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Dean Urdahl (18B) - Email Newsletter

Dear Neighbor,

I want to thank all the folks who attended the town hall meeting I co-hosted with fellow District 18 legislators Sen. Scott Newman and Rep. Ron Shimanski at Main Street Cafe in Litchfield earlier this week.

The input we received is helpful as we prepare for the 2012 legislative session, which gets underway in January. A big topic of discussion pertained to excessive state regulations and how they put small businesses and local governments in a bind.

We are currently working on a package of reform bills in the Legislature to address these concerns. Our top priorities are to redesign our state to be more friendly toward small businesses and also to make the best use possible of our available tax dollars. Regulatory reform would go a long way toward helping us on each of these fronts and I will pass along details as our reform package begins to take shape.

As co-chair of the Redesign Caucus and as a member of a Reform 2.0 working group, I will remain closely involved with this process and will be sure local voices are heard in St. Paul.

Citizen participation in these efforts is crucial and I welcome your ideas even if you were unable to attend our town hall meeting. Email your thoughts on what the state can do better (or shouldn't be doing at all) to rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn.

Sincerely,

Dean

Residents of Litchfield, Minnesota (Meeker County) and Hartford, Alabama (Geneva County) have participated in a sister-city exchange program for the past 40 years.  Each year, a group from Alabama visits Minnesota in February to learn about the dairy industry and to enjoy outdoor winter activities such as snowmobiling, ice fishing and downhill skiing, and in November, a group from Minnesota travels to Alabama to learn about the peanut industry and to attend the National Peanut Festival and enjoy other events.

This November, an extra group of 20 Meeker County residents will be traveling to Geneva County in Alabama for a long weekend (November 10-to-13) to celebrate the 40th year of the exchange program.  Some members of the group will ride on a float in the National Peanut Festival Parade in Dothan, Alabama on November 12th.

The exchange program was started by Litchfield grocer Bruce Cottington as a promotion in his store, but evolved into a winter community celebration in Meeker County.  One of Cottington’s favorite snacks was a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.  He was looking for a way to link the two products and, while researching the peanut industry, he was eventually directed to the FFA Advisor at Geneva County High School – Paul Dean.

Cottington traveled to Alabama with his family in 1971 and then formed the International Peanut Butter & Milk Festival, which began in Litchfield, Minnesota in February of 1972.  Visitors from Hartford, Alabama to Meeker County that year included Mr. & Mrs. Paul Dean, Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Outlaw, and FFA student Neil Outlaw.  In the fall of 1972, the first group from Meeker County traveled to Hartford, Alabama – including Bruce Cottington, Mr. & Mrs. Ken Stark, and FFA student Brent Schultz.

The 40th anniversary Minnesota delegation this year will include Peanut Butter & Milk Festival President Terri Anderson and her daughter, Amanda Anderson; Festival founder Bruce Cottington and his son, Jim Cottington, and grandchildren, Levi and Anna Cottington, Litchfield High School FFA Advisor Rob Cole, Dean & Gloria Ohland, Bob & Betty Hermann, Brent & Loree Schultz, Holly Schultz-Anderson, Don & Sue Christofferson, Karen Becker, Gale Larson, Tyler Warren, and Tim Bergstrom.

Dear Neighbor,

I am pleased we put a budget in place during a special session this week to end the state shutdown and get a handle on state spending.

While I recognize there are some temporary fixes in this budget, I will remain committed to initiating and supporting structural improvements in the next legislative session. This is what will allow us to meet our commitments in a way we can afford, especially as we face an aging workforce.

Our final budget is for $34 billion in General Fund spending, a much lower rate of growth than the $39 billion budget we were on track to spend.

We did enact a number of crucial reforms in the budget we just enacted. Chiefly, the Health and Human Services portion of our budget was on track for a 22-percent spending increase this biennium, but reform allows us to put forth a more sustainable 4.8 percent. This will save us an estimated $13 billion over the next decade.

Some of the reforms include repealing a tax on medical services, cracking down on welfare fraud and providing some people who receive state-paid healthcare a voucher to purchase private healthcare coverage. We still were able to increase funding to rural nursing homes and pharmacies.

