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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
2. There’s no cute way to say it. This transportation bill is just HUGE.
3. The DFLs property tax proposals: MissionNothing Accomplished.
4. What if Minnesotans spoke and the media didn’t listen?
5. Two great events from CFACT and the Center of the American Experiment.
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot from 9 – 11 am when David will be joined by Dr. Richard Vedder and David Olson. Vedder, a professor of economics at Ohio University, will join David and Margaret during the first hour to talk about his latest book, The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy. During the second hour, Olson, President of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, will stop by to talk about the 2007 Citizen Compass Survey from the Coalition of Minnesota Business (If you have no idea what survey I’m talking about, you’re not alone, the silence from the Metro area press has been deafening – read #3 below).
As always, tune in at 10:05 am for the Capitol Report with Phil Krinkie. Up this week, the House and Senate Transportation committees passed their omnibus spending bills complete with a tax guaranteed to touch every Minnesotans pocketbook.
2. The DFL (and some GOPers) even want to tax the fuzzy dice hanging from your rearview mirror.
First, a Senate committee passes a transportation funding package that can only be described as “ginormous.” Add to that the proposal a similar House committee passed this morning, and suddenly cars have been converted into a new cash crop. Containing a list of demands as foolish as the Port Huron Statement (“the original, not the compromised second draft”), these bills have turned the DFL (and their GOP enablers) into the equivalent of lab mice addicted to crack; say the word “car” and we get a 10-cent increase in the gas tax. Once more and we get new tab and title fees. Once more and we’re hit with wheelage and local-option sales taxes. One last time and they hit your driver’s license. And for what? So we can have a half-dozen new train lines criss-crossing the Metro.
You know, it’s one thing when the majority party has enough votes to control legislation with or without any say from the minority – that’s how the process works sometimes. But it’s an entirely different thing when those who should be standing in the way of unnecessary tax increases develop a particularly crushing case of Stockholm syndrome. Who knows why Representatives Mike Beard, Dan Severson or Ron Erhardt voted to raise your taxes, but if you live in Shakopee, Prior Lake, Sauk Rapids or Edina, you might want to call them and find out.
3. “You brought us here to complain but offered no solution.”
On Tuesday, House DFLers held a press conference to announce that property taxes are increasing (not exactly coming up with Poincaré conjecture, but hey, step one is identifying the problem, right?). While heavy on the doom and gloom, other than Gregorian-like chants of LGA, FOC, LGA, FOC, there wasn’t much in the way of solutions offered (hence the quote up top from a member of the press corps).
Look, solving this problem isn’t hard. Just give the surplus back to those who overspent in the first place. It’s as easy as that.
4. We’re forced to listen to them, why can’t they reciprocate?
What if a survey was released that said Democrats wanted tax cuts more than Republicans? And what if that same survey said that seventy-five percent of Minnesotans believe that if the Legislature did a better job of spending money, they wouldn't be talking about tax increases? Pretty amazing, right? Well it happened last week (thanks to the 2007 Citizen Compass survey by the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses), and as mentioned above there hasn’t been much from the local media about the results. In fact, what we get instead is this from the Strib’s editorial page: “If six weeks of analysis of Pawlenty's budget have convinced DFL senators that it does not adequately meet state needs, they have an obligation to go public with their case, and make a straightforward argument for a revenue increase.” An argument I’m sure the Strib’s editorial politburo will make again and again and again. Take a few minutes and go through the survey. Not only will it renew your faith in your neighbors, but by providing the actual questions and answers that were used in the survey, you can see just how much people want government to live within its means.
5. Jonah Goldberg: the man that makes picking up the Strib’s Op-Ex section fun again.
First up, one more reminder about CAE’s luncheon forum on March 22nd with Paul Peterson titled, Achievement Gaps: What Will it Take to Close Them? The lunch takes place at University Club in St. Paul from noon to 1:30pm. To register, click here.
Next, on Tuesday March 20th join Collegians For a Constructive Tomorrow for the 4th Annual Jonahpalooza. Goldberg, contributing editor at National Review and a syndicated columnist, will be appearing for one night only in Mississippi Room on the 2nd floor of Coffman Union at the U of M from 7 – 8:30pm. To make sure there’s still room, contact Laura Gatz at lgatz [at] cfactcampus [dot] org.
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota's E Update is written by Mark Giga
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