To the editor,
Tax increases won’t get the headlines, but they will be a dominant feature of an unfettered DFL House, Senate and governorship. Both Rep.-elect David Dill and Sen.-elect Tom Bakk have voted against the taxpayer every time since last elected.
Both Bakk and Dill espouse the Pres. Barack Obama/Gov. Mark Dayton notion that “the rich need to pay just a little bit more”. Both Bakk and Dill are on record claiming that the rich need to pay their “fair share”. The last DFL legislature was obsessed with taxes writing 269 tax bills; the worst were vetoed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Watch for the DFL-led legislature to revisit endless tax increases to pay for a bloated state budget. The last budget bill was a product of the GOP legislature. It was the largest in state history by several billion dollars. For the DFL, even this wasn’t enough. Democrats characterized the $34 billion balanced budget as “deep cuts”. A perennial DFL favorite is to expand the sales tax to food, drugs labor and clothing.
With nothing standing between the DFL and your wallet, expect talk of a $40 billion budget bill. After all is said and done, watch for the DFL to pay back very little of the money borrowed from the schools at the insistence of Governor Dayton during the 2011-2012 session.
Watch for a continuation of the ill-conceived requirement that 25 percent of Minnesota electricity be made by alternative energy by 2025. This DFL favorite is a major cause of drastic power bill increases. Don’t look for any relief from power bills for the next two years.
Watch for a monster bonding bill. The DFL believes that borrowing public money to pay for construction projects is an effective way to repay their generous organized labor donors. The DFL has cultivated the notion that our entire state is falling apart. Part of that narrative is that the GOP cut construction projects to the bone. Expect a bonding bill of $1.5 billion to fill this fabricated need.
Watch for an expansion of state government. This expansion will come in the form of more employees, more regulation and more money from your wallet. The DFL legislature already has a head start on this bloat with an increase in the number of legislative committees.
Watch for nanny state legislation including the return of previous bad ideas like a helmet law and a complete ban on cellphone use in vehicles. Expect a continued ban on anything resembling decent fireworks.
Watch for a DFL bill to unionize private daycare workers as state employees. Governor Dayton’s executive order on this was stricken by the Supreme Court last year. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) donated big to the DFL and they want a win for labor at our expense.
There will be few surprises. Grab your wallet; it’s going to be a long two years.
Julie Hindman
International Falls, MN
