I am writing this article in disagreement with the article written by state Sen. Dan Sparks on the budget proposed by Gov. Tim Walz. In his article, Sen. Sparks praises Gov. Walz for the budget that he put forth, which is anything but great. In Gov. Walz’s budget consists a toxic combination of a 70 percent gas tax increase (which would put us at having the fourth highest gas tax in the nation), a raise in the cost of child care, a license tab fee increase and a sales tax increase on new and used vehicle purchases. For those who don’t follow Minnesota state news, we had a $1.65 billion budget surplus. I would like Gov. Walz and Sen. Sparks to answer the question of why we deserve more taxes. This new budget increases state spending by 9 percent in one budget cycle, and increases taxes on every Minnesotan —  lower, middle and upper class. I guess Tim Walz never really meant it when he said he wanted to work for middle class Americans. I would strongly encourage Sen. Sparks to reconsider his support of this outrageously expensive and costly budget proposal. Walz’s slogan during the campaign was “One Minnesota.” Well, it’s looking alot more like “One expensive Minnesota” now.

Aaron Farris

Albert Lea