Dear Neighbor,
Lots of ground to cover this week on some very important subjects, so let’s get right to it:
Crow Wing and Itasca counties support 2A
Congratulations to the Crow Wing County and Itasca County boards for passing resolutions declaring themselves as Second Amendment dedicated counties, ready to oppose any efforts to unconstitutionally restrict the right to keep and bear arms.
I have personally reached out to commissioners in both Crow Wing and Itasca to offer my gratitude. The timing of their resolutions is very important, with bills that would significantly undermine our constitutional right to keep and bear arms moving through the Legislature at this very moment.
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Let’s keep it that way and thanks again to Crow Wing and Itasca boards for their support of our constitutional rights.
$17.5 billion state surplus
State officials issued a new economic forecast for Minnesota on Monday, projecting a $17.5 billion surplus for the new biennium.
The surplus figure is similar to the last full forecast issued in early December. The report actually shows state revenue continues to grow because this forecast factored for inflation for the first time in decades, resulting in a downward departure of nearly $1.5 billion.
The fact the surplus remained steady despite now factoring for inflation says it all about how much we need to bring some fiscal balance to our state. Minnesotans are having to stretch their dollars to deal with historic price increases, yet our state continues to over-collect taxes from people at an unprecedented rate. Those two things just don’t jive and it needs to change – now.
Our solution should be twofold: First, we need to provide meaningful tax relief to get these tax dollars back in the hands of Minnesotans who have been over-charged – starting with fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security. In addition, we need a multi-pronged approach with legislation preventing the state from accumulating such absurd surpluses in the first place. Those should be our main priorities from now through the end of this session. It’s time for the House majority to stop focusing on its never-ending list of divisive proposals catering to special interests and start working to help all Minnesotans live and work more comfortably in our state.
Note: Just hours after receiving the updated economic forecast, House Republicans moved to fast-track legislation fully eliminating the state tax on Social Security. House Democrats blocked that effort in a floor vote.
Republican “Give It Back” tax plan
House and Senate Republicans conducted a press conference this week to unveil our “Give It Back” tax plan, which provides $13 billion over two years in permanent tax cuts and one-time rebates.
The package features tax relief benefiting Minnesotans both now and in the long-term, such as:
- Lower first and second tier rates
- Full elimination of Social Security tax
- $1,800 tax credit per child
- Property tax relief
- $5 billion in rebates
These permanent tax cuts and one-time rebates are not only sustainable and worthy of bipartisan support, they simply are the right things to do for Minnesotans.
Reading RESET
With half of Minnesota’s students unable to read proficiently at grade level and no real science-based reading plan in sight to address this urgent problem head on, House and Senate Republicans announced their “Reading RESET” plan this week to address our state’s reading crisis.
Reading RESET has three primary components: funding for schools that would like to replace the ineffective literacy materials they are currently using and purchase proven Science of Reading curriculum and instructional materials and books; funding for teacher training and professional development in the Science of Reading, and funding for tutoring to help struggling students who have fallen behind in reading.
We owe it to our children to help them achieve success and this package would be a step forward in that regard.
As always, I welcome your input on these and other issues.
Sincerely,
Ben