Letter: 'Three Little Pigs' of Minnesota have spoken

Talk about it

Even with a $4.5 billion deficit to eliminate in 2009, our three “delivery pigs” of taxpayer waste who control the state’s budget — the governor, the House and the Senate — have prevailed. Their actions to date will still put about $12 million of Minnesota’s taxpayer dollars for years 2009-2013 into the troughs of the remaining 10 to 12 ethanol plants blessed by the state’s ethanol subsidy program.

This will, sadly, grant about $1 million per plant, per year, under the “Ethanol Producer Payment Program” to these plants of privilege for the next five years, which ends this historic, full-fledged lobbying effort by state officials to control the state’s political and powerful energy source. It’s all created by tax dollars and now good to the last $55 million dollar drop-off, of taxpayer cash.

An expensive Legislative Audit report shows that for the last five years of these payments, subsidies only “enriched the Profits and dividends” for the investors of these plants. The auditor has also stated at a public hearing, “The state has no contract or guaranteed comment to these plants under state law.”

Help me trim the fat and cut the waste. Why don’t we call for an independent investigation of Ag Commissioner Gene Hugoson regarding his duties as a state official in this matter, and his obligations to taxpayers and his administrative responsibility for sound state policy and taxpayer notification?

Tags: opinion, letters, minnesota, legislature, ethanol