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The shutdown is beginning to affect all of us. We’ve all noticed some government services that are not available during the shutdown. Restaurant openings are being delayed while waiting for inspectors. Road repairs are being delayed. Licenses cannot be renewed.   Even before the government sh...

Society is actively debating the size of government. People on both sides of  this debate often fail to mention the role of government. Our Constitution  limits the role of government on personal and economic matters, with the  presumption of liberty. However, a small government doesn...

The Republicans have attached all their social issues to the budget. All of those issues should be argued separately. They are holding Gov. Dayton hostage to a debt that they created. Gov. Pawlenty did not offer a real budget solution during his two terms in office — he left Dayton with a mess. &n...

Am I missing something? I have been looking for stories in the Dispatch and Twin City papers covering examples of how people in the upper tier of income in Minnesota are creating jobs with the money they are now not paying in taxes, but would under Dayton's plan. Please put your best reporters on th...

Recently Sen. Gazelka expressed disappointment the governor refused to sign the Republican budget. Frankly, I’m disappointed the senator and Rep. LeMieur refused to compromise on political policy and refusal to support a fair taxation system. While the average middle income family pays an average ...

The Republicans want to eliminate or revamp entitlements like Social Security and Medicare for the working class. These are federal insurance programs that the workers have paid into and should be entitled to.  Congress has already modified Social Security over the years. It was not supposed to...

“Tax the rich!”  What a concept. To be accurate, however, it should be “tax   the rich . . . more!”...

District 4B Rep. Larry Howes was recently quoted as saying that only one person had told him to raise taxes as a means of helping solve the Minnesota budget deficit (Bemidji Pioneer, July 7, 2011). Oh really? Does Rep. Howes read his email (and respond)? Does he return telephone calls? Does he hold ...

  Our system of government rests on the fundamental fairness of the highest court in the land. Recent stories about Supreme Court justices, including Justice Clarence Thomas, threaten that perception. ...