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State Representative Tim Sanders
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4226
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES IN THE LEGISLATURE?
By Tim Sanders
State Representative
This past weekend the House majority scraped enough votes together to pass their 2009 Tax Bill. I voted against passage of this bill because it raises taxes on Minnesota families. Families across the state are cutting back and setting priorities, why should the government be any different? The government is continuing to increase spending and expect the taxpayers to foot the bill. We need to get everything we can out of each dollar spent and we can do this by identifying and establishing priorities, including education, economic development and public safety.
Throughout all the discussions I have had with folks in my district, the number one thing they are concerned with is education. Despite the over $2.8 billion dollars in new taxes the House majority passed, they still did not make K-12 education funding a top priority. By using accounting gimmicks their plan shows a .3% increase. However, the underlying truth is they actually cut school funding by over $200 million. Tax increases coupled with cuts in education does not appear to make funding our children’s future a top priority.
Another top priority of people in our district is public safety - nearly 93% of those who responded to my survey said public safety should be spared from budget cuts. The recent bill passed by the House, which I opposed, proposed a cut of over $70 million while raising fees by over $28 million dollars. The GOP caucus proposed an alternative to this plan which focused on efficiency, provided $14 million more for corrections and removed the large fee increase. Apparently, the House Majority favored raising fees and cutting public safety, because they would not even let the whole House vote on the proposal.
The final concern which comes up with my constituents is job creation and economic development. This is the area where the House Majority’s Tax Bill really comes into effect. Their proposal eliminates several homeowner tax credits, which will only slow the recovery in the housing market - prolonging the economic downturn. Their bill also creates a 4th personal income tax bracket, giving Minnesota the 4th highest tax bracket in the country. Additionally, since nearly 90% of small businesses in Minnesota file their business income through a personal income tax, this will hurt the job providers in the state, stifling any opportunity they may have to hire new employees. This tax proposal will only hurt the Minnesotans the majority promises it will help.
We can solve this deficit without raising taxes and make adjustments to programs without having to hurt those on them. We can continue to fund nursing homes, personal care providers and provide health insurance for the less fortunate by making these Minnesotans the top priority in the Health and Human Services budget - we do not need to raise taxes to do this.
The House and Senate majority party argues that taxes need to be raised because the cost of services is only going to continue to increase. I disagree. Rather, we need to look at the services the state provides and find inefficiencies, unnecessary programs and duplications in services. Some cuts have been made - but not nearly enough. We have a serious structural deficit problem in Minnesota. Our spending is far outpacing our revenues; raising taxes will not fix this problem. Several cuts were less than they needed to be this year because of the Federal Stimulus money, but by not cutting more now we are only kicking the can down the road. Two years from now, when another large deficit appears, we will not have the Federal Government to bail us out and we will bemoan the wasted opportunity we had in 2009.
Making cuts is not easy - but it is necessary. By setting priorities and sticking to them we can get through this deficit and set up the Minnesota economy to grow and thrive for decades come, without raising taxes.
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News Items
- 2013 Legislative Survey Results - (Posted: May 14 2013 10:16AM)
- Legislative Update from Rep. Sanders - (Posted: Mar 14 2013 12:00AM)
- Budget Outlook Improves - (Posted: Mar 1 2013 5:38PM)
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