Where has all the money gone, long time passing...

"Whereas Wisconsin has billboards up which proudly proclaim, 'Wisconsin - open for business', Minnesota also has billboards which say, 'Minnesota - all we want is your money - so we can waste it'." 

Okay - so the title of this blog is a parody of the Peter, Paul and Mary folk song, Where have all the flowers gone. It was the first thing I thought of this morning when I read the news about our state once again projecting a shortfall in revenue. And once again, our statist Governor blamed not enough revenue being the result of not enough taxation. And once again, the Party of Lincoln is blaming not enough revenue being the result of overtaxed people voting with their feet.

This revenue shortfall is a classic (let me say again), CLASSIC difference of how progressives and conservatives view the world. For example, our trust fund Governor, who was born as a person of white privilege (I could not resist that one!), sees it as one's duty to pay enough taxes until every wish and whim is satisfied. Even if that puts a taxpayer in a 100% tax bracket.

Conservatives on the other hand, who need to work for their money, value the money they have garnered. To pay unnecessary taxes is a personal affront to them. So much so, when the taxes get to a tipping point, they leave. Why do they leave? Because we do not live in a gulag. We are a free people and can live and work where ever we want to. 

Now Dayton has his undies in a wad over this latest news. He wants the Republicans to renegotiate those selfish tax cuts for the very rich (whomever that is) and fix this projected revenue shortfall. The Republicans are calling him on this BS. "Fine Governor - we can renegotiate. Seems we are still spending too much money and we need to reduce it." Check and checkmate.

Ever since Dayton and his merry band of Democrats had the bright idea of raising the top tax bracket to almost 10%, revenue projections have started to get soft. That coupled with the REFUSAL to exempt Social Security tax from ALL seniors are driving higher income folks as well as seniors out of this state at an increasing rate.

All one has to do is gaze across the St. Croix or across the western border to see what the other side of the coin looks like. True, Wisconsin is not as low tax as South Dakota is, BUT - both WI and SD are a heck of a lot better than MN. Whereas Wisconsin has billboards up which proudly proclaim, "Wisconsin - open for business", Minnesota also has billboards which say, "Minnesota - all we want is your money - so we can waste it".