In his State of the State address last night, the Governor asked the legislature to pass his jobs proposals, particularly the bonding bill. He said the voters will decide in November whose budget plan they support, and he urged legislators to put that battle side and work for jobs. Not surprisingly, he listed his proposed bonding bill first among the job bills that should be considered:

Onenationalstudyestimatesmybondingbillwouldcreate21,700jobs, mostofthemintheprivatesector.Ifyou’reskeptical,dividebytwo. That’sstillmorethan10,000Minnesotans,nowunemployed,whocouldbeworkingalloverthestate.

The Governor is absolutely correct — jobs must be our top priority. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in the legislature doesn’t seem to see it that way. They’ve been busy with their constitutional amendments, attacking consumer rights and other assorted nonsense instead of working on jobs legislation.Guess how many jobs Voter ID would create? If you answered “zero,” you’re right.

Our economy is so close to a recovery. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and finish the job, not pull back and take the chance that it falls apart. The legislature should pass the Governor’s bonding bill immediately and put 20,000 Minnesotans back to work.