I am interested to see what these improvements and others produce in terms of savings for taxpayers. We were forced to use very conservative estimates when we constructed our budget and I fully anticipate the reforms we made will actually lead to more significant savings and ultimately an improved budget forecast down the road.

We all can find dislikes in the new budget, especially the shift in K-12 funding. But school officials will tell you they favor that over straight cuts and least it is less of a shift than the governor was proposing. We also were able to provide an additional $50 per pupil in education funding.

Thank you to all the people who continued to offer me their support during the regular 2011 session and through the recent special session. Our work is far from over and your encouragement makes me eager to get back to the Capitol in 2012 so we can continue the process of overhauling to maximize the effectiveness of our tax dollars and stabilize our fiscal future.

July 14, 2011

Tax the Rich: Horatio Alger vs Karl Marx

Gov. Dayton is determined to raise income tax rates on the top earners in Minnesota, so much so that he has shut down the state to get it. “Tax the rich” is a clever campaign promise, but it’s a harmful economic policy.

Reasons Why Dayton’s Income Tax Proposal is a Bad Idea:

·         Minnesota is currently rated as #8 in the nation for income tax. By adopting Dayton's proposal it would move us to # 1 or 2. If you are a top income earner, why come to MN when South Dakota, Texas and Florida are available to you.

·         Top income producers are also the job producers. As their tax liability increases they invest less in their businesses, reduce benefits and wages to current employees and hire fewer new employees. Taxing this group is a job killing strategy.

·         Wealth goes where it is welcome. Maryland, Oregon and other states tried balancing their budgets on taxing their top earners. In 2008, Maryland’s state income taxes FELL by 22% percent and the number of “millionaire” tax returns fell by 30% after they implemented a “millionaires tax” to make up for their budget deficit. In fact, Maryland lost $1 billion of its net tax base in 2008 by residents moving to other states, and their new top tax rate is actually lower than Minnesota’s current highest individual income tax rate (currently 7.85%) (Source: WSJ, May 27, 2009 “Millionaires Go Missing,”). What will we do if we lose 30% of the top taxpayers who are paying 41% of our state taxes in MN?

·         The top earners in Minnesota do pay their fair share. The top 5 percent pay 43% of the income tax while 23% of adults paid no Minnesota income taxes at all (Source: 2011 MN Tax Incidence Study & MN Dept of Revenue). Furthermore, the top 10% of households pay 56 percent of the individual income tax in Minnesota. Apply this against the claim that the rich don't pay their fair share.

·         Minnesota has the worst business climate in the nation. Minnesota is ranked #50 in “The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council” (SBE) 2011 Business Tax Index for best place for entrepreneurship and small businesses. Only the District of Columbia (ranked 51st) is worse and by the way, South Dakota is Number One. (Source:www.sbecouncil.org/businesstaxindex2011/report.pdf)

·          Where will the baby boomers retire? Only the state of Vermont ranks worse than Minnesota in terms of which state is the best to retire in for tax purposes (Source: Advisor One: www.advisorone.com/article/top-10-worst-tax-states-retirees?page=0,2&t=wirehouses&amp). Minnesota cannot afford to lose this group of taxpayers to Southern states that have no personal income tax.

·         Minnesota is one of only three states in the nation proposing to raise the income tax. Less taxing and spending has become a bi-partisan issue as Governors across the country stand up against raising taxes (http://mnsrcdocs.posterous.com/a-bi-partisan-issue-governors-stand-against-n).

·         It is their money, they earned it. We are not talking about a sales tax or death tax or gift tax, the Dayton proposal taxes success and redistributes/spreads the wealth. This sounds more like the Communist Manifesto than the American Dream. Since when did we start punishing initiative and achievement?

While taxing “the rich” may seem like an easy solution to our current problem, I encourage you to consider the bigger picture. All tax increases have a butterfly effect. Using 3M as an example, by forcing 3M to pay higher taxes the company will inevitably pass that financial loss on to the consumer. Additionally in the long run, higher taxes could affect 3M’s employees through cuts in benefits, job loss or relocation to another state or country.  

Like the United States government, increasing taxes in Minnesota is not the answer. We must control our spending and debt through government reform or we will be the next Greece. 

