Open Forum

Raising Minnesota taxes is not the solution to our state budget shortfall. History has shown when we raise taxes to solve a problem we usually put in long range programs that perpetuate the problem. For every dollar increased in taxes we commit to at least one dollar and a quarter for long range programs. Most of the new programs would never be supported by local taxpayers if we had to collect the money locally. Instead the state reaches into our pockets so our elected legislators can bring pork back to our districts. Each elected official trades pork loins with each other so all can return back to their district peddling pork.

The Minnesota budget shortfall is about 25 percent more than the entire South Dakota budget! Minnesota has about 6 times as many people as South Dakota yet our budget is about 10 times as much as South Dakota. The high school and college students from South Dakota are every bit as good as the Minnesota graduates. We spend considerable more per student than South Dakota.

My solution is to be annexed by South Dakota to solve the continuing budget problems in Minnesota. We could call ourselves East Dakota. Let me give you a few facts. South Dakota has zero personal income or corporate taxes. South Dakota car licenses are about one third that in Minnesota and our gas taxes and sales taxes are higher than South Dakota.

We should send every one of our state legislators to the South Dakota capital in Pierre for 6 months of on the job training. When our legislators return we should assemble all of them in the capital parking lot and let only 10 percent back in. If we had 90 percent less legislators we would have fewer legislators bringing back special interest pork.

Robert Olson

Ideal Township

All you need is love

God is love and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16

Doesn't it take more love to carry a baby to term, than to have it aborted? Also, doesn't it take more love to care for a disabled or terminally ill person until natural death than to kill them off by mercy killing or assisted suicide?

Patrick Borden

Brainerd

Haste makes waste in stimulus

Did you know Fox News reported that tucked into this so called stimulus package is a little known bill with little if any discussion on it which will prohibit any public school, college or university who upon receiving money from the government to allow any Christian activities of any kind on its campus, such as a Bible study or prayer groups? Me thinks the ACLU not only had both hands but both feet in the government money trough and a far left individual slid this into the massive unwielding pounds of paper this bill is written on. This is a case of haste makes waste and some of the so called stimulus bills could have a horrendous affect on our country's future. Will this include or exclude the Muslim religion along with the thousands of other religions practiced in this country? President-elect Obama spoke so forcefully on the change he would bring to the Capitol. So the first thing he does is to ask Nancy Pelosi (with her San Francisco values) and her cohorts in Congress to write a stimulus bill. Some of this stimulus will not create jobs for a year or so and will provide jobs for only a couple of years until the project is finished. Do you realize that the corporations in the U.S. are the most highly taxed of any country...35 percent, but when you tax businesses to death, create so many laws which almost constrict breathing especially for the millions of small businesses who are truly the backbone of our nation's economy, you don't encourage jobs, you stifle them. Tax only the rich? They alone cannot support this country. Decisions made by using fear and panic tactics are dangerous unless you believe President's Obama and Al Gore's predictions that the sky is falling and we must act now!

Dolores Zaske

Pine River

A different approach

Nice to see the BDD finally printing letters from conservatives again. A lot of truth...but I must admit...no action plans and no solutions.

What we conservatives need to start doing is offering a better plan for recovery, explaining why this plan and the others that liberals have won't work and what the alternatives are, and taking action.

I agree with most of what was said. But we must move public opinion. And to do that, we must show we have the moxie to stand against the status quo..even against our own party if need be.

Soon our right to express our views of dissent may be gone...then what? If we don't have a plan...we will be lost in the bottom of the abyss like the economy and the fools who wrote and voted for this worthless piece of legislation. We must rise above them and be the light of this nation and to the rest of the world.That is what Reagan did.That's what we need to do. Thanks and have a great day!

Rev. Dale Anderson

Backus

You talked me into supporting it

The letter to the editor in the Feb. 16 issue of the Dispatch regarding gun control has motivated me to write my senator and congressman urging them to support H.R. 45.

Bill Souther

Crosslake

GM needs to bite the bullet

According to the Wall Street Journal, we the people have donated $12 billion to cover the extravagant needs of GM. They now want another $5 billion to keep them afloat for another one or two months, or until the economy recovers, (whichever comes first). I'm not an economy major, but it seems to me that with the greedy oil companies draining us of every penny they dare, the economy may never recover to the point we were at a few years ago. In that case, GM needs to bite the bullet and come down off their $80/hour or so labor costs and extravagant retirement plan along with scrapping any executive bonuses for captains who ran the ship onto the rocks. Pouring more money into their cause is just bad, bad, bad judgment until they come up with some workable plan for cutting costs. Too many of us will never be able to afford a new automobile at their present costs.

Don Weinmeister

Hillman

Quotes can be manipulated

Recently several area newspapers have published editorials relating to how our founding fathers wanted religion to be a significant part of our government. To prove his point, a gentleman from Lake Shore used quotes from our well respected founding fathers.

Since I believe in the separation of church and state, here are a few more quotes to ponder.

Thomas Jefferson: I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded upon fables and mythologies.

Edgar Allan Poe: The pioneers and missionaries of religion have been the real cause of more trouble and war than all other classes of mankind.

Albert Einstein: It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously...Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of a reward after death.

The intentions of our founding fathers should not be misrepresented by clever manipulation of numbers and quotes.

Don Hansen

Pine River