Phyllis Kahn should decide how our money gets spent

Unfortunately we have to wait a couple of weeks for the House of Representatives to release audio of committee hearings. However, sometimes the best things come to those who wait.

In the Ways and Means Committee on Friday, March 9, 2007; Representative Phyllis Kahn, (DFL) Minneapolis; said what I think sums up the DFL Party. The discussion was on the price of government, which includes fees and other such state related items.

When speaking to the testifier about the fact that the price of government has gone down. Rep. Kahn said the following;

• "I think that (doing the research on the price of government) further shows how meaningless this is, but if it did mean anything, I'm personally offended that my price of government has gone down."

I have attached a link to the Audio if you would like to hear it yourself. The quote takes place around the 6 minute 35 second mark of the tape.

Thank you Representative Kahn for describing what the DFL thinks. You are painting a better picture of the fact that you think the government should take in all of our money and divide it out as you see fit. So much for personal responsibility.

ASS AWARD Winner- The DFL Party!

Should it be any surprise that voters thought the Democrats who ran as "new fiscal moderates" would do anything but raise our taxes. Time and time again the democrats find new ways to inflate the government and empty our pocket books. If you thought things were bad before, just wait, we are going to see tax increases like never before.

• 
  Voters Getting Soaked with Tax Proposals by Democrats written by Representative Marty Seifert, House Republican Leader
  When voters went to the polls last year, there certainly was a sense of change in their minds. Many people were upset about congressional scandals, over-spending, frustration with foreign policy and other various issues. There seemed to be a sense, however, that Democrats were campaigning to hold the line as "new fiscal moderates" for the people of Minnesota, whatever vague and attractive meaning that might have held for the voters.
  So November's elections came and went. The voters swept in a large Democrat majority in the legislature, although only by about 4500 votes statewide. However, now the new Democrat-controlled legislature is obsessed with tax increases on you.
  All of the following bills are brought to your courtesy of the new Democrat Majority in the legislature: the $1.2 billion income tax increase; three different bills to jack up your sales taxes; a bill to triple the taxes on hearses; a bill to jump up gas taxes by 50%; another big increase in deed taxes; another bill piles up huge increases on
  alcohol: a 790% increase in beer taxes and 450% increase in wine taxes; there's a proposal to tax gifts and another bill to jack up the taxes on cell phones, land-line phones and other telecommunications devices by 46%; and a bill to impose a 25-cent tax on every incandescent light bulb in the state. There's also bills to increase "fees" on pharmacies, deer hunters, video and electronic equipment sales and more.
  Keep in mind, Minnesota has a surplus that exceeds $2 billion. The average family will get nailed by these Democrats tax increases, on top of squandering the entire surplus. Are they really silly enough to believe that the government should grow much, much faster than the income of ordinary families? Do only the "rich" buy gas, own phones, drink a beer or die? All of these things will be taxed much more.
  Let me be clear: growing government by any other name is just the same.
  I'm not interested in renaming taxes as fees or fees as taxes. This has been done by people of both parties in the past and the voters are smart enough to see through it. The government ought to live within its means like a family or business. Period.
  The $4 billion of tax increases from Democrats could be divided up in many different ways - if you divide it straight up, it would be well over $1,000 per taxpayer in this fiscal period. It goes up more for couples and families as there are only 5 million people that live in this state. Many are on fixed incomes.
  As the new House Republican Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives, let me assure you that my Republican colleagues and I will fight for the ordinary family and against these gigantic tax increases. The Governor stands with us and we are firm in our belief that the government growth should not outstrip the growth of the family income. We have a surplus and the state government coffers grow daily, due to better jobs, higher incomes, stable employment and fiscal discipline from Governor Pawlenty. There is room to fund education and health care with this money.
  This is not about Democrat versus Republican: it's about common sense fiscal management over big tax increases to pay for special interests demanding more and more of your money. Let me assure you that our focus is on key issues that concern working families: controlling taxes, equitable, fair and accountable education funding and health care reform that makes health care more affordable.
  The Republican members will fight against the Democrat proposals to allow non-citizens to vote, to let 16-year-olds vote, to smother businesses with regulations and to micro-manage people's lives. We will offer legislation that fosters more freedom, less government, more equitably funded and accountable education and lower property taxes.
  If you thought that the Democrats were for the "little guy" or fiscal moderation in the elections last year, I'd suggest you look at all of the proposed tax hikes and silly bills by their membership and then hold them accountable.
  Representative Marty Seifert of Marshall is the Republican Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Since the Republicans are in the minority it looks as if a lot of these tax increases will pass. Our only hope is that there are a few Democrats that say enough is enough. There's a better chance of the Vikings winning the Superbowl this year than that happening.