Respectfully,

Scott

301 State Capitol                                                         Ph: 651-296-4131

75 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.                           Email: sen.scott.newman@senate.mn

St. Paul, MN 55155

News from Senator Scott Newman, MN Senate District 18, Serving McLeod, Meeker, and Wright Counties

July 11, 2011

Former United States Senator Speaks Out on Budget

Below is a statement released this weekend by former United States Senator Rudy Boschwitz regarding our current budget impasse and the Carlson/Mondale commission. Senator Boschwitz’s comments are directed toward former Vice-President Mondale and former Governor Carlson’s group recommendation for a 70% cut and 30% tax increase to balance the budget.

Senator Rudy Boschwitz Speaks Out about the Budget

Inasmuch as elder statesmen are becoming involved in our State's budget battles, I too will join the fray.

Voters didn't leave me in doubt when they went to the polls just 8 months ago.  The shout for fiscal restraint and responsibility was loud and clear.

In May the Legislature passed the biggest budget in Minnesota history - but it was in balance.  It called for a 6% spending increase over 2 years.  Importantly, it included structural changes for the future.  The Governor wants a 13-15% increase over the period.  In these times such an increase is a non-starter that surely doesn't reflect what the people told us last November.

Unlike the Federal Budget which is a single document, the State Budget is comprised of 10 bills.   The Legislature passed them.  The Governor vetoed 9 of them.  On 6 of them - including the Transportation Bill - the differences are slight.  The Governor should call the Legislature back, pass those 6 and argue about the other 3 later.  The roads and potholes need to be fixed.  Minnesota summers are too short to waste!

The Mondale/Carlson Commission wants to pass a "temporary" income tax surcharge affecting every Minnesotan who pays income taxes.  These temporary taxes have a way of becoming permanent as the spending they support doesn't go away.

Forty five states or more have balanced their budgets through spending cuts without tax increases.  Many had deficits far larger than Minnesota's.

Minnesota now is the only state in the nation that has not resolved its budget crisis.

It's time to act.  Last November the voters spoke with the utmost clarity.   The Legislature's Budget calls for a 6% increase over 2 years - which is quite a bit - but it's in balance.  The Governor wants a 13-15% increase supported by new taxes.  That's not a very hard choice to make.

Rudy Boschwitz                                                    

U.S. Senator (R - MN, 1978-1991)                         

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission (Geneva Switzerland - 2005)

Respectfully,

Scott

301 State Capitol                                                         Ph: 651-296-4131

75 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.                           Email: sen.scott.newman@senate.mn

St. Paul, MN 55155

News from Senator Scott Newman, MN Senate District 18, Serving McLeod, Meeker, and Wright Counties

July 8, 2011

Government Shutdown

The government shutdown is not a philosophical standoff about tax increases. It is about our spending addiction. At what point do we come to the conclusion that the government is big enough and has enough money to do what is necessary? In my view, we have reached that point. If we provide a tax increase rather than reform, I honestly believe we will be in this same position two years from now simply because there is a finite amount of money taxpayers can or will give to the government. In the last biennium, Minnesota spent over $60B (Federal, State and local taxes) on 5.5 million people. Minnesota's share of that in general fund spending was $30B. After a MMB report released in February 2011 showed an increase in revenue for the next biennium, we offered a $34.2B budget, but that wasn't enough. Dayton wanted $37B. That is in Billions!

As the government shutdown continues, I ask that you keep an open mind and carefully consider all the information that you hear, along with the source of information from which you are forming your opinion. Unfortunately the media has not kept you fully informed. I also ask that you consider the question of just how much money the government needs.

Below is a link to an article written by Star Tribune reporter Katherine Kersten. I encourage you take a minute to read it as I believe it very nicely summarizes the current budget situation in our state.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/124889544.html

The other comment I would add, and it is an important, is this: on the evening before the shutdown, the MN Senate and the House of Representatives offered Gov. Dayton a temporary funding bill, of which I am a coauthor, that would have continued government services on a temporary basis at the same level as the 2010-2011 biennium. All he had to do was call us into special session for that purpose and shutdown would have been avoided. He refused! Incidentally, that offer continues to remains open. With that bit of information, which has not been widely reported by the media, read Kersten's article and then pass this email message on to all of your contacts.

