Now I really want it vetoed:

The tax bill contains many items Pawlenty supports, including tax breaks for expansions of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Thomson West Publishing in Eagan, a $39 million state guarantee for costs of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul and tighter tax rules for firms with foreign operations.

But Pawlenty opposes a section that returns projected inflation to the state's official budget forecasts. To eliminate it, he would have to veto the entire bill, because line-item vetoes are allowed only for spending provisions, not policy. He warned legislators before the bill was approved that the inflation provision could bring down the whole measure.

Seriously, in one veto you stop this inflation nonsense and the corporate welfare to Thomson West and MoA? And frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn about guaranteeing costs for the RNC. Why does a government have to do that?

Of course, the corporate types will also be pushing for the foreign operations tax veto as well; I think this is as good as dead. $39 mil for the RNC guarantee (which, to be clear, doesn't cost us anything except in very dire circumstances) isn't enough sugar to swallow this lemon.

Labels: inflation, Pawlenty, taxes