would you consider Governor Tim Pawlenty's fatal flaw to be?
Best Quote:
"Governor Pawlenty does not care about Minnesota any more, he cares about his own presidential ambitions. He is sacrificing school children, the elderly and the indigent who need health care on the altar of his presidential ambitions."
Summary: Governor Pawlenty has put presidential ambition above the good of the state. His sole concern is not raising taxes, even though he is actually shifting taxes. He does have a huge impact on the state that he not taking responsibility for.
Tax Fairness
Question: Are the richest paying the same overall Minnesota tax rate as the poorest? How could taxes be made more fair?
Best Quote:
"Minnesota's tax system is regressive, which mean the wealthiest 10% of Minnesotans pay a smaller percentage, a much smaller percentage, of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the rest of Minnesotans. That is just fundamentally profoundly wrong. It has become much much worse in the Republican administrations of last 18 years and one wrestler-turned-libertarian."
Summary: Looking at overall state and local taxes, the wealthiest pay less than their proportionate share. When the richest pay a lesser rate than the average, that is called regressive taxation. Mark Dayton, who is in the wealthier class, proposes that the rich pay a slighter greater rate than average which is called progressive taxation.
Reference: Here are the graphs from the mentioned Minnesota State Tax Incidence Report
Value Differences between Democrats and Republicans
Question: Without citing any issues, can you describe the value differences between Democrats and Republicans?
Best Quote:
"Democrats believe in government and we believe in the importance of what government does for people. I see the Republicans running on the ideology that government does everything badly. Then if they are elected, they go out to prove themselves correct. They either defund the program or destruct the programs."
Summary: I believe in good government. I am committed to making government better. Republicans are committed to a self fulfilling prophecy of bad government. Tim Pawlenty's departments are found by the auditors to be lacking fiscal controls. That is not good government.
Surprise Question
Surprise Question: What political figure or political hero from history do you admire and why?
Best Quote:
"Seeing my political hero die for the causes he believed in that just struck a chord inside of me. It lit a spark which I hope continues until the day I die about wanting to make a difference on the behalf of other people and believing that is my purpose on this planet. I had the opportunities before from the people of Minnesota. I had not accomplished nearly what I like to and what has to be accomplished by my generation before we turn this over to our children and grandchildren. That's what motivates me, the same thing that motivated Robert Kennedy, make this a better world!"
Summary: In a very touching answer, Mark Dayton describes Robert Kennedy as his political hero because he had courage and because he cared about people. As I was listening to him, I had no doubt about his sincerity.
New Media
Question: Every year has brought new trends to campaigning, facebook, youtube, blogging, twitter. How do you plan to adapt your campaign to take advantage of the new trends?
Best Quote:
"The internet is changing campaigns in the ways that President Obama demonstrated last year that we are all trying to emulate. Would that I have the kind of charisma and appeal that he demonstrated to draw people, especially young people, to the campaign"
Summary: President Obama has led the way with new technologies changing campaigns. Mark Dayton said that he will continue to adapt to using new technologies including a great website, flickr, facebook, and more.
Healthcare
Question: What role will health care insurance companies play in your health care plan?
Best Quote:
"We ought to get the insurers out of the scam of taking health care dollars and pocketing them in profits rather than providing health care for people. When you look at a United Healthcare, their whole existence is predicated on charging people more for their health care more than they are paying back in benefits, that is where their profits comes from, that's where their executives get these outrageous payouts. So to ask the insurers to be integral to a system just guarantees that is shortchanging the patients, the providers, the doctors and the nurses."
Summary: Healthcare is a right that should be universal and affordable, where 98% of healthcare dollar goes for health care. Funding health care insurers means that less of a health care dollar goes for health care.
Veterans
Question: What could we do for returning veterans that we are currently not doing? What could we do better?
Best Quote: "We owe them not only the gratitude of the country; we owe them the best in medical care and psychological counseling."
Summary: As Senator, Mark Dayton pushed for the funding for the Minnesota model program, Beyond Yellow Ribbon program that helps transitions back from war. Full federal funding in medical care and psychological counseling should be provided.
Goals
Question: What are the three most important goals that you hope to accomplish as governor?
Best Quote:
"Without progressive taxes and more revenues derived from the wealthiest people in the state we can't do anything that I or any other candidate is talking about."
Summary: The first goal is progressive fair taxation which will then allow the other two goals: better education and better affordable universal health care.
Differences
Question: What makes you stand out in a crowd of candidates for governor?
Best Quote: "I'll present myself as best I can, then it is up to voters to decide."
Summary: Mark Dayton said it up to the voters to decide. He will target long term economic development for this state. Mark has a long track record of statewide service in five jobs.
Energy
Question: Does clean coal exist? Would you consider nuclear energy? What types of renewable sustainable energy would you support?
Best Quote: "Then we get into a crisis where oil or gasoline prices spike upward and everybody wants an instant solution, but a few months later, the prices recede, then it is back to business as usual."
Summary: Mark Dayton says we need a consistent long term alternate-energy and conservation policies that will protect us, not just occasional initiatives when the gas prices spike. Existing coal plants should be required to produce energy as cleanly as possible. As governor, I would not want nuclear waste storage here in Minnesota. Attracting wind energy companies as well as other alternate energy companies is good for our economy as well as our environment.
Motivation
Question: What motivates you to run for governor?
Best Quote "Well I don't want to be part of the first generation in our nation's history to leave our state and our nation and our world worse off to our children and our grandchildren than we inherited it."
Summary: Minnesota is headed profoundly in the wrong direction. We need progressive fair taxation to ensure funding for education and government services.
Economy
Question: How would you bring more jobs to Minnesota? How would you improve the economy?
Best Quote: "Twenty years ago, when was Rudy Perpich's commissioner of energy and economic development, Minnesota unemployment rate was consistently 2% or better below the national average, through good economic times and bad."
Summary: The 18 years of testing the Republican economic theories have demonstrated how very wrong those policies are. We need an entirely new direction.
Even though there are Uptake videos cited here, the opinions are solely those of Grace Kelly. |
