Nancy in Crystal wrote this letter to the editor in a recent Sun Post, after she saw a "Y" next to Senator Rest's name in the last minutes of the 2009 session:

I was deeply disappointed that my state Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, voted to push through a bill that would raise our taxes by $3.6 billion during the last minutes of the Senate session May 18.

The lengthy bill (HF 2323/SF 2074) included $1.2 million in grants for TV and film producers and $200,000 for a youth environmental education program (which regional parks offer already).

Our DFL leaders appear willfully ignorant that we're in a recession. Or is it that they don't care? Struggling taxpayers must be relieved that the bill was vetoed with no override chances this year. We are also spared from a special session where Rest would no doubt try again to pass across-the-board tax increases (including ending the local property tax cap).

Sen. Rest held several town meetings where I, along with others, asked her to vote no on taxes and unnecessary spending. Sadly, she seemed to have suffered from selective listening - ignoring us in favor of DFL special interests and hurriedly voting yes to raise taxes in the last minutes of the 2009 session.

Please remember this in 2010: Ann Rest demonstrated taxation without hesitation.

The Governor outplayed the DFL today, and boldly announced in a news release:

NO SPECIAL SESSION, NO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN -- GOVERNOR PAWLENTY SAYS HE WILL BALANCE STATE BUDGET

-Governor outlines plan to use executive action to balance budget, says his preference is to sign into law a negotiated budget agreement --

Saint Paul - At the State Capitol this afternoon, Governor Tim Pawlenty said, "Politics as usual around this place is over. The people of Minnesota expect and deserve timely and decisive action. I will not let the legislature's work spill over into a special session. We are not going to waste taxpayer money with a costly overtime or have a state government shutdown, especially in this economy. My preference would be for DFL legislators to work with me on a reasonable budget solution, but if they can't get that done I will take executive action to balance the budget."

"A key principle is that the DFL-controlled legislature shouldn't spend more money than the state has available," Governor Pawlenty said. "Unfortunately, they have done just that and now I'll fix it."

 

Thank Governor Pawlenty for taking action and  using his veto pen against raising taxes!

Call 651-296-3391 or send an email to tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Over a dozen residents carpooled and met up with friends at the State Capitol April 15 to protest excessive spending and taxes imposed by the government. We were happy to be part of an estimated 7,500 group of like-minded Minnesotans. While the media and Democrats attempted to diminish and demoralize the tea parties here and nationwide - we know they're scared. And with good reason. This looks to repeat the conservative takeover in 1994 during President Clinton's presidency.

Now what? First, if you couldn't make the tea party, you can join thousands Saturday May 2 for the Tax Cut Rally at State Capitol, beginning at 11:00am. Second, American Majority started an "After the Tea Party" site to get you plugged in and involved.

Or, contact our SD45 leadership to match your talents with volunteer opportunities. We're planning new and great things in 2009 and beyond. It doesn't stop with rallies - and we need your great ideas and enthusiasm. If 7,500 + found time on short notice to speak in a unified voice April 15, imagine what we can do in 2010!

Chief at FreedomDogs shows why we should encourage everyone to vote NO on the 11 billion dollar tax increase on the ballot this November 4.

My friend Kristina Rasmussen from the NTU was visiting her family here in Minnesota this weekend. They pointed out a visual curiosity known locally as "the big poo". She posted at the NTU blog yesterday:

This fall Minnesota voters will consider a sales tax hike (equal to about $300 million annually), with the higher taxes slated to go toward public bankrolling of conservation and the arts.

Sounds nice, but let’s consider what public funding for the arts already goes toward in my home state.

Yesterday, I took this photo of an installation found at the Franconia Sculpture Park (near my parents’ home). Apparently, the locals call it “The Big Poo.” You can see why. 

The Park’s own website says “This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts." According to the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Franconia Sculpture Park received almost $53,000 in “institutional funding” grants over the past five years.

Do more Minnesotans really need to pay higher sales taxes in order to fund projects like this? I'm going to guess that most taxpayers would prefer to a) see their tax dollars go to other functions of government (e.g., improving roads), or b) keep their tax dollars for personal use.

When my family goes to vote on the sales tax hike ballot question this fall, they’ve told me “The Big Poo” will be at the forefront of their minds as they vote no. If you need more reasons to turn this tax hike down, here are more than a few.

If residents have to tighten their home budgets without a raise, why shouldn't school districts? Crystal resident Candace Oathout asked this in her letter to the editor at the Sun Post:

I have been following the debate on District 281 operating levies for a little more than two years now. During that time, I've learned more about my neighborhood and the folks who live in it.

Our neighborhood is comprised of long-term retired residents living on fixed incomes interspersed with first-time homeowners who took advantage of past easy credit to finally become homeowners. These folks are solid middle-class citizens who are doing the best they can to get by.

