Fundamental change is facing Minnesotans, said Gov.-Elect Tim Pawlenty when he was visiting Albert Lea last week. The state is facing a $4.5 billion budget shortfall over the next three years. The economy is growing, but very slowly, and more importantly, the number of good jobs still seems to be decreasing. The People’s Republic of Minnesota no longer looks like a place that encourages job creation in the private sector.

Even so, I’m still not convinced that things in Minnesota are as bad as they’re made out to be. I suspect that there’s a very political motive behind the steady drumbeat of complaints about this tax or that regulation. Any business that leaves Minnesota because of those things probably wasn’t worth keeping anyway. They’ll soon move from their next home, constantly looking for the lowest common denominator when it comes to tax rates or employee and consumer rights.

Even so, fundamental change in state government will be good for a number of reasons. Calling our state the People’s Republic of Minnesota is partly satire on my part, but it’s also a reflection of how heavy-handed action has become a habit for many in state government. More importantly, it’s healthy for a society to justify to itself all of the responsibilities that we give to government. In fact, in order to guard against the excesses of a &uot;bureaucratic&uot; state, reform in government should be a constant process, with nothing &045; no task, no department, no program &045; ever taken for granted or protected from scrutiny.

That being said, fundamental change can also be quite painful. We get used to government officials making decisions and to paying for programs with our taxes. It’s not that we’re lazy; it’s more like we grow to expect the state to take care of certain things. Now those expectations are going to be challenged, or at least I hope so. Everything is open for cutbacks, changes, or even elimination.

Today, reform of government seems to have become, ironically, a rallying cry for conservatives. Reform is usually a &uot;progressive&uot; strategy &045; it means changing the way we’ve gotten used to doing things. Some Republican ideas about how to save money are even quite radical (and also unlikely to be embraced by the general public). We’re headed into a period of reform because of looming budget deficits, but saving money can only be one of the criteria we use if we want a government which is not only efficient but also responsive to the needs of citizens.

Just as I’ve heard the complaints and scare tactics of the anti-regulation crowd, I’ve also listened to those of big government’s supporters. We need to move away from a state government that wants to do everything, but it’s way too soon to tell if Minnesota is destined to become a &uot;cold Mississippi&uot; with Republicans in charge.

Still, we do need to be careful. Reforms should be carried out with a surgeon’s skill, and with eyes on the long term. Abrupt changes based on what is or isn’t politically popular right now only creates problems later. We need to leave the tobacco settlement money alone.

So, since fundamental change is in the air, here’s my advice to the new governor:

– Let’s start with across the board cuts of 15 percent for everything except K-12 education funding, and then see what that leaves us with.

– Raise the gasoline tax &045; or &uot;user fee&uot; &045; but limit its use to transportation infrastructure projects and the State Patrol.

– Programs that deal with affordable housing need to move out of state government and into the hands of non-profit organizations &045; like Habitat for Humanity.

– Encourage the creation of more local, independent preschools, which could &uot;screen&uot; children before they start kindergarten, instead of relying on the very bureaucratic ECFE and state-run pre-kindergarten screening programs.

– In health care, anything that standardizes (and simplifies) claims and billing, and re-establishes preventive care as a priority for everyone in medicine &045; including insurance companies and their stockholders &045; would help more than just the state budget.

We all need to let our voices be heard as our leaders debate how to handle the huge deficits we face. The more of us who participate in the decision-making, the better the end result will be for all Minnesotans.

David Rask Behling is a rural Albert Lea resident. His column appears Tuesdays.