eUpdate - 2/29/08

Why donate to the Taxpayers League of Minnesota?

Because without your support this year Minnesotans would have seen billions of dollars in new taxes or worse, a prolonged and destructive special legislative session that would have sent our national tax ranking back into the top ten.

But with your help, the Taxpayers League and a small group of conservatives were able to hold back the liberal tax and spend agenda. You know the liberals will be back when the Legislature reconvenes in February. And you know they will make another attempt to make Minnesota's income tax rate the highest in the nation. So until then we need to prepare for their next assault - we need to make sure that Minnesota taxpayers can rest easy knowing their life, liberty and property are safe for few more months.

Over the last ten years, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota has been at the center of the struggle to keep taxpayers from giving an ever greater share of their hard earned money to government. We can't claim to have won every fight, but ask yourself this: without the Taxpayers League, who would do the fighting?

If you're a past supporter and are coming back to help us again, thank you. And if you're a new supporter of the Taxpayers League, welcome. Your help is absolutely critical to our efforts as we promote a responsible agenda in Minnesota. But please stay tuned. The tax grab never stops.

As always, we are delighted to call you a friend of the taxpayer.

eUpdate - 2/29/08

Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate

1. David's guests this week are Craig Westover and King Banaian.
2. A $6.6 billion tax increase passes through veto override.
3. They introduced a bill to do what?
4. Senate DFL ousts Lt. Governor Carol Molnau from Department of Transportation.
5. RIP William F. Buckley, Jr. 1925 - 2008

1. The David Strom Show presented by the Minnesota Free Market Institute.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot at 9 am when David will be joined by Craig Westover of the Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Free Market Institute. They will be discussing the Governor’s Health Care Transformation Task Force.
At 10 am, David's guest will be Dr. King Banaian, Chairman of the Saint Cloud State Department of Economics and Free Market Institute fellow. They will be discussing the state of the Minnesota economy and the State budget forecast.
Also, be sure to tune in at 9:15 am for the Capitol report with Phil Krinkie.

2. A $6.6 billion tax increase passed over the Governor’s veto.

By a margin of two votes in the House, the Governor’s veto of the transportation bill was overridden. The bill included between $6.6 and $8.2 billion in tax increases (depending upon what local government officials decide). Six Republican legislators in the House and two Republicans in the Senate decided to vote against Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. The House Republicans were: Abeler (Anoka); Erhardt (Edina); Hamilton (Mountain Lake); Heidgerken (Freeport); Peterson, N. (Bloomington); Tingelstad (Andover). The Senate Republicans were: Dille (Dassel); Frederickson (New Ulm). All Democrats in both the House and Senate voted to override the Governor, so the vote was “bipartisan” only insofar as Republicans defected from their party. If you have an opinion on this bill (we sure do!) don’t be shy about sharing it with your legislator!
So what can be done about this? Fortunately, residents of the seven county Metro area can still try and hold off the imposition of a ¼ cent sales tax increase by contacting their county commissioners. The sales tax increase doesn't kick in until each county board passes a resolution authorizing it.

3. They introduced a bill to do what?
It's been a long, lonely Summer and Fall, but just because the politicians have returned to the State Capitol it doesn't mean that they brought their common sense with them. Without further ado, our first entrants for 2008s "Most Stupid Piece of Legislation:"
HF 2757, legislation providing for an "imminent bridge collapse warning device to be developed by the commissioner of transportation." Which, unless I'm missing something, has got to be a guy standing on each end of a bridge with a megaphone and a set of binoculars scanning the gusset plates 24 hours a day, right? What's worse, imagine if someone actually comes up with something that does warn you if a bridge is about to collapse. Lights start blinking, horns start blaring and before you know it traffic is backed up for 10 miles in both directions. As much as we dislike bridge collapses, this idea seems a bit wacky to us.
Think you've got a bill that can make our list? Reply to the eUpdate and pass it along.

4. Senate DFL ousts Lt. Governor Carol Molnau from Department of Transportation
If you had any doubt that partisan nastiness has taken over the Capitol, yesterday’s vote to oust Lt. Governor Carol Molnau from her post as the Commissioner of Transportation should awaken you from your pleasant dream. Senator Steve Murphy had accused Molnau of being responsible for the bridge collapse last fall, but before yesterday’s vote he insisted that his one-man crusade against Molnau was motivated by a desire to improve efficiency at the Department. If I were Keith Olberman instead of the nice guy I am, I would name Murphy the “worst person in the world” for his smearing of Molnau’s character.

5. William F. Buckley, Jr. 1925 - 2008
Of all the tributes to William F. Buckley that have been printed on websites and run in newspapers all over the world in the last few days, one of my favorites comes from a George Will interview with Buckley in 2005:
"Without Bill Buckley, no National Review. Without National Review, no Goldwater nomination. Without the Goldwater nomination, no conservative takeover of the Republican Party. Without that, no Reagan. Without Reagan, no victory in the Cold War. Therefore, Bill Buckley won the Cold War."
To read more, visit National Review Online.

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The Taxpayers Legaue of Minnesota

A non-partisan, non-profit grassroots taxpayer advocacy organization for Minnesota