Respectfully,

Scott

301 State Capitol                                                         Ph: 651-296-4131

75 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.                           Email: sen.scott.newman@senate.mn

St. Paul, MN 55155

Dean Urdahl (18B) - Email Newsletter - 6/30/2011

Dear Neighbor-

I have spent much of today meeting in St. Paul, hoping the governor will call a special session so we can avoid a government shutdown, or at least mitigate the impact of one.

We expect to be working at the Capitol well into the night and, right now, we need the governor to call a special session so we can head to the House floor and do one of three things:

1.        Pass a full budget.

2.        Pass a bill which provides temporary funding to keep our state operating.

3.        Pass the portions of the budget where we have agreement and provide temporary funding for the rest.

If the governor does not call a special session so we can take one of these approaches, state functions deemed non-essential would halt Friday, the start of the new fiscal year. That is the last thing I want to see happen because there are no winners in that scenario. Legislators continue having extensive meetings with the governor and I hope we find a breakthrough asap.

It is disappointing that we have reached this point because a shutdown does not need to happen. We presented the governor with the largest budget in state history, one that would erase our $5 billion shortfall while still fitting within the $34 billion in revenue the state expects to receive in the upcoming biennium. This allows us to fund our priorities without raising taxes as we work to recover from the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

The governor has a different approach. He wants to spend nearly $2 billion more than we anticipate to have available in revenue, raising taxes to help pay for the added government growth.

I would like to thank local citizens for continuing to provide me with input throughout this process. In addition to contacting me, I invite you to reach out to the governor and share your budget opinions with him. You can call him at (651) 201-3400 or email him at http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form.

I will let you know what develops in St. Paul.

Sincerely,

Dean

News from Senator Scott Newman, MN Senate District 18, Serving McLeod, Meeker, and Wright Counties

Compromising

As July 1st approaches, I numerous constituents have urged me to prevent a government shutdown, compromise and go back to St. Paul to do my job.

I too am absolutely against a shutdown. I am doing everything I can think of to avoid it, as I know many people may be hurt by it.

As to compromising with the Governor, we have tried. Before the session ended, the legislature put 9 budget bills and one tax bill on his desk. After he vetoed all of them, we offered to fund the K-12 bill at his requested level. His response was no, he wanted a $1.8 billion income tax increase, the same tax increase he has demanded since last spring. Next, we offered to accept his funding request for the Public Safety bill. He refused. Then last week, we offered to take out the reforms in the tax bill that would have increased the State’s revenue significantly, and which frankly would have saved you money, but cost the State money. His response was no, and continued to demand the income tax increase.

The budget offered this session is the largest in state history; it increases spending and the size of government by 6%, but Governor Dayton insists on a 12% increase. Is that reasonable? We make offers to him and have not had a single counter offer from him, is that reasonable? When we asked him to outline what he wants to spend the $1.8 billion on he wouldn’t tell us. I want a spreadsheet to see what he wants to spend his proposed $36 billion on and he won't provide it, does that make sense? So I ask you, who is refusing to compromise?

I can't go back to St. Paul unless Governor Dayton calls us back into a special session. Until that happens, I am powerless to stop a shutdown as I truly believe that we are working with a man that is genuinely not interested in negotiating and would rather shut the government down than give up his request for a tax increase. If we do not stop the unsustainable growth of government now, when do we do it? If I accept his demand for this income tax increase today, I believe we will be in the same position two years from now and be asked for yet another increase. I believe we need to reform government, not increase taxes.

I urge you to keep in touch and continue talking to me. We may not always agree, but I will try to give you an explanation for my position and won't hesitate to alter it if you can convince me I am wrong. You are also the Governor's constituents; I urge you to contact him with your thoughts about the shutdown, insist he compromise and call a special session, if only to pass a temporary funding bill and avoid the shutdown.

Respectfully,

Scott

301 State Capitol                                                        Ph: 651-296-4131

75 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.                           Email: sen.scott.newman@senate.mn

St. Paul, MN 55155

News from Senator Scott Newman, MN Senate District 18, Serving McLeod, Meeker, and Wright Counties
June 23, 2011