Focus should be on the economy

The Legislature has enough other work to do in helping our state fully recover from the recession. Minnesotans from throughout the state should not have had to take time off from work this week to make their opinions heard in St. Paul.

The loss of Second Amendment rights should not even be a topic of discussion at the St. Paul. New gun restrictions are not going to prohibit criminals, we just need to do the best we can to enforce the laws already in place.

At least we were able to turn the discussion back to economic issues when a large number of business owners appeared at the Capitol for Gov. Mark Dayton’s State of the State address. There was a productive roundtable discussion prior to the governor’s speech where legislators were able to receive input from 40 or 50 business owners. They expressed sincere concern over the governor’s newly proposed tax increases.

A few of the points we heard from business owners small and large during the pre-meeting discussion include:

• The governor’s budget will make us downsize our business and we've already downsized because of the economy.
• I'm looking to neighboring states to expand.
• It is insulting to be demonized as the job creators.
• We are labeled as the rich who need to pay their fair share.
• We are hurting and we aren't the big corporations.

The same day as the governor’s speech, the St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a front-page story detailing how a Wisconsin legislator sent a letter to Minnesota business owners, urging them to relocate across the border to a more business-friendly climate. That ploy by our friend from Wisconsin may be a little over the top, but we cannot ignore the message behind it: Minnesota needs to be a better home for businesses.

Let’s hope that is where the Legislature’s focus is the rest of this session.

Sincerely,

Jeff