I don’t think it’s so much about compromise; I think it’s about how our money is spent. I’m referring to the Friday, Aug. 19, edition of the Tribune  — your editorial about compromise and the article about the failure to pass a bonding bill this year.

The main sticking point in not getting a bonding bill passed seems to be the Southwest Light Rail Project — an 11-mile train system whose cost has risen to $2 billion. The Democratic Party seems to want this no matter what. They are taking a page out of the Congressional Democrats playbook and saying: Pass this or nothing else will be passed and it will be blamed on you (the Republican Party).

Excuse me, but where does it say everything proposed and seeking public money is worthwhile and affordable. Even Gov. Dayton stated so in a story on the MPR news site dated Apr. 27, 2015. Gov. Dayton stated, “The continuing escalation of the cost to design and build this line raises serious questions about its viability and affordability.” Some backers of the project will bring up the matching federal money argument. Well, whose money is that? The taxpayers, of course. With increasing  costs of health care and health insurance, increased demands for human services and funds for education, and the need to repair or refurbish what we already have, we do not have the money for all these new projects!

I agree with our state Rep. Peggy Bennett who stated in the bonding bill article, “We should pass the 99 percent of what we all agree upon instead of letting a controversial issue stand in the way of re-passing these bills.”And I think that would be more in line with the meaning of compromise.

 

Greg Donahue

Albert Lea