Duluth -- DFL gubernatorial candidate John Marty today charged that Gov. Arne Carlson has "sold out" the middle income voters who elected him four years ago.
Marty, beginning a two-day trip through Northern Minnesota, told reporters that Carlson's 'fatal flaw' is the anger voters have with his policies that work against middle-income families.
"I don't want to soak the rich," said Marty, "but I will stop Arne Carlson's drowning of middle-income families."
Marty said Carlson hurt middle-income families, despite a no new taxes pledge by:
* driving up property taxes over $500 million on homeowners, seniors, renters and farmers; * a one-half cent sales tax increase on all Minnesotans; * a 2% "sick tax" on hospital, doctor, and all medical bills; * tuition hikes for college and vo-tech students; * no increases in the K- 1 2 school funding formula for the last three years; * and proposing a plan to double property taxes for most home-owners in the next four years.
Marty said he would help middle-income families by:
* providing $600 million in property tax relief to home-owners, renters, farmers, and seniors; * paid for by $ 1.2 billion in revenue raised by ending favored tax treatment for the wealthiest four percent of Minnesotans; * getting control of state taxes and spending through "ounce of prevention" measures in crime, education and health care; * providing quality private-sector health care for all Minnesotans financed by elimination of wasteful health-care industry bureaucracy; * providing strong support for K- 12 and higher education.
"Arne Carlson has been dishonest on taxes, he has neglected our schools and has helped the wealthy at the expense of working families and seniors." Marty concluded. "Four more years of Arne Carlson and middle income families will be an endangered species."