Dear Neighbor,
Gas prices have risen to record highs nationally and people are suffering from increased costs to a degree we haven’t seen in 40 years. But, instead of working to help ease the burden for Minnesota families and businesses as we try to recover from a rocky two years, House Democrats continue putting out proposals that would only cause more damage.
For example, House Democrats conducted a hearing this week for a bill (HF2083) that would increase already soaring gas prices and worsen supply-chain issues by forcing California fuel regulations on Minnesotans.
Research indicates the CFS proposal would cause the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel to increase by 20 cents per gallon in the near term and up to 54 cents per gallon by 2035. The California mandate would force the average Minnesota household to spend an additional $210 to $570 per year, every single year at the pump.
This fuel standard is about the least efficient, most costly approach to reducing carbon a state could take and it is tone-deaf beyond belief. These increased fuel costs will harm rural families and single-parent households the most because they already spend a higher portion of their budgets on gas and energy costs. And none of these additional bites taken out of Minnesota consumers will pay for upgrading our roads and bridges.
It also is a monumental attack on farmers, who can least afford another setback given their tight margins and rising costs on other inputs in the Biden/Walz economy. It’s almost as though the radical agenda would have farmers cover their fields with solar panels.
It is unfathomable the majority made this bill such a priority that it granted it a committee hearing when bills to truly improve public safety or spare businesses from an unnecessary tax increase remain in limbo.
And I do not understand the infatuation Gov. Walz and the House majority have with forcing California’s ill-advised energy policies on Minnesotans. We saw it when the governor skirted the legislative process and the free market by imposing electric car mandates on our state. Now, we’re seeing it again with House Democrats forcing California’s fuel standards on us. I’d say California’s fuel standards don’t stand a snowball’s chance of becoming reality because Senate Republicans will block the bill, but who’s to say the governor won’t just once again thrust his will on Minnesotans by administrative rule?
The increased costs being proposed on top of what we already are experiencing are absurd and it makes me wonder how this all could impact the housing market. What happens to housing when rising prices for day-to-day necessities mean people can no longer afford their mortgage? The never-ending regulations in our state already have made affordable housing something of an oxymoron, but that hasn’t deterred the majority from introducing new unnecessary, burdensome mandates at every turn.
In fact, you could make a good case that our government itself is the reason our economy is subject to such wild swings. Bureaucrats with their thumbs on the scale tend to alter our course, for better or worse. A few years ago, it was for the better when we saw real growth. The last couple of years, it’s been a different approach and we’re experiencing soaring prices, are hearing the words “supply-chain issues” and fleets of container ships sitting off our coast have become commonplace.
What changed? I think we know that answer.
Sincerely,
Shane