Pounding a square Minnesota into a round hole

"For those who are interested in salvaging this state from the jaws of irrelevance and dysfunction, vote for the one man who can fix it. That man is Jeff Johnson. Time to put the adults back in charge and fix the mess the kids have left."

The local paper is starting to wet its collective pants. Why? They are so very concerned that this legislative session might end up being a "nothing burger". The bonding bill, the tax reconciliation, and probably most important thing to the Tories - the unspent surplus. Why those stingy Republicans won't allocate that money for some much needed priorities (like the school districts), is beyond me!

Here is the real truth. All the money needed to run this state has already been appropriated. But, but, but - the surplus? What do we do with that money? You mean the change we are owed after paying the bill? Just like going out for dinner and paying the bill. If there is change due, there is change due. The $300+M is our change. Give it back!

However, the one "left to do" which I find the most interesting, is the tax reconciliation bill. Those darned feds in D.C. really put one in the punch bowl of Minnesota! How? With that stupid federal tax bill! It left Minnesota literally being a square peg in a round hole. To really get in sync with the new federal tax bill, we might have to normalize our individual and business taxes. Translation = cut them down a bit so we don't stick out as a high SALT state. Failure to do anything will put some of our individuals at risk of paying more, and some of our businesses keeping two sets of books. 

And the Governor? What would he think? He would rather stick his finger down his throat than cut our taxes. But we need it. Not a "targeted tax adjustment" like the House and Senate want to do, rather a cut across all rates. PLUS - the forgotten red headed step child. Our unfair and immoral taxation of Social Security benefits. Once again, our legislature seemed to get collective amnesia with this most import fix. 

My take on this session? Another bit of nothingness. At the end of the session, more acrimony and finger pointing. Then the Tories and the Patriots will all get on planes, or in their cars, and criss-cross the state telling everyone how bad the other side is. 

Oh, for the love of beer, do we ever need a real Patriot as Governor. At the end of Dayton's term, we should revoke his Minnesota citizenship, and send him out west to live with Moonbeam. He would be happy out there. He will be with his peeps.

For those who are interested in salvaging this state from the jaws of irrelevance and dysfunction, vote for the one man who can fix it. That man is Jeff Johnson. Time to put the adults back in charge, and fix this huge mess the kids have left.