"Sorry I could not put a smile on this session. It was just another "nothing burger". Could it have been worse? Heck yes - it has been in the past. We could have come out with no loaf instead of a half."
Well the long, drawn out negotiations are now over. How do I feel? Like we got a half a loaf - or less. The Governor said he was negotiating for the "people of Minnesota". The Senate Leader said he was negotiating for the taxpayers of Minnesota. Me? I am on the side of the taxpayers, thank you. The "people" already have such high services, this state is a magnet for Somalis and welfare cases from the upper Midwest. The wagon has become very, very heavy - as is.
Shall we talk about whose ox was gored? Who made out and who did not? I, like many other seniors, had only one small request. Leave our Social Security alone. That is it. Other states have managed to do that without going belly up, why not Minnesota? Because seniors have no lobbyist, other than themselves. We just line up and take it, session after session. Oh sure - there was some tepid talk about the unfairness of taxing our seniors. But no action. It sure the heck is not in the deal, unless hidden very well.
This state spends scads on money in taking care of illegals. Showers them with benefits as they live in our sanctuary cities. Immigrants, refugees and illegals all do well in Moneyapolis. And the welfare fraud they cause is enormous and out of control. Seniors on the other hand, who have worked all their lives here, paying taxes, continue to take it in the shorts. Again - no lobbyist.
My spider sense tingles when I see how easily the Governor gave up on his "must have" 20 cent a gallon gas tax. He told us for months that our roads and bridges were failing. Then at the end, he gave it up with a big smile on his face. It was a ruse. "Click-bait" to keep from giving up real territory. Now the Republicans are slapping themselves on the back for killing that BS gas tax. Meanwhile, the size of our bloated state government continues to grow.
Who were the losers besides the seniors? The kids who are stuck in government schools. Oh the statists were sure thrilled they got their 2% per year additional funding - but not one scintilla of reform (congratulations Education Minnesota). Nada. The failure centers in our inner cities will continue to pump out young people who either flunk out, quit before graduation, or graduate semi-illiterate.
Oh - one more group who came up short. The unborn. Since this issue is evolving into a state's right issue (where it should have been all along), it was time for Minnesota to step up to the plate. Some Republicans tried, but no cigar. So the death mills run by Planned Parenthood will keep chugging along. Killing our seed corn.
Sorry I could not put a smile on this session. It was just another "nothing burger". Could it have been worse? Heck yes - it has been in the past. We could have come out with no loaf instead of a half.
Consider that, while badly outnumbered and "outgunned" (in the lapdog press), Republicans managed to:
ReplyDelete• Prevent $12 billion in new taxes,
• prevent a 70% increase in the gas tax,
• provide a small middle-class tax CUT,
• prevent additional gun-control measures from becoming law,
• prevent billions of dollars in additional spending,
• reduce, but not eliminate the "provider tax,"
• finally get a “Blue Ribbon Panel" to look into waste, and fraud in the social services budget.
• No more money for light rail,
• federal tax conformity, which means we see the benefit of the Trump tax cuts.
Now, if we cannot count all that as a victory for Republicans, and make us want to work so they aren't so badly outnumbered next time, then common sense has become even less common than it already was.