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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1) Radio Show: 9am: Capitol Update, Rep. Tom Emmer; 10am: Robert Timberg, John McCain’s biographer
2) Veto Protection Pledge
3) State of the State Address: No New Taxes
4) Tax Increases top of agenda at Capitol
5) Transportation Bill means much higher taxes for you
6) Welfare checks coming soon to a mailbox near you!
1) Radio Show: 9am: Capitol Update, Rep. Tom Emmer; 10am: Robert Timberg, John McCain’s biographer
This week on the “TheDavid Strom Show” with David and Margaret on AM 1280 the Patriot:
9-10 am: The Legislature is back, so hold onto your wallets. David and Margaret will be discussing the action down at the Capitol with Taxpayers League President Phil Krinkie and House Assistant Minority Leader Tom Emmer.
10-11 am: Now that John McCain has all but sewn up the Republican nomination, David and Margaret talk to author of “John McCain, An American Odyssey” Robert Timberg. Timberg, author of “The Nightingale’s Song,” is McCain’s more or less official biographer. We will be discussing what makes John McCain tick. Tune in to find out more about the probable Republican nominee for President.
2) Veto Protection Pledge
In all likelihood, the only thing standing between Minnesotans and a slew of tax increases is a gubernatorial veto. Last year the liberals pushed over $5 billion in tax increases, and if the action at the Capitol this year already is any indication then taxpayers are going to get hit again and again this year too. Governor Pawlenty is going to need all the help he can get, and the Taxpayers League is working hard to support his efforts. To this end, we have developed a “Veto Protection Pledge” and are asking Legislators to sign up. The Pledge signers will be promising to sustain the Governor’s vetoes of those bloated tax and spending bills. We encourage you to call your legislators (or better yet, buttonhole them at endorsing conventions if you are a delegate) and urge them in no uncertain terms to sign the Veto Protection Pledge. If enough Legislators are on the record supporting the Governor tax increases will be stopped cold. The pledge reads: “I agree with Governor Pawlenty that now is not the time to raise taxes. I, ___________________, pledge to the people of the state of Minnesotathat I will uphold any veto of a tax increase by Governor Pawlenty.” Follow the link and print out a copy for your Legislator.
3) State of the State Address: No New Taxes
Governor Pawlenty made clear in no uncertain terms that he is opposed to raising taxes, vowing to veto any bill that includes a tax increase. In his State of the State address delivered in St Cloud Pawlenty promised to whip out his “taxpayer protection pen” and veto bills that would increase the tax burden on Minnesotans. He also announced his intention to reform Minnesota’s outdated tax code in order to make it more business-friendly. We say kudos to the Governor for drawing a clear line in the sand on the tax issue. Are the liberals in St Paul listening?
4) Tax Increases top of agenda at Capitol
Well, if the action in the Legislature is any indication, the liberals are going to be pushing a number of tax increases this year. The very first bill to get out of the House is a proposal to raise the sales tax for arts, public broadcasting, and “the environment.” As a proposed Constitutional Amendment, the Governor has no veto power over this proposal, but you sure do. Constitutional Amendments have to go before the voters, and a majority of all voters in the election is needed to get approval. The Taxpayers League is always skeptical of dedicating funding, but this proposal is especially bad. It would create a Constitutional right for public radio and TV to reach into your pockets! And this is not the only sales tax increase being talked about at the Capitol. The Transportation bill also includes a Metrowide ½ cent sales tax which would help fund the train building the Metropolitan Council is lusting for—with NO opportunity for taxpayers to vote! Minnesota’s sales taxes could easily become some of the highest in the nation if this trend keeps up: if you are a Hennepin County resident, for instance, you will wind up paying the 6.5% current state sales tax, the .5% local option sales tax, the .15% stadium sales tax, the .375% public broadcasting and environment sales tax, AND the .5% transit sales tax. That would add up to a sales tax of about 8%! Hmmm. And we haven’t gotten to a discussion of income taxes yet!
5) Transportation Bill means much higher taxes for you
$840 million. A year. In higher taxes. That is a good chunk of change. That works out to a pretty sum of $670/year or so for a family of four in higher taxes. That is what Senator Steve Murphy and his liberal friends at the Capitol have in store for you if they can override the Governor’s veto on the transportation bill (which is why the veto protection pledge is so important! Get your Legislator to sign up!). The biggest outrage though is the fact that the liberals are holding hostage the federal funding to rebuild the I-35W Bridge—the feds have approved the money, but the liberals in the Legislature are bundling the appropriations to spend the money in the same bill as the tax increases. Taxpayers should be furious that the bridge collapse is being politicized in order to shove a tax increase down our throats.
6) Welfare checks coming soon to a mailbox near you!
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we didn’t approve of the so-called “stimulus package,” but far be it from us to tear up a check if it shows up in our mailbox. The color of the money is still green. We would have preferred a bill that would have made permanent the Bush tax cuts, cut corporate income taxes and eliminated the death tax. Those policies would have been far better for the economy than the “rebate” checks that will be sent out now that Congress has passed and the President has signed the “stimulus” package. Of course, the so-called rebates had to be made progressive, and were phased out for the people who paid the most taxes (of course!). This bill was driven by politics, not economics. Now that the checks are coming, Congress is telling us that it is our patriotic duty to spend the cash to boost the economy. In our humble opinion, the best way to stimulate the Minnesota economy is to send those checks in to the Taxpayers League of Minnesota so we can fight all the job-killing tax increases being pushed at the capitol!
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota's E-Update is published weekly
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