To the editor,
It continues to astound me how much time is being wasted on divisive social issues in St. Paul as the budget and a still-recovering economy sit on the back burner.
It seems the only time we hear the legislative majorities talk about jobs and the economy it has to do with huge tax increases that would stifle both. We received a bit of a breather this week when Gov. Mark Dayton formally announced he is abandoning a number of tax increases he planned to foist on Minnesotans, including a business-to-business tax and expanding taxes to include services like haircuts and oil changes.
The problem is we are not out of the tax woods just yet. The governor’s tax proposals are merely part of his budget recommendations. It is Democrats in the House and the Senate who ultimately will be responsible for authoring the bills which will become our state budget for the next two fiscal years. They did not immediately take Dayton’s lead in scrapping tax increases.
To the contrary, a House committee recently heard a Democrat bill that would raise taxes on snack foods. This follows bills to raise taxes on alcohol (by 350 percent for some), cigarettes (by $1.60 per pack), gasoline (10 cents per gallon) and a whole lot more.
While we wait for details on the Democrats’ tax increases to unfold, they have been busy advancing social issues. They have brought to the forefront new restrictions on guns, unionized day care providers, getting government involved in our health care and redefining traditional marriage. I do not support any of these proposals.
Barely one-third of all Minnesotans support redefining marriage. All precincts in District 9A voted in favor of a constitutional amendment proposal in 2012 to protect traditional marriage.
The new majorities should fulfill promises they made last fall to focus on jobs and the economy, along with paying back money owed to our school children. That is what the citizens of Minnesota expect and deserve but have not received so far this session.
STATE-RUN HEALTH INSURANCE PASSES
The House this week gave final passage to a bill to establish a state-run health care insurance exchange. Our choices were to set up the Internet exchange or to accept a national exchange operated by the federal government through the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. House language including a 3.5-percent tax on premiums was adopted in the bill’s final form. An amendment the House added preventing abortions from being funded through this program was stripped from the bill by a conference committee.
Serious issues regarding consumer privacy, choice and costs remain even after final passage. Patient data could be accessed by the federal government, there is no guarantee patients will be able to see their preferred doctor at their convenience, and the system will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to simply operate.
Significant flaws which caused the governor to call this plan “a big gamble” were not corrected by the Democrat majorities during their rush to passage. Many people continue to believe this system is bound to fail, putting us on path for a full-fledged government-run system with even more waste, inefficiency and cost.
Sincerely,
State Rep. Mark Anderson