Capitol Comments by Peggy Bennett

 

It is the time during session when the House omnibus bills are being unveiled. These big bills (it’s time to end these big omnibus bills!) are a compilation of a huge number of smaller bills that contain the House Democratic majority’s priorities for this session.

What I’m seeing in these bills concerns me greatly, as both state government and our taxes  are growing immensely. This is a huge issue for our state and especially for our area where we sit so close to the Iowa border and have another state’s lower taxes with which to compete.

The Democrats’ plan to increase taxes $12 billion over four years — making health care, gas and other everyday goods and services more expensive for all of us — will hurt people and will hurt our state’s economy.

Of course we have core state functions where funding is necessary, such as educating our children, taking care of our roads and bridges, and caring for our most vulnerable citizens, but we can accomplish these priorities without raising taxes. I support taking care of core functions of government like these, and I support doing it well. However, at a time when Minnesota has a $1 billion surplus, it is quite clear that we can do this without making people pay more in taxes.

No matter what one’s position on taxes, we must never forget that taxation is, in essence, the government taking money that belongs to someone else. It either takes more or less from people, but it is still money that belongs to the people who have earned it. Clearly, it takes money to run our government, and some taxation is necessary. However, there is a delicate balance that needs to be maintained before the taking becomes too much.

Part of the Democrat plan in these omnibus bills would start new and expensive programs that necessitate long-term future funding. I am adamantly against starting new long-term programs right now because Minnesota already has many current obligations that we’re not funding adequately — things like special education (costing our local school districts millions of dollars a year), home and community-based services that help our seniors and vulnerable people stay in their homes, teacher pensions and more. Raising taxes and spending the surplus away to pay for new permanent programs while we haven’t yet paid for our current obligations is senseless to me.

Imagine your own home budget. Let’s say you have a three-bedroom home. Part of your budget plans ahead for the expenses of taking care of that home like the eventual need for new shingles, paint or windows.

Now let’s say you decide you want to add a fun new addition onto your home. However, you really don’t have the money to do that in your current budget. So, you make the decision to dip into that upkeep account for your current home and build your fun new addition. However, now you won’t have the money to take care of your current home, and you’ve also created new spending needs for the upkeep of your new addition. That’s not sustainable!

Minnesotans do not need or want higher taxes. We are already listed as one of the highest taxed states in the nation. In addition, the future budget forecasts are showing less and less money coming into the state. It is certainly not the time to pile on new long-term programs.

Our state should live within its means just like families do with their household budgets. At some point common sense has to prevail, and offering $12 billion in tax increases over the next four years while starting expensive new long-term programs when we haven’t met our current obligations is simply not wise governance.

State Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, represents Minnesota House District 27A, which includes almost all of Freeborn County, along with parts of Faribault, Mower, Steele and Dodge counties. She can be reached by phone at 651-296-8216 or by email at rep. peggy.bennett@house.mn.