Ouch! Crude oil prices and prices at the pump are inching close to record heights, while food prices are blazing an upward trail.
Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed in a recent Gallup Economy poll said high energy/gas prices are hurting their household.
Soaring food prices are hurting 76 percent of the folks interviewed by Gallup.
Other costs of living that have hurt the average family include taxes (69 percent indicate high taxes are causing additional hardship), 68 percent say higher healthcare costs are a problem and the federal debt ceiling is adding to the woes of those persons surveyed.
“Americans with incomes under $24,000 a year rate the direct costs of food, energy, and health care as most hurtful to their family’s finances,” Gallup pollsters noted. “Those with incomes of $90,000 or more have a slightly different rank order, rating energy prices as most hurtful, followed by taxes, health care costs, and then food prices.”
However, higher gasoline prices are hurting those surveyed across all income levels. Eight percent of those making $24,000 or less indicated the price of gas is hurting their family. The same percentage was recorded for those making $24,000 to $60,000 annually. It rose to 83 percent for those earning $60,000 to $90,000 and dipped to 81 percent of those making more than $90,000.
Higher food prices hit families in the lower income ranges hardest — 80 to 83 percent said the cost of food created a hardship for their families.
Higher taxes was of greatest concern among those making $60,000 to $90,000 or more (72 to 79 percent).
Our state and national “leaders, including elected representatives, may find that actions aimed at reducing the costs of life necessities — energy, food, and health care, along with reducing taxes — could have the greatest impact on Americans’ financial situations,” Gallup stated.
One must ask the question if now is the time for the state of Minnesota to be raising taxes on its citizens that are struggling to make ends meet?
No. Of course our state’s governor and his party, which controls the Legislature, are acting as though all of us will be happy to give more of our diminished earnings to operate a growing state government.
Keith Hansen
Comments (3)
Add commentIt's quite touching, actually, to read V.P. Hansen's concern
for the poor and middle-class. But based on personal back-of-the-envelope calculations, my middle-class family will end up paying less taxes under Dayton's plan. The 20% reduction in overall sales tax rate on these items: http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/tax_reform/Documents/Reduced_sales_tax_it...,
plus the reduction in property taxes, has us coming out slightly ahead. Granted, most of the clothing we purchase doesn't exceed the $100 taxable amount, and we don't splurge on some of the service expenses of some upper middleclass families. It is past due, however, that sales tax systems catch up with the reality of our now more service-oriented economy. "Our current consumption tax system is geared to a time when the value ratio of products to services in the economy was 2:1. That's now reversed, and it only makes sense that the system should, belatedly, change with it." Of course, there will always be vested interests who disagree. Do they want to stay with Pawlentynomics where we employ one-time fixes, borrowing or gimmicks to balance the budget? Many of Dayton's proposals seem more straight-forward.
The above Gallup Poll referenced by Hansen talks about food and gas prices as important to most Americans. True enough, but food will continue to be tax-free in MN and gas tax isn't affected, by my read of these changes.
Given Hansen's concern for the household budgets of poor and middle-class Minnesotans, may we expect his support for the long overdue upward adjustment of MN's minimum wage (currently at a paltry $6.15/hr)?
Bubba,
please tell us who you know that is only paid the minimum wage. You lefters wore out that urban legend long ago.
Either name the businesses that pay ONLY minimum wage in Brainerd/Baxter or admit you were bomb throwing again.
Minimum Wage
"Workers paid the minimum wage or less accounted for 7.6 percent of hourly workers in nonmetropolitan Minnesota, as opposed to 5.5 percent in metropolitan areas."
http://www.dli.mn.gov/11MinWage.asp
"research [PDF] suggests that the economy as a whole would benefit from the ripple effect of any increase (in minimum wage)." (from "Who Works For Minimum Wage or Less In MN" http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2012/01/who-works-minimum-wage-o...)
Minimum wage, and surrounding "pay neighborhood", is nowhere near what it takes for most folks to get by without needing SNAP, energy assistance, ...
If we want folks to "get off welfare", we simply need to make actual work pay a "living wage". This is "reality politics" 101.