Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul), who authored legislation calling for inflation to again be considered in state budget projects, was less tactful. We knew that if you don't budget for inflation it will catch up with you, ... Three dollars a gallon for gas was not predictable, but rising costs were certainly predictable. We had an ostrich-buries-his-head-in-the-sand approach to the budget because we were trying to get through the session without admitting we had to raise taxes.