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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1) Radio Show: 9am: “What would Reagan Do?;” 10am: Minnesota Transportation Spending with Rick Krueger
2) Attend your precinct caucuses on Tuesday February 5th.
3) Taxpayers League’s suggested resolutions for precinct caucuses.
4) Rep. Doug Magnus warns DFL is slowing transportation funds.
5) U.S. Senate holding up stimulus “welfare” checks.
6) Central Corridor a boondoggle.
1) Radio Show: “What would Reagan Do?” and Minnesota Transportation Spending This week on the “The David Strom Show” with David and Margaret on AM 1280 the Patriot:
9-10 am: Heritage Foundation’s timely radio ads “What would Reagan Do?” with Guest Rebecca Haeglin, VP of Communications and Marketing at the Heritage Foundation. With all the candidates for both parties fighting over the meaning of the Reagan legacy, it just makes sense to look at the actual Reagan record. The Heritage Foundation has assembled audio and video clips of Reagan discussing issues still relevant today.
10-11 am: David and Margaret turn to local politics to discuss transportation funding with Rick Krueger of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance. The Transportation Alliance has been at the forefront of the fight to raise your taxes to fund more transit and transportation. The Minnesota Free Market Institute has been working on policies to increase transportation funding without raising taxes.
2) Attend your precinct caucuses on Tuesday February 5th.
Participation is the lifeblood of democracy, and Minnesotans will get their chance to have their voices heard next Tuesday Feb. 5th. The Taxpayers League encourages you to get involved by attending your precinct caucuses. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office has all the information you need to find out where to caucus. Each Party meets in different places, and the Independence and Constitution Parties meet at different times than the other parties, so visit the Precinct Caucus Finder to find out where to go and what to do to ensure YOUR voice is heard in this election season!
3) Taxpayers League’s suggested resolutions for precinct caucuses.
Speaking of Caucuses, the Taxpayers League strongly encourages you to take part in shaping your party platforms. Among other things (including straw polls for Presidential Preference) you will have an opportunity to submit resolutions that could influence the platforms of your respective political Parties. And, of course, we have a few suggestions for resolutions you should put forward:
Use State Bonds for Roads
Whereas Minnesotans are already overtaxed, and;
Whereas gas taxes, wheelage taxes, and license tab fees are regressive and will slow economic growth, and;
Whereas the Capital Investment (bonding) bill is the Constitutionally recognized mechanism to make long-term investments in state infrastructure;
Therefore: Be it resolved that at least 50% of the bonding bill be invested in state bridge and highway funding.
No New Taxes
Whereas Minnesota has the 5th highest income taxes in the nation, and;
Whereas high taxes slow economic growth;
Therefore: Minnesotans should not be burdened with higher taxes.
No Sales Tax Increase
Whereas sales taxes are highly regressive and;
Whereas Minnesotans already pay high taxes;
Therefore: Sales taxes should not be increased by Constitutional Amendment or through Legislative action.
Cut Spending to fix deficit
Whereas Minnesotans are already overtaxed, and;
Whereas Government is already too big;
Therefore: any budget deficit should be fixed by cutting spending, not raising taxes.
4) Rep. Doug Magnus warns DFL is slowing transportation funds.
State Representative Doug Magnus is fighting the DFL to release road funding. The Federal Government has approved funding for rebuilding the collapsed I-35W bridge, but a DFL-controlled committee is refusing to release the funds. That has forced the Department of Transportation to divert funding from other critical road projects to keep the project on schedule. The money is in the bank, but by delaying the release of funding State Senator Steve Murphy and other liberals are hoping that they can force another showdown over raising taxes during the next legislative session. Keeping the funds locked up in a bank vault is going to delay a host of other projects for no reason. Since the bridge fell last year it has been used as a political football by liberals hoping to use the tragedy to raise taxes. In the process they have smeared Lt. Governor Molnau, the Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, and conservatives in general. Delaying road projects is just the latest shameful stunt to force a tax increase.
5) U.S. Senate holding up stimulus “welfare” checks.
The Taxpayers League is skeptical about the so-called “stimulus” package being pushed in Congress, but this is just too rich. The U.S. Senate is stalling on passing the stimulus package because they want to make it even bigger! Remember, Hillary Clinton proposed a $70 billion “stimulus” package, the President and the House agreed to twice that, and now the Senate wants another $30 billion to sweeten the deal. All using deficit spending! As a result, the “rebate” checks and other measures in the bill are going to get held up in political wrangling. Go figure!
6) Central Corridor a boondoggle.
If you had any doubt, Minnesota Free Market Institute President David Strom's commentary in the Pioneer Press should convince you that the Central Corridor light rail project is a huge boondoggle.
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