The rhetoric of the last levy campaign included a reference to "the cost of a latte a day," indicating folks were sacrificing children's education for selfish luxury. Let me put a different perspective on this claim, one that is just as valid today. The current figures put forth are $12 to $15.41 a month on a home valued at $245,000.

Twelve dollars a month equals three of the cheapest medications a month; fuel for about three trips to a local large grocery store at $4 a gallon for gas; four days of heating or cooling at current rates (costs are projected to increase 40 percent to 50 percent this winter).

Add to this an average of one to three homes per block in some stage of foreclosure.

Surely anyone with basic common sense sees that the message from taxpayers to the district last time around will be echoed in a new referendum.

It is past time for belt-tightening in the district, as well as in neighborhoods.

Fellow SD-45 resident Andrew Richter submitted a zinger in the Sun Post this week:

Questions for Sen. Rest

To the editor:

I noticed that in the June 5 edition of the Sun-Post, Sen. Ann Rest called the transportation bill the "most important thing we did for everybody" in the last session of the state Legislature. The senator said the bill will "relieve congestion" and "rebuild roads and bridges." Well, I'd like to add a few things about the transportation bill Sen. Rest omitted.

She failed to mention the $6.6 billion tax increase in the bill. Minnesota's gas tax was raised 8 1/2 cents a gallon, making our gas tax the seventh-highest in the nation (I guess gas prices are too low).

The bill also raised the seven-county metro area sales tax one-quarter of a cent with no referendum. Sen. Rest doesn't want to give the people an opportunity to decide whether or not they want a tax increase. The bill then calls for an increase in license tabs fees. Apparently you aren't paying enough for that either.

I checked out Sen. Rest's website and I couldn't find any reference to the $6.6 billion tax increase. And if Rest had it her way you'd be paying more in taxes. She supported last year's school referendum in District 281, which would have led to a property tax increase. Yet on her website, she says she's for property tax relief.

Why does the senator brag about the transportation bill and not mention the tax increases? Maybe when raising taxes on hard-working Minnesotans, not telling them is your best policy.

Andrew Richter

Crystal

Delano GOP Rep. Tom Emmer submitted this excellent and timely opinion piece in the StarTribune:

"We are a very fiscally moderate caucus."

MARGARET ANDERSON-KELLIHER, NOV. 9, 2006

Those seven words from then soon-to-be House Speaker Margaret Anderson-Kelliher came two days after Election Day 2006. Echoing the professed sentiments of more than two dozen newly elected rural and suburban Democrats, Kelliher's statement no doubt felt reassuring to the Minnesotans who took Minnesota Democrats at their word when they claimed, throughout the 2006 election season, to carry the mantle of fiscal responsibility and balanced priorities.

Minnesotans wanted change; Democrats wanted their votes. On Nov. 9, 2006, each seemed to have gotten what it wanted.

But here we are on April Fools' Day 2008, and clearly the joke is on us. Starting today, hard-working Minnesotans trying to get through tough times will pay the first in a series of tax increases imposed by Minnesota Democrats who tossed aside their pledges of moderation and common-sense priorities like Election Day's smelly laundry.

First they'll pay at the gas pump; soon they'll pay at the cash register. When it comes time to buy a new car, they'll pay higher taxes again, all courtesy of those "fiscally moderate" Democrats.

Drivers aren't the only ones who will pay the price of electing the bait-and-switch Democrats of 2006. Just ask the senior citizens or the property taxpayers who watched a $2.2 billion surplus disappear in the blink of an eye. They were left holding the short straw after Democrats "got the job done" in 2007 without lifting a finger to help two of government's core responsibilities. Never mind that rural nursing homes are on the brink of financial ruin and that near-record numbers of schools are asking property taxpayers for more money, the Democrats finished the session on time!

As is evident today in our higher taxes and neglected needs, Minnesota Democrats are not fiscally moderate and they do not share the priorities of most Minnesotans. They are adept at hiding their tax-and-spend agenda behind an unpopular president, but even that curtain is about to be pulled away. When it is, they will do their best to hide or pin the blame on someone else. It won't work now that they have commanding majorities in both houses of the Legislature. Minnesotans may have been fooled in 2006, but they won't be fooled again.

Remind your neighbors that the "fiscally moderate" DFL (April Fools!) majority are the bearers of this gift, and help get the vote out to elect fiscally conservative candidates this November.

From Minnesota Majority:

Minnesota DFL legislative leaders have introduced a transportation bill that would raise taxes by $8.4 Billion over 10 years. This video captures highlights of the press conference as well as the reactions of conservative leaders.




Tell our DFL legislators how you feel at their upcoming Town Meetings February 23, March 29 and May 3 at the Crystal Community Center. This is another reason why democrats must return to the minority in Minnesota!