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Minnesota Health Care at Risk |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/28/2008
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 The state senate approved the health care bill ( SF3099) on Thursday by a vote of 41-22, but legislators on both sides of the aisle have deep concerns about the nature of the bill. Governor Tim Pawlenty has withdrawn his support of the bill in its current form.
DFL Senator Sharon Erickson Ropes said the bill “puts Minnesota health care at risk,” and suggests that many legislators don’t even understand huge sections of the bill. “This is all very confusing,” she said.
Republican Senator David Haan is worried about privacy intrusions in the bill, like body mass index monitoring. "This kind of active intrusion in people's lives goes way beyond what's necessary," he said.
Senator Ray Vanderveer (R – Forest Lake) summed up the bill saying, “We want to encourage people to get health insurance by putting a tax on it and making it cost more.”
The governor said the current bill is unacceptable to him, but added that he thinks the bill is still “fixable.”
The House has yet to take up it’s version of the health care bill ( HF3391) in a floor vote, but it is expected soon.
There are significant differences between the House’s bill and the Senate’s. If the bill is approved in the House, it will go to a conference committee between the two chambers to hammer out differences. Significant changes sometimes occur in conference committees, and completely new elements are not out of the question.
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How Much is that Gorilla Cage Going to Set Me Back? |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/27/2008
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 Bonding. A government method of borrowing for large public works projects. Bonds generally mature in 30 years and require repayment with interest.
Bonding is an effective mechanism for funding big projects that benefit future generations, like building new highways. If a road lasts 30 years, stretching payment for its construction to span its useful life makes sense.
This year, nearly a billion dollars in new bonding has been proposed and is now being debated in the state legislature. In light of our current budget shortfall, and to preserve the state's bond rating, the governor wants to limit borrowing this session. Ever eager to bring home the pork, the legislature wants to see how high they can push the numbers. Several of the projects they want to fund beg evaluation of their necessity, especially considering that the current budget already spends more than available revenues.
Frank Moe (DFL – 4A) wants over $13.5 million for new state trails and Melissa Hortman (DFL – 47B) tacked on another $2.1 million for trails in Anoka County. Throw in another $2.4 million for other non-metro trails and we’re looking at almost $20 million for trails.
Shelly Madore (DFL – 37A) wanted to borrow $5 million for a Minnesota Zoo “Master Plan.” She only got $1 million in the omnibus bonding bill for pre-design and design of the “Master Plan,” but not to worry. The Zoo will still get a nice piece of the bonding package with another $8.5 million for “asset preservation.”
Thanks to Alice Hausman (DFL - 66B), Como Zoo is set to receive $11 million for new gorilla cages and Mike Jaros (DFL – 7B) didn’t miss bringing back a piece of the zoo pie, snagging $1.2 million for polar bears at the Duluth/Superior Zoo.
Kim Norton (DFL – 29B) is looking to bring home $4 million to expand a volleyball court in Rochester (don’t you just need sand and a net?) and Scott Kranz (DFL – 51A) wants a million to fix up a soccer field in Blaine for a total of $5 million interest-bearing state dollars going to local, amateur sports facilities.
Tony Sertich (DFL – 5B) is trying to snag half-a-million for the town of Floodwood to acquire land on which to build a business park. A few questions might come to mind with this one. First, why does the state care whether Floodwood has a business park? Second, where the heck is Floodwood? And third, why is government purchasing land for what is inherently a private, commercial venture?
Minneapolis legislators are keen to bring home the bacon as well. Margaret Kelliher (DFL – 60A) seeks $3 million for predesign of renovations to Orchestra Hall. Thanks to Frank Hornstein (DFL – 60B) and Phyllis Kahn (DFL – 59B), Minneapolis gets $2 million to purchase new lighting that “preserves the natural night environment” (seems like that should be free). Another $70 million is appropriated for the Central Corridor light rail line.
The above examples only begin to scratch the surface, revealing the stockpiles of pork lurking inside the bonding bill. See the bill for yourself to find out what other questionable spending priorities legislators want to borrow money for in a deficit year.
Contact your elected officials and tell them to "Cut The Pork!"
