Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1. Four Good Questions for Local Governments
2. Another Nice Mess They Got Us Into
3. Why Tax the Rich Doesn't Work
4. When Will They Start Listening and Stop Spending?
1. Four Good Questions for Local Governments
Despite the DFL legislators' "Misery Tour Part 2" last week, where they flew around the state to try and convince Minnesotans that they were right in attempting to raise taxes to balance the budget, Governor Pawlenty's stand against raising taxes has resonated not only in Minnesota but also across the country. Pawlenty has been staunch in his view that raising taxes is not a good idea, and he was able to follow through on that in a way that flat-out surprised the liberal tax-and-spenders.
Of course liberal tax-and-spenders dislike Governor Pawlenty's opposition to tax increases because they can't comprehend government living within its means. A group of mayors flew around the state crying that if Governor Pawlenty reduced city aid payments they would have to lay off cops and firefighters.
But Governor Pawlenty didn't buckle. Instead he directed four simple questions to local government officials to be answered before they begin complaining.
1. Is there a rainy day fund that can be used?
2. Where is the money from property taxes going?
3. Has there been an employee pay freeze implemented?
4. How have they tried to downsize and streamline operations?
Please take these four questions to your own city council members, county commissioners, and school board members. Tell them that you appreciate that your taxes haven't been increased this year and then hold them accountable to answer these basic questions. Email us if you get a response!
2. Another Nice Mess They Got Us Into
When the legislative session finally came to an end last week you may have been wondering how Minnesota got into this budget mess and why the legislature failed to balance the budget. Well, it didn't happen overnight, nor did it happen just in a few weeks. The mess the legislature found itself in after the clock struck midnight on May 18th (the last day of the session) came about not because of the Governor, not because of a lack of an "Override Three," but because of the DFL's addiction to their tax-and-spend ways.
The stage was set for last week's scenario at the end of the 2008 legislative session. Legislators in 2008 decided to overspend by $1 billion and push the state's budget problems to 2009 so that they could "look good" right before the 2008 elections.
Fast forward a year and the $1 billion (or more) in new taxes that the DFL-controlled House and Senate passed twice, and Governor Pawlenty vetoed both times, is seen in a different light. They are trying to frame their tax increases as necessary but in fact their tax increases are nothing more than a way to cover up the budget mess they helped create in 2008.
To read more about the nice mess they got us into, check out Phil Krinkie's column here.
3. Why Tax the Rich Doesn't Work
Over and over in the past several months the rhetoric of "tax the rich" has echoed throughout political discussions. The discussion on taxing the rich is over in Minnesota until the next legislative session. However, you can be sure that the argument will not go away.
The Wall Street Journal published a great article on why taxing the rich in order to gather more revenue for state and local governments does not work. The basic premise: job creators and their businesses are mobile; people and businesses can move to and from low and high taxed states, and they do. South Dakota knows this, which is why they are now advertising on Minnesota radio stations their excellent business climate and low taxes.
A study based on individuals' relocation habits from 1998 to 2007 in the WSJ points out that when states impose high income-tax increases on "the rich," a large number of "rich" people left the state. In fact, the study found that every day during that time period 1,100 people moved from the 9 highest income tax states, and relocated in the 9 lowest income tax (or no income tax) states.
The "tax the rich" argument sounds great to the average person because they don't consider themselves rich. However imagine yourself as a high income earner ($250,000 plus), and it's easy to see why "the rich" want to flee states with high income taxes.
To read the rest of this great article, "Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich," click here.
4. When Will They Start Listening and Stop Spending?
An interesting Rasmussen poll released just before Memorial Day showed that the vast majority of Americans (77%) believe that uncontrolled spending is a bigger problem than people not wanting to pay more taxes. When the question was asked of "Mainstream Americans," 90% responded "spending" was the bigger problem. This statistic is amazing considering the massive and unprecedented amounts of spending that politicians from Congress to our own state government have been doing. It's no wonder that even President Obama couldn't help but admit that the government is "out of money."
0 comments:
Post a Comment