On May 16, Gov. Dayton offered his budget compromise offer: half cuts, half revenue. The governor modified his tax proposal and now the proposed fourth tier bracket would go from $85,000 in taxable income for singles to $150,000 and from $150,000 in taxable income for couples to $250,000. Now Gov. Dayton’s tax plan would affect less than 2 percent of Minnesotans.
We all understand that cuts have to be made, but the budget being offered by the Republicans would throw 200,000 Minnesotans off health care, raise property taxes, raise college tuition, make deep cuts to our nursing homes, and reduce services in our local communities all to prevent 2 percent of Minnesotans from contributing to the solution.
Sacrifices need to be made. Tough budget cuts will have to be done, but everybody has to pitch in. For too long, we’ve placed all the burden of balancing the budget on the middle class and poor. The middle class is paying more in health care premiums, more in college tuition, and more in property taxes. The squeeze on the middle class has to stop, and those who have the most should be paying their fair share.
Gov. Dayton’s compromise is smart, reasonable, and keeps our state from continuing to fall down a path to mediocrity. In true Minnesota fashion, Gov. Dayton is meeting the Republicans halfway while doing right by our Minnesota values. I support Gov. Dayton’s compromise plan, and hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join him in negotiating a fair and equitable budget solution that protects the middle class and the state we love.
John Ward
DFL state representative
District 12A
Comments (8)
Add commentThe Party of Life strikes again!
"..throw 200,000 Minnesotans off health care, raise property taxes, raise college tuition, make deep cuts to our nursing homes...."
Or raise taxes a little bit on 2% of Minnesotans.
Wasn't greed considered a sin before the Republicans bought Christianity?
Tax and spend DFL
The DFL policies of the past decades have driven Minnesota to the top of the taxing states and the bottom of the business, manufacturing and producing states. Our welfare programs and college tuition charges are a disgrace. The policies of Mr. Ward and his like-minded liberals are to blame.
publicity hound
that is wards expertize-not spending less,wasting less and giving citizens back the responsibility to provide for them selves. he only knows how to tax more and just think-he "taught" thousands of students to be dependent!!
mnright
Are you saying the DFL is responsible for the rapid increase in tuition?
I think you've got it backward.
It's the GOP that cuts funding for higher ed at every opportunity forcing rises in tuition that are driving lower income students out of the system.
Fish,
If we to raise taxes on the top 2% do you think that the DFL legislators would be willing to cut the equal amount out of the budget?
fish
You make more assinine statements than any other poster, but to say that Republicans bought Christianity! Well if they did, I'd say Democrats are flushing it down the toilet.
No, no boys...jeeeeshhh why won't you guys get it?
Dear Friends,
When I read what our democrat liberal John Ward, god bless his "tax and spend" soul, has to say, I say to myself, "Oh, lordy, when is people gonna sit up and pay some attention"?
Because you see that the whole point is that we should cut taxes on the top 2%, or eliminate them all!
THe issue is that the rich has the least ability to pay these taxes. THat is what people dont seem to get. there is all kinds of capital tied up in investaments and ontraprenurship for invests. THat money needs to flow into the economy and the more there is, the more there is to trickle.
Lets see if folks gets it by this example. Imagine that there was a droubt and the lakes here in CWC dried up (and i dont mean to renounce or endorse the socalled "global warming" which we all know aint true, no science evidence of that". But back to the point. Suppose all the water dried up. And then folks was depending upon a chosen few who had lots of water stored up in water storage tanks. and them folks was willing to release the water. but then the govment comes along and says, "no, we knows best, we take a big chunk of water from you and decides what to do with it". Well water don't chunk (unless it is froze as ice i guess) but you take my point. that would destroy the lakes.
It is the same with the rich and they're wealth. We should not tax them at all! Then, the money flows like water on dry parched land and fills up the lakes. A rising tide floats all boats. But not if the Democrat party and it's agenda has its way, they come and steal it away for waistful bloated govment programs.
Get smart, folks. No tax increase.
DNTMG