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Compare the Treatment of Our Veterans |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
3/26/2008
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This 3 minute video from ABC's "Person of the Week" provides a stark contrast to the treatment that VETS FOR FREEDOM received when trying to visit Forest Lake High School. High school administrators and those who organized the protest threat resulting in the cancellation of the presentation at the school would do well to watch this video and learn the meaning of true patriotism.
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Veterans Not Welcome at Forest Lake High School |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
3/25/2008
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A national tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was scheduled to stop this week at Forest Lake Area High School. But just hours before the event, school administrators abruptly canceled the visit.
Forest Lake High School principal Steve Massey says he canceled the appearance by the Vets for Freedom because he didn't want politics in the classroom. But the truth of the matter is that Mr. Massey succumbed to pressure from radical left wing activists that threatened to stage a protest at the school.
Pete Hegseth, a Forest Lake High grad and the director of Vets for Freedom, said that he had talked with school officials during the planning process, and made clear that presenters would not make political statements. "It's Iraq and Afghan veterans talking about what they saw and what they did there, and about what it means to put on the uniform of your country," he said.
Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten said it best in her column this week: “Shame on Forest Lake High administrators for caving to political pressure under the guise of preventing political pressure. Apparently, they only understand the sort of political pressure exerted by left-wing anti-war groups.” It is appalling that high school students are not allowed to hear from the men and women who have risked their lives protect our country because of threats from Left wing protesters.
You can weigh-in on this incident with some of the people involved in the cancellation. Contact Steve Massey, the principal of Forest Lake Area High School, and let him know what you think about his decision to cancel the event. You can also contact Contact Karl Bremer, one of the organizers of the protest threat resulting in the school's cancellation decision.
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New Health Care Proposals Unnecessary, Expensive and Intrusive |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/20/2008
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We recently interviewed Rep. Tom Emmer (R, Delano) and Twila Brase (Citizens' Council on Health Care) regarding the health care reform measures that have been intoduced by DFL legislators (SF3099 / HF3391). All Minnesotans should watch these interviews to understand how these so-called 'reforms' will ultimately impact the way health care is sold and delivered in Minnesota.
The bills (SF3099 / HF3391) are currently being hurried through the state legislature. Supporters say it will make health insurance more affordable and accessible. The reality is that these proposals will do neither. Instead, the bills will target smokers, drinkers and people with some extra pounds for state-sponsored lifestyle modification initiatives, create new layers of expensive government bureaucracy and encumber small business owners with costly new administration mandates.
The creation of a proposed Health Insurance Exchange, the centerpiece of the bill (number SF3099), is ostensibly designed to provide to employees of small companies who purchase their own individual health insurance the same tax break as employers receive. In reality, the Exchange will increase the cost of privately-purchased health care by at least 2%, burdening taxpayers with new taxes and fees, and forcing small businesses to become bill collectors for insurance companies with whom they are otherwise unassociated.
The cost of medical services would actually increase under this proposal. Hospitals, other care providers and insurance companies will be billed for the Health Improvement Fund. The fund will seek to collect $40 million from health care providers, the expense of which will naturally be passed on to consumers.
A portion of SF3099 deals with sharing private medical records across multiple agencies and organizations, keeping track of your lifestyle choices, how much you weigh, funding third-party organizations to implement programs to cajole and coerce you into behavior choices preferred by the state, and recruiting as many people as possible into the state’s medical welfare programs (Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare).
The ultimate goal of the bill appears to be to expand the number of people dependent on the state for their medical care. The bill provides bounties paid to organizations and individuals that recruit new enrollees in the state’s medical welfare programs. Schools will be asked to single-out students who receive free or reduced-rate school lunch as targets for recruitment activities. If a school is successful in enrolling a student’s family, they will earn a $25 bounty. To entice potential new enrollees, the bill suggests that organizations should "provide an applicant a gift certificate or other incentive upon enrollment."
Once registered into the state system, enrollees will be required to submit to mandatory health and weight screening, and a complete loss of medical privacy.
There is no uninsured crisis in Minnesota. The current rate of uninsured people is estimated at 7.2 percent. Demonstrably, the majority of those uninsured are without coverage by choice. Fifty-four percent of Minnesota’s uninsured are eligible for state assistance, but they choose not to enroll. The rest are eligible for employer group or individual plans, but have decided not to purchase the insurance.
The Insurance Exchange is an expensive solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. The rest of the plan attempts to put more people on the public dole, while raising taxes and fees, invading patient privacy and restricting individual freedoms.
Government is the problem, not the solution. Minnesota has the highest number of government-imposed insurance mandates in the country. Instead of allowing insurance companies to offer different products for different people, the goverment has mandated what must be included in every plan, thereby driving up the cost of insurance for everyone. Goverment has also errected barriers that prevent insurance companies from outside the state to compete for your business. Everyone knows that when there's competition within a marketplace, costs go down and quality goes up.
Adding more layers of bureaucracy and regulation won’t solve our health care problems. It will only exacerbate them. The solution lies in the free market. Offering consumers more choice in personalizing their health coverage plans by eliminating government mandates would immediately reduce the cost of coverage for most Minnesotans. A simple change in our tax code could eliminate the need for complicated plans like the Insurance Exchange by giving everyone the same tax deduction for health care expenditures. This would also help decouple insurance from a person’s employment situation, and make health insurance more portable.
TAKE ACTION: Click here to contact your state legislators now.
Be sure to read Craig Westover's recent columns in the Pioneer Press: The Devil's Not in the Detail, But Sitting in Plain Sight and A Sow's Ear of Corporate Socialism. Also take a look at It's Universal at Ladies Logic.
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Design Flaw Responsible for 35W Bridge Collapse |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/19/2008
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 The NTSB released a fifth update of its findings on the 35W bridge collapse on March 17 th. The NTSB had previously cited too-thin gusset plates as a factor in the collapse and has now pinpointed the exact plates that failed and their location in the bridge structure.
The NTSB is now examining archival information provided by the original design consultants to determine how and why the bridge plans called for the thin gusset plates installed in 1967.
Following the bridge’s collapse, a number of lawmakers immediately took the stage to decry a lack of tax revenues as the cause, and some (like Senator Steve Murphy for example) went so far as to blame the current MNDOT administration and Governor Pawlenty’s office.
Transportation Funding, it seems had little or nothing to do with the bridge’s ultimate collapse. The bridge’s faulty design doomed it to fail from the day it was built. Despite the facts, politicians will likely continue to hearken back to the collapse of the 35W bridge as a catalyst to raise taxes for “transportation.”
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Reagan on Socialized Medicine |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
3/18/2008
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In 1961, then private citizen Ronald Reagan partnered with the American Medical Association to record this 10 minute speech that was to become part of what was known as Operation Coffee Cup (OCC). OCC was a campaign conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) in opposition to the Democrats' plans to extend Social Security to include health insurance for the elderly, later known as Medicare. As part of the program, doctors' wives would organize coffee meetings and play the Reagan recording to convince acquaintances to write letters to Congress opposing the program. Reagan's arguments against socialized medicine ring as true today as they did over 40 years ago. Minnesota state legislators pushing for increased government involvement in health care should take a moment to reflect on Reagan's comments.
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If We Adopt Socialized Medicine, Where Will Canadians Go For Their Health Care? |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
3/14/2008
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Want to get a first hand look at government controlled health care? Watch this brief video and see how a Canadian was forced to seek care in the United States in order to save his life.
Some Minnesota politicians believe that Minnesota should adopt a health care plan similar to that of Canada. But these politicians would do well to consider some of the outcomes associated with the Canadian system, such as:
- Waits up to 5 days in Emergency rooms
- Three-year waiting list for a pain clinic
- Waits of four months for radiation therapy for cancer patients
- Declining enrollment in medical school resulting in too few doctors and nurses
- Closing hospitals to save costs
- 12 % of Canadians can’t find a family physician.
There are countless examples of why adopting a Canadian-style health care program is bad public policy for Minnesota.
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Majority of DFL Reps Favor Sanctuary Cities Continuing to Harbor Illegals |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
3/13/2008
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 Today a majority of DFL state representatives voted in favor of a motion to squash a potential vote on HF3010, a bill to prohibit sanctuary cities from harboring illegal aliens in Minnesota. Cities like as Minneapolis and St. Paul have sanctuary policies that prevent police officers from inquiring about immigration status or enforcing immigration laws. These policies are allowing illegal aliens to openly enjoy the benefits of citizenship without the fear of deportation.
The DFL-controlled House has been trying to stall HF 3010, hoping to have the bill simply die in committee. Today the bill's chief author, Rep. Paul Kols (R, Victoria), made a motion to pull the bill directly to the House floor for an up-or-down vote. But Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL, Chisholm) then made a motion to table the Kols’ motion. The Sertich motion prevailed (click here to see the voting record - a vote in favor of the Sertch motion was a vote in favor of sanctuary cities).
Sanctuary city policies cause a host of financial, legal and criminal problems that negatively affect the quality of life for legitimate Minnesota citizens. The recent bus crash in Cottonwood is a tragic reminder of this fact and should have been a wake-up call to our state legislators to get tough on illegal immigration. But most DFL representatives don't seem to be getting the message.
Here's a link to an Action Alert we just issued urging citizens to contact their representatives on this measure.
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Tax Cut Rally April 12th |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/6/2008
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 High noon. Overtaxed Minnesotans will converge on the State Capitol on April 12th for an old-fashioned tax protest. Last year, Jason Lewis’ Tax Cut Coalition mustered over 7,000 people for the annual Tax Cut rally. Following the largest tax increase in state history, upwards of 10,000 people are expected this year.
Minnesota Majority will be at this event, which is expected to be historic in its proportions, and we have something extra special planned this year. Our legislators will have to sit up and take notice.
For more information about the Tax Cut Coalition, visit KTLKFM.com, and tune in to Jason Lewis weekdays, 4-7 at 100.3 FM. Listen for updates on the Tax Cut Rally from Jason and Minnesota Majority president, Jeff Davis over the coming weeks.
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Who Should Make Your Health Care Decisions: You or Government Bureaucrats? |
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Sue's Blog
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By Sue Jeffers on
3/5/2008
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 Bills currently flying through state legislative committees will radically change how health care is delivered and paid for in Minnesota if passed into law. Some state legislators think the answer to solving the high cost of health care and insuring the 7% of Minnesotans who are currently uninsured is to create another huge layer of expensive and inefficient nanny-state bureaucracy called the Insurance Exchange.
A critique of the Insurance Exchange reveals many problems. The Exchange will sell health insurance to all businesses for a fee. These fees will be ultimately passed along to Minnesotans – essentially an additional hidden tax. The legislature plans to spend at least $60 million just to create this new bureaucracy: $40 million is a tax on hospitals and health plans; $20 million more goes to set up the Health Insurance Exchange.
The bill specifies duties for each of the new state bureaucracies and others with expanded duties, including:
· Health Insurance Exchange
· Health Care Transformation Commission
· Health Improvement Fund
· Community Health Boards
· Indian Health Boards
· Care Coordination Advisory Committee
· Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
· Minnesota Community Measurement
· Health Savings Reinvestment Fund
· Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
· Savings Reinvestment Fund
· Health Benefit Set and Design Advisory Committee
· Health Care Value Reporting Organization
· Technology Advisory Committee
· Health Services Advisory Council
· MN Department of Health (that already employs more than 7,000 people)
· MN Department of Human Services
· MN Department of Commerce
· Community Health Centers
There’s a program to spend $250,000 to reward people who sign up for government health plans. Imagine that! We will bribe people to enroll in plans that we pay for with our taxes. Now that is a plan!
The bills mandate guarantee issue and community rating on individual health plans sold through the Exchange. Watch the uninsured rate soar among Minnesota’s young people as their premiums more than double. They even want government officials to use public schools to test the body mass index of our children! Then they will report this data to the Department of Health.
This bureaucracy will be given access to my family’s personal health care data without my permission. But they promise to keep the information safe and secure. Why don’t I believe them?
Government will gather all our private medical data, establish guidelines and pass legislation. The guidelines will focus on their definition of “unhealthy lifestyles”. The government will provide or reduce care and coverage to keep costs in check. Our tax dollars will fund media campaigns to chastise lifestyle choices. Smokers, drinkers and the obese will be the first targets.
Government’s access and exchange of private health care information is bad enough, but this new law also exempts members of the Exchange’s ruling board from all liability. Government assures us they will keep this private data safe and secure. But we won’t have to wait long for the first lawsuit.
The added administrative expense forced upon small businesses will likely not be affordable to many. Businesses will pass higher costs of doing business on to their customers, thus driving up the costs of goods and services of every business in the state. In cases where the administrative costs cannot be passed on or absorbed, businesses will likely be forced to close or move.
This is not rocket science. A simple way to reduce the cost of insurance would be to eliminate the mandates and open the market. Logical thinking suggests solutions that include tax reform, insurance reform and tort reform. Logical thinking would look at addressing the high cost of government managed health care and entitlement programs. Logical thinking would ask why government purchased health care cost 220% more than privately purchased coverage.
But it seems there’s a real lack of logical thinking at our state legislature. Our legislators’ answer is to sign people up to feed at the public trough and force the rest of us to purchase coverage only sold to us by the state. Before we force this new and unproven program upon the people of Minnesota, perhaps we should conduct a two-year trial with our state legislators. Let’s have them purchase their insurance through the Exchange and have their private health care data used in a trial to validate the viability and security of the system.
TAKE ACTION: Click here to sign the Free-Markets Health Care Petition.
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The Failure of Contraception-Based Sex-Ed |
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Dan's Blog
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By Dan McGrath on
3/3/2008
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A new survey released this week by the Centers for Disease Control finds that 1 in 4 teenage girls (aged 14-19) is infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Among African American girls, the number doubles.
The most common infection is HPV, but cases of Chlamydia, Herpes and Trichomoniasis were also evident.
75% of public schools offer contraceptive-based sex education programs, as opposed to abstinence-based programs. It’s simple common sense that the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and STDs is abstinence, which begs the question of why modern sexual education focuses instead on contraception. It’s clear that today's most common education approach is failing our youth.
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Budget Forecast Predicts Nearly $1 Billion Deficit |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/28/2008
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What a difference a year makes. Last year, Minnesota was sitting on a $2 billion budget surplus. Today Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that Minnesota is facing a projected budget deficit of $935 million. State revenues have slowed as both individual and corporate income tax collections have fallen. At the same time, state spending has increased. By all accounts, Minnesota is currently in a mild recession which is expected to last for at least the next six months.
Minnesota is required to balance its books every two years, suggesting that the state must now either cut spending or raise taxes. On the heals of the DFL-controlled state legislature just passing the single largest tax increase in the state’s history, Pawlenty was clear – he intends to cut spending. “Raising taxes is not the answer to balancing our budget. Like families and businesses are doing in this tough economy, government needs to tighten its belt and live within its means. I will not allow this session to turn into a parade of DFL tax hikes", said Pawlenty.
DFL legislative leaders may have other plans. They announced at least two initiatives to raise new tax revenues: going after corporations that operate overseas and collect taxes on business executives who work in Minnesota but declare residency elsewhere. For now, however, DFL leaders appear to be holding off on re-introducing last year's proposal for an income tax rate hike. They appear wary to propose more tax increases given the intense negative public reaction to their massive transit tax increase that was just passed by an override of the Governor's veto.
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There's Still a Chance of Blocking a Portion of the Tax Increases |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/28/2008
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 Minnesota Majority has learned that each of the seven metro County Boards must adopt a formal resolution in order to put the sales tax and vehicle excise tax into effect within their respective counties. This means that should a Board fail to adopt the resolution, the tax increases will not go into effect within that county. Nearly 100% of the $1.1 billion sales and excise tax increase will be dedicated to boondoggle mass transit programs which will have very little, if any benefit for residents in some counties. If enough citizens revolt and contact their County Commissioners, there's a chance they could block these tax increases from being implemented in their counties. We have established an Action Alert providing individuals with the contact information for their County Commissioners.
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Meet The Transportation Mafia |
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Drew's Blog
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By Drew Emmer on
2/27/2008
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 This morning Minnesotans were forced to muddled through another daily dose of predictable propaganda from the StarTribune. Letters to the editor read like a promotional package from the group of lobbyists and special interests that made the transportation bill happen this year. Lori Sturdivant criticizes any scrutiny of the six Republicans who abandoned their party and sided with the Democrats to override the Governor's veto. Driving to my office this morning I heard a few different radio ads sanctifying the heroic victory for the people that the transportation bill passing so "definitely" represents.
Once again, media playing it's critical role in managing public opinion rather than reporting on it. The choreography is precise and the playbook shrewdly crafted. And it's all made to look like what happened last week in the legislature was the result of some organic grassroots effort to remedy our sick transportation system. If the people only knew the truth.
Surely every Minnesotan deserves to know the real players behind the power and influence exerted in Minnesota. This is all public information so it can't be corrupt, right? Weigh the details for yourself. Make up your own mind.
Let's take a look at the "powers that be" behind the scenes on this shrewdly crafted outcome "for" Minnesota. Let's start with the Transportation Alliance.
Ames Construction
Parsons Brickerhoff
Bonestroo
HDR
HTNB
Short Elliott Hendriksen
SRF Consulting
3M Worldwide
WSB
Ayers Associates
Bolton & Menk Surveyors
Amalgamated Transit Union
URS Corporation
MN Building Trades Council (AFL-CIO)
International Union Of Operating Engineers Local 49
Jacobs, Edwards & Kelsey
Teamsters Local 120
Now lets take a look at the massive mob of organizations under the advertising campaign I heard this morning under the Progress In Motion moniker:
Professional Associations
The Minnesota Transportation Alliance
A statewide coalition of approximately 275 public and private sector organizations involved in the development, construction and operation of Minnesota’s transportation system. Alliance members include most of the 87 Minnesota counties, cities, the highway industry, transit organizations, unions and other transportation advocates.
Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
The AGC is a non-profit professional trade association consisting of 450 members that is dedicated to promoting opportunity and excellence in the building and highway construction industry.
Minnesota Public Transit Association
Statewide Association consisting of over 60 transit systems statewide and other transit advocates.
Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association
City Engineers Association – Represents 142 cities
County Engineers Association – Represents all 87 county engineers
American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota - ACEC/MN’s 150+ member firms represent over 4,500 employees and over $350 million in annual gross billings.
Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association - Approximately 29 asphalt producers along with 7 asphalt nonproducers and 95+ associate members.
Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota – Represents approximately 70 member companies
Aggregate Ready Mix Association
Minnesota Utility Contractors Association
North Central Cement Council
Local Government
Minnesota Association of Townships
Minnesota Inter-County Association
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
North Metro Mayors Association
North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition
Highway 14 Partnership
Highway 52 Freeway Partnership
Highway 55 Coalition
City of Hutchinson
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Michael
Beltrami County
Blue Earth County
Lyon County
Ramsey County
Agricultural Groups
Broiler and Egg Association of Minnesota
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Land Stewardship Project
Minnesota Association of Cooperatives
Minnesota Barley Growers Association
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Food Association
Minnesota Land Trust
Minnesota Turkey Growers Association
Minnesota Wheat Growers Association
Northern Plains Potato Growers Association
Other Supporters
Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
Brain Injury Association of Minnesota
Growth & Justice
ISAIAH
League of Women Voters Minnesota
Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce /Transportation Committee
Minnesota Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities
Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Minnesota Senior Federation
Transit for Livable Communities
Unions
AFSCME Council 5
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 49
Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota
Minnesota AFL-CIO
Minnesota State Building & Construction Trades Council
North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
Teamsters Local 120
United Transportation Union
Environmental Organizations
Alliance for Sustainability
Conservation Fund
Conservation Minnesota
Fresh Energy
Friends of the Mississippi River
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
Institute for Local Self – Reliance
Izaak Walton League – Minnesota Division
Lower Phalen Creek Project
Mankato Area Environmentalists
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Minnesota Conservation Federation
Minnesota Council Trout Unlimited
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Minnesota Food Association
Minnesota Land Trust
National Environmental Trust, Minnesota
Sierra Club
Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota
Will Steger Foundation
Windustry
Businesses
Aggregate Industries
American Engineering Testing
Ames Construction
AVR
Bituminous Roadways
Bolton & Menk Inc
Bonestroo
Braun Intertec Corporation
Central Specialties Inc
Century Fence Company
CS McCrossan, Inc.
Cemstone
CitiCapital Construction Equipment Finance
Cobb Strecker Dunphy & Zimmerman Inc.
Dahl Trucking Inc
Duininck Brothers Construction
Eagan Connection, LLC
Edward Kraemer and Sons
Erickson Engineering
Frattalone Companies
Geyer Signal
Hardrives
HDR Engineering Inc
Highway Technologies
HNTB
Hoover Construction
Intex Corporation
Jacobs Edwards and Kelcey
J.D.P. Safety Consulting LLC
Kadrmas Lee & Jackson
KGM Contractors Inc.
Knife River Corp
L.H. Sowles Inc.
LHB Inc
Lunda Construction
Martin Marietta Materials
Master Engineering, Real Estate and Construction
Mathiowetz Construction Company
McCarty Group
Midwest Asphalt
R and G Construction
Rachel Contracting
Riley Brothers Construction Inc.
Road Machinery and Supplies Company
Robert Schroeder Construction
Ryan Companies US Inc
Sellin Brothers
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc
Simcote Inc.
SRF Consulting Group Inc
Stellar Contracting Inc.
TCC Materials
TKDA
Tiller Corporation
Tower Asphalt
Ulland Brothers, Inc
Valley Paving
WSB and Associates
Ziegler Inc.
How cool is it that you can lobby for legislation that delivers beefy state contracts to your business? And in the case of many of these organizations, using taxpayer money to do so. Minnesota taxpayers should be outraged.
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Legislature Passes Largest Tax Increase in State's History |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/25/2008
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 Today the Minnesota State Legislature voted to override Governor Pawlenty's veto of the $6.6 billion transit bill, thus passing into law one of the largest tax increases in our state's history. Legislators voted in favor of this massive tax increase in spite of recent polls showing the majority of Minnesotans opposed this bill. Legislators voted in favor of this bill in spite of receiving thousands of phone calls and emails from their constituents urging them to support the Governor's veto.
As a result of this vote, Minnesota will now have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation. A new sales tax will be imposed upon a majority of Minnesotans without a referendum allowing the people to have a voice in this decision. And those who purchase a new vehicle will pay a significantly higher personal property tax each year over the life of the vehicle. In the end, all Minnesotans will pay more - an average of $300 to $400 annually per household. And these new taxes are regressive, hitting those who can least afford it the hardest.
Some legislators tried to exploit the tragic I-35W bridge collapse to justify this bill, even though NSTB reports indicate the bridge collapse was likely due to a design flaw, not a lack of maintenance. Some legislators tried to sell this as jobs bill, claiming that over 33,000 high-paying jobs would be created when, in fact, further investigation revealed that fewer than 2,000 construction jobs would actually result. Many legislators who voted for this bill told constituents that MnDOT said it needed an additional $2 to 3 billion dollars a year to fund its needs. What these legislators did not share with their constituents, however, is that these figures represented a "wish list" of every conceivable transportation project MnDOT thought it might ever do. Many of the projects on this list would never be completed because they were infeasible. An example of one such project is the addition of lanes on I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul which could never happen because it was too expensive to “take” all the private property – residences and businesses – that would be necessary to expand the highway).
The bill passed today allocates 100% of the metro sales tax increase to the mass transit boondoggle (a total of $1.1 billion over ten years) versus fixing our roads and bridges. The bill pass today still relies upon pork-barrel allocation formulas for channeling gas tax revenues to areas other than those which need it the most.
There were other options available to finance Minnesota's transportation needs. But the state legislature decided to raise your taxes instead of cutting spending or making use of bonding. What may be most disappointing about this vote is that it suggests that a majority of our state legislators do not have the people's best interests in mind. It suggests that they care more about special interest groups that stand to benefit from this bill than their constituents who will be forced to pay for it. Perhaps it's time for the people to get serious about taking back their government. Perhaps it's time for a change in whose representing your interests at our state capitol.
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Comments (14)
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It Now Comes Down to Upholding the Governor's Veto |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/24/2008
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Six Republicans State Representatives and two State Senators have broken ranks with caucus leaders, voting in favor of a massive $6.6 billion tax increase, one of the largest in the state's history.
Hall of Shame: Republicans Voting in Favor of Record Tax Increases
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Rep. Jim Abler (Anoka) 651.296.1729
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Rep. Heidgerken (Freeport) 651.296.4317
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Rep. Hamilton (Mountain Lake) 651.296.5373
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Rep. Erhardt (Edina) 651.296.4373
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Rep. Peterson (Bloomington) 651.296.7803
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Rep. Tingelstad (Andover) 651.296.5369
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Sen. Dille
(Dassel) 651.296.4131
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Sen. Frederickson (New Ulm) 651.296.8138
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The only hope now is to convince these wayward Republicans to uphold Governor Pawlenty's anticipated veto. We have issued an Action Alert encouraging all Minnesotans to contact their legislators and ask them to support the Governor's veto.
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Comments (7)
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Driver of Vehicle Hitting School Bus Is An Illegal Alien |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/22/2008
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 The driver of the vehicle which hit a Cottonwood school bus, killing four children, is an illegal alien. After days of speculation, federal authorities finally confirmed today that Aliannis Nunez Morales is in this country illegally and has been using an alias.
The woman was arrested yesterday and charged today with four counts of criminal-vehicular homicide, running a stop sign and driving without a license. Morales had been previously arrested in June 2006 and charged with driving without a driver’s license. She was fined $182 and released.
 This terrible tragedy has underscored the fact that there are real costs of allowing illegal aliens to freely roam in the State of Minnesota. Officials must answer some very tough questions that will ultimately allow us to understand what went wrong allowing this tragedy to occur. Questions such as:
- Why was Morales not deported when she was originally arrested in 2006? Was this a situation of "sanctuary city" policies encouraging law enforcement agents to look the other way?
- How was she able to obtain a Minnesota state identification card? How many other illegals have been issued these cards?
- How was Morales able to gain employment at Jennie-O Turkey? Why wasn't her immigration status checked? How many other illegals are working at Jennie-O today?
Here's a link to a petition drive we originally launched in 2007 calling for our elected officials to get tough on illegal immigration in Minnesota.
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Comments (5)
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Senator Day Challenges the DFL Transportation Boondoggle |
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Jeff's Blog
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By Jeff Davis on
2/21/2008
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 State Sen. Dick Day (R, Owatonna) did a marvelous job of arguing against the massive transportation bill tonight. Here are excepts of his statements:
The Pawlenty-Molnau administration has invested more in transportation in Minnesota than any other administration in the state's history. In their very first year in office they successfully sponsored the largest ever transportation package: $800 million for more than 200 highway projects throughout the state, $100 million for road maintenance and safety, and $40 million for transit.
Thanks to the work we have done, congestion has gone down, from a peak of 293 miles in 2003 to 267 miles in 2006, according to a brand new study by the Department of Transportation.
In 2006 we also had the least number of fatalities since World War II (482).
A list of the Pawlenty-Molnau Major Highway Projects in the Twin Cities includes:
- I-94/I-694 from Brooklyn Blvd to I-494
- Hwy 100 north of I-394
- I-394 HOV lane conversion to MnPASS
- I-394 westbound auxiliary lane from Louisiana Ave to Hwy 169
- I-494 from France Ave to Hwy 212
- I-494 from Hwy 5 to Carlson Parkway
- I-494 first portion of Wakota Bridge
- I-94 from McKnight Rd to Hwy 120
- Hwy 100 auxiliary lanes from Hwy 7 to I-394 Hwy 169 at Anderson Lakes Parkway and Pioneer Trail
In greater Minnesota, numerous projects have been completed as well:
- Hwy 371 north of Little Falls
- Hwy 53 in Duluth
- Hwy 52 in Rochester
- Hwy 63 in Rochester
- Hwy 14 from Janesville to Waseca
- Interchange on Hwy 10 at Hwy 32 in Clay County Interchange on Hwy 169 at Hwy 19 near Henderson Hwy 23 through Spicer Hwy 336 from I-94 to Hwy 10 in Moorhead Main Avenue Bridge in Moorhead
Jesse Ventura was the one who reduced tab fees as his part of the three-way budget deal, taking millions out of transportation funding.
We currently spend $298 million dollars every biennium on transit, subsidizing the 4% of