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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
BUDGET CRISIS MUST CHANGE WAY WE DO BUSINESS
One of the responsibilities I take the most seriously as a state representative is my contact with constituents. Since session began in January, I have had numerous meetings both in St. Paul and back home in the district with community members, who oftentimes represent a group or organization that is seeking state funding. For example, about a week ago I met with four local people who are the drivers behind the Relay for Life in Mower County. All of these individuals have lost loved ones to cancer, and feel passionate about their cause. This group was looking for support for several worthwhile initiatives, including SAGE, a comprehensive statewide breast and cervical cancer screening program, and a colon cancer screening pilot project.
This week, I met with a large group of individuals from Austin and Albert Lea who are environmental supporters. It is very helpful for me to see what people in our area consider to be priorities, and I always keep these priorities in mind as I weigh my votes.
Each time I meet with a group such as this, I take it as an opportunity to share with them the fact that our state is facing a significant budget deficit and we must do what we can to sustain the jobs we have and grow our economy with new and emerging jobs. As is the case with most families in our state, our state budget is no longer able to fund all of our wants; we must instead focus on funding needs. The difficulty lies in determining what needs are more important than others – what priorities do we value as a state. It goes without saying that I would like to support all of my constituents’ causes, but there simply isn’t enough money to do that this budget cycle.
One of the ways we will attempt to address our budget deficit is through reform measures. This week, the Chair of the House Tax Committee introduced her plan to significantly reform our state’s tax system. Over the past several years, more and more tax credits and expenditures have been added to our state tax code, most of which disproportionately reward higher-income Minnesotans. Chair Ann Lenczewski proposed bold reform that would eliminate most of these credits, and replace them with three more progressive measures that are simpler and fairer.
One example is the mortgage interest credit. As it stands now, this credit is linked to income. In other words, if two homeowners pay identical interest amounts on their homes, the owner who makes the most money receives the largest tax credit. Under the new reform bill, this credit would no longer be linked to income.
Next week, Rep. Paul Marquart, the Chair of the Property Tax Division, will release his tax reform measures. He indicated yesterday his plan will also focus on making our tax system more progressive, and is designed to keep property tax increases to a minimum.
The decisions we will be making over the coming weeks will be difficult ones. In many respects, this budget crisis gives our state the opportunity to change the way we do business. In other respects, this crisis changes the way we MUST do business. We need to ask ourselves these questions: what works, what doesn’t work, what is fair, what is not fair, and finally, can we afford it. It is critical that we balance our need for long-term investment with what could be a short-term savings.
Please continue to share with me your ideas for addressing our state budget deficit. I can be reached at 1-888-682-3180 or 1-651-296-4193, by mail at 487 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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