Hopefully enough constituents will get in touch with there DFL lawmakers and make a push for reduced tax increases. Notice I said reduced increases. I have already conceded that there will not be tax decreases, so our only hope is that the number of increases will not stop me from buying that new pair of shoes for my son.

The democrats as a group deserve the Ass Award!

What's next, ban Packer fans from public places?

The Health Care and Human Services Finance Committee of the State House of Representatives moved HF305 one step closer to passing by a vote today of 14-7. HF305 called "The Freedom to Breath Act of 2007" calls to abolish smoking in public places. The bill should be titled "The Freedom of the Government to Regulate Peoples Rights Act of 2007."

I am a non smoker who enjoys eating in a smoke free area. However, since when did it become the Governments right to stop a private business from allowing a legal activity. I know that this issue keeps coming up over and over again. However, when the main argument for this bill is that an employee has the right to breath clean air, I start to wonder. If you have every driven or walked by a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night, you will witness people standing outside smoking. I'm not just talking about the patrons of the restaurant, but the employees. I have worked in the food industry in the past, and the most common thing people did on their breaks was to smoke. This is not a generalization, this is fact. I witness this same practice to this day when going to a large number of restaurants. Let's get serious people, this has nothing to do with an employee's rights and everything to do with the government controlling yet another aspect of peoples rights.

It has been said that a person has the right to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke them, but someone else has the right to not breath in their smoke. I for one do not want the government to be the one to state which ones right is stronger. That is exactly what the government is doing by passing this bill. They are implying that a persons right not to breath smoke is greater than someones right to breath smoke.

What's next the government will say that someone who cheers for the Vikings has more rights than someone who cheers for the Packers, therefore banning people from cheering for the Packers in a public place. Understand I find it unhealthy to my eyesight to see someone in green and yellow cheering on the Packers. However, please legislators stay out of a person/business owner's private life.

I am very disappointed, but not surprised by the DFLers who support this bill. I am in shock of the Republicans that support this bill, as I think they are forgetting that we want less government regulations not more.

I do renew my motion to ban Packer Fans from cheering in Public Places.

Stand up for our HERO of Rockville

What would we do without Senator Tarryl Clark (DFL) Saint Cloud? Have more money in our pockets to spend as we see fit. The DFLers insist that they should be the ones deciding how to spend our money. But never mind that issue......FOR NOW!

The St. Cloud Times reminds us everyday just how lucky we are to have Senator Clark representing us in St. Paul. When I saw the headline yesterday Clark's bill makes pitch for more Local Government Aid to Rockville something caught my eye. No mention in the headline of the similar bill (HF1746) in the house. Why? The house bill is sponsored by a Republican.

I spent last Thursday at the capital with Representative Steve Gottwalt (R) St. Cloud/Rockville and I witnessed Steve talking to the mayor of Rockville regarding his bill in the House. The only mention of Steve's bill occurred in the last paragraph of the newspaper article.

• by; Lawrence Schumacher, St. Cloud Times ST. PAUL — When Rockville merged with Rockville Township and the town of Pleasant Lake in 2002, it consolidated services and became more efficient — everything state officials say cities should do, Mayor Brian Herberg said.
  Then, the state cut the state aid the city receives from more than $200,000 to $62,000 this year. Aid will decrease further next year, he told senators Monday.
  Herberg testified in favor of a bill from Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, that would increase Rockville's Local Government Aid by $140,000 in each of the next two years.
  "We did what everybody asked, and we're suffering the consequences as a result," Herberg said.
  The newly merged Rockville opened a new City Hall and a new fire hall at a cost of about $2 million last year.
  Many cities saw their state aid decrease in the first half of the decade, as the state tried to balance its budget.
  Clark's bill would apply only to Rockville, though by law legislators are prohibited from crafting bills for only one city or group. The bill specifies an aid increase for any city that has a population of fewer than 3,000 people as of 2006 and whose boundaries were formed by a merger with another city and a township in 2002. That leaves only Rockville, Clark said.
  The Senate Property Tax division held the bill over for possible inclusion in a big property tax/Local Government Aid bill.
  A similar bill in the House of Representatives from Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, has not yet received a hearing.

