[Winona Online Democracy]
I was happy to read quick responses from Dean Lanz and Carol Mateland to
Paul Double's call for protesting taxes. The more I read about Governor
Ventura's budget proposal, and the apparent enthusiasm with which it's been
received by Republican legislators, the more I wonder what direction
Minnesota is headed.
As far as I'm concerned, the budget surplus is not a result of unfair
taxation. Instead, it seems to me to be directly related to a relentless
ratcheting down of many of the state educational and other human services
with which I'm familiar.
People with disabilities languish on waiting lists for services for which
they are eligible but can't receive because of funding. High school
students find themselves in classes of 35 or 40 other students, with
inadequate supplies and technology. State parks must reduce days they are
open, and cut back on naturalist programs. Tuition at state universities
continues to balloon. These are just a few examples--others could add many
more.
A friend of mine likened the push for a tax rebate to someone whose roof is
leaking voluminously and chooses to buy a big-screen TV instead of fix the
problem. I replied that I thought the rebate was closer in monetary
magnitude to a couple of pizzas, but otherwise agreed with the analogy.
Would the Republican leadership in the legislature truly like to see
Minnesota emulate low-tax, low-service states like Arizona, or Mississippi,
or Nevada?
My wife and I moved back to the midwest when our children were young,
largely because of the quality of life here, the positive attitudes toward
education and environmental stewardship and a decent safety net for those
in need. From what I can tell, the majority of Minnesotans continue to hold
those values, but maybe they do so quietly, even passively. Those of us in
that majority need to be communicating with Governor Ventura and Speaker
Sviggum that (1) we have high expectations for what state government should
accomplish, and (2) that we understand a basic principle of the
marketplace--"you get what you pay for."
Scott Lowery
461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969
home phone: (507)689-4532
school phone: (507)453-3888
home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be
counted counts." Albert Einstein
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." James Thurber
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