Democratic National Committee: Pawlenty Masks His Failed Economic Record at Facebook Town Hall

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100929/DNCLOGO )

At today's Facebook town hall, Gov. Tim Pawlenty misrepresented his record on the budget, taxes and spending. Here are the facts:

PAWLENTY'S RECORD ON JOB CREATION IS POOR
When Gov. Pawlenty says we need to do things to create jobs, he forgets to mention his poor record on job creation.

• Pawlenty Has A "Much Weaker" Record On Job Creation Than Other 2012 Candidates, Because "During Pawlenty's Time As Governor Of Minnesota (2003 To 2011), The Number Of Jobs Grew By An Anemic 0.5 Percent." [National Review Online, 6/20/11]
• Minnesota's Unemployment Rate Grew From 4.6 Percent To 7.1 Percent Under Pawlenty. [Minnesota Public Radio, 12/22/10]
• Minnesota Gained A Mere 6,200 Jobs Under Pawlenty. [Minnesota Public Radio, 12/22/10]

PAWLENTY LEFT MINNESOTA WITH A PROJECTED $6.2 BILLION DEFICIT
When Gov. Pawlenty claims he balanced every budget, he fails to mention that he left Minnesota with a $6.2 billion deficit.

• When Pawlenty Left Office, Minnesota Faced A $6.2 Billion Deficit For The 2012-2013 Biennium. [Minnesota Public Radio, 12/2/10]
  • Minnesota Had The Fourth-Highest Projected Budget Deficit For 2012. [Wall Street Journal, 6/2/11]
• Star Tribune's Lori Sturdevant: "No Other Governor In Minnesota's 152-Year History" Besides Pawlenty "Has Handed His Successor A $6.2 Billion Deficit Forecast." [Lori Sturdevant op-ed, Star Tribune, 12/4/10]
• Wall Street Journal: Pawlenty's "Quest To Assume The Mantle Of Fiscal 'Truth Teller'" Has Been Nagged By "A Projected, Multibillion-Dollar Deficit In Minnesota." [Wall Street Journal, 6/2/11]

90 PERCENT OF MINNESOTANS SAW THEIR TAXES INCREASE UNDER PAWLENTY
When Gov. Pawlenty claims he cut taxes, he fails to mention that taxes for 90 percent of Minnesotans actually increased, property taxes increased by 65 percent and fees doubled.

• MPR's PoliGraph: Claim That "Under Tim Pawlenty, The Average Tax Rates Went Up For The Bottom 90 Percent... Of Minnesotans [And] The Richest 10 Percent Had Their Average Taxes Go Down" Is "Accurate." [PoliGraph, MPR, 4/29/11]
• Cato Institute: Despite Pawlenty's Campaign Pledge Not To Raise Taxes, Pawlenty "Backed A $200 Million Tax Increase On Cigarette Consumers In 2005 And A $109 Million Corporate Tax Increase In 2008." [Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors, The Cato Institute, 10/20/08]
• "During Pawlenty's Tenure, Property Taxes Have Increased By $3 Billion, Or 65 Percent." [MinnPost.com, 2/15/10]
• "During Pawlenty's Tenure... Fees Have Doubled, Reaching A Total Of $1.25 Billion." [MinnPost.com, 2/15/10]

PAWLENTY USED ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS TO CLAIM HE CUT SPENDING
When Gov. Pawlenty claims he cut spending, he forgets to mention all the accounting gimmicks and other maneuvers he made to make it look that way.

• Pawlenty "Balanced Each Two-Year State Budget" But "Critics There Say They Stem From Short-Term Funding Maneuvers That Were Used During His Tenure To Patch Over Shortfalls--And To Put Off Tough Decisions To Align Minnesota's Tax Base With Its Government Spending." [Wall Street Journal, 6/2/11]
• Minnesota Management And Budget Official Said Pawlenty Did Lower Spending In Real Terms For In 2010, But "Said... Spending That Year Would Have Looked Different If The State Had Not Put Off Education Payments And Taken Billions From The Federal Government." [Wall Street Journal, 6/2/11]
• Pawlenty Balanced The Minnesota Budget With "Accounting Tricks, A Well-Timed Infusion Of Stimulus Money From Washington And Word Games." [Associated Press, 5/25/11]

PAWLENTY'S ECONOMIC PLAN GIVES EVEN MORE TAX CUTS TO THE RICH WHILE SLASHING PROGRAMS FOR THE REST OF US AND EXPLODING THE DEFICIT
Gov. Pawlenty revealed what he would do to the economy if he were president. His plan gives even more tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires than President Bush did, slashes spending critical for middle class families and adds to our deficit.

• CBPP: "The Pawlenty Plan Would Give People In The Top One-Tenth Of 1 Percent On The Income Scale (i.e., People With Incomes Above $2.7 Million) An Average Annual Tax Cut Of $1.8 Million -- Which Is More Than Four Times What They Got Last Year From The Bush Tax Cuts." [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 6/15/11]
• Salon's Andrew Leonard: "If You Combine A Balanced Budget With Tax Cuts On The Scale That Pawlenty Dreams Of, You Inevitably End Up With Massive Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid And Social Security. There's Simply No Other Way To Make The Budget Math Work." [Andrew Leonard, Salon, 6/8/11]
• Washington Post's Ruth Marcus: Pawlenty's Plan To Cut Spending Will "Make The Ryan Cuts Look Mild" Since He Would Cut Spending To 18 Percent Of GDP And Ryan's Plan Cut It TO 20 Percent. [Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 6/9/11]
• Center For American Progress Budget Director: Pawlenty "Says That He Will Balance The Budget, And Cap Spending At 18 Percent Of GDP" But "His Tax Plan Leaves Him About $8.4 Trillion Short." [Center For American Progress's Michael Linden, Think Progress, 6/7/11]

SOURCE Democratic National Committee