It's interesting how this article is designed to make Senator Clark look like a hero for giving more money to the City of Rockville. Could it be that the St. Cloud times wouldn't want to make Gottwalt look good to anybody.

YES

Imagine if the headline had read; Gottwalt's bill makes pitch for more Local Government Aid to Rockville, and then at the end of the story it stated that Clark has a similar bill in the Senate. I don't think that day will ever come.

I personally don't agree with the way LGA is set up, and think cities need to live within their means. However I do understand Rockville is a little limited in their ability to collect property taxes though, so I may make an exception.

What is a citizen again?

Ass Award Winner!

What are they thinking? Our DFLers are at it again. HF1899 is a bill calling for a Constitutional Amendment to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. The sponsors of the bill, (who might I say) have lost touch with the people they represent are: Rep. Phyllis Kahn, Minneapolis, Rep. Jim Davnie, Minneapolis, Rep. Carlos Mariani, St. Paul, Rep. Frank Hornstein, Minneapolis.

To protect our rights we do have a wonderful thing that says any amendment to the Constitution would require voter approval. Over 50% of people would have to vote in favor of the ballot measure in order for the amendment to pass. The ballot measure would read"

• "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to allow local units of government to authorize permanent resident non-citizens to vote in local government elections?"

No, No, No

In a recent poll over 90% of people in Minnesota are opposed to this legislation. Democrats talk about a mandate, I don't think you can get much more of a mandate than 90%+.

This conservative emailed these four individuals stating my disappointment in the bill. I stated that my Grandmother moved to the United States and became a citizen so she could have the right to vote and take part in this great country. I'm still waiting for a response to the email.

Lets get back to worrying about legislation that effects the citizens of the U.S. and not worry about meaningless, shameful attempts to get a few extra votes for these four people. Since after all we all know that this will lead to a movement to allow non-citizens to vote in State elections. Who are the non-citizens going to vote for, people who give them free money. And who loves to hand out our money....The DFLers.

Property Tax and the democrats lack of plan

Ass Award Winner!

Yet again the democrats are up to...well nothing. Every time there is a problem, they seem to forget to attach a solution. Just another day at the capital.

>>> Jodi Boyne 3/13/2007 2:26:15 PM >>>
The House Democrats held a news conference this afternoon to announce that property taxes have gone up. Representative Paul Marquardt offered no solutions to provide any immediate relief or long term reform for property taxes. The 40-minute news conference as summed up by one
reporter: "you brought us here to complain but offered no solution."
According to a nonpartisan House Research report, property taxes on homesteads will go up by an average of 6.5% (their value went up by 5.3%). The property taxes on all classes of property taxes are expected to increase by 8.9%, which is less than the 9.4% in market value. This will result in a $600 million increase in property taxes.
Members of the Capitol Press Corps noted that this seemed like a smaller increase than years past, which could mean property taxes are headed in the right direction.
The only solution the House Democrats mentioned was their plan to raise $250 million in revenue through tax compliance and the closing of FOC loopholes. They also advocated for LGA increases, which Representative Paul Marquardt said is direct relief (dollar for dollar) to taxpayers.
House Research has figures that show that for every dollar of LGA the state provides, homeowners receive about 38% to 42%, Marquardt said.
House Republican Leader Marty Seifert addressed the Capitol Press Corps immediately following the Democrat news conference. His comments
included:
- Property taxes have gone up and no one is more concerned about providing relief than House Republicans.
- You can't solve a $600 million problem with $250 million.
- House Republicans proposed an immediate 15% reduction in property taxes with control mechanisms on local government.
- Enough is enough. We need specific solutions with control mechanisms.
We should pass Representative Sviggum's proposal to provide the immediate relief and then spend the rest of the session figuring our long-term reform.
- We don't need to raise taxes. We have a $2.2 billion surplus. We should stop throwing a wet blanket on our economy and focus on providing tax relief and living within our means.

We need to pass property tax reform. Lets start with Sviggum's bill. Please democrats, we are putting up ideas for you, start working with us to get some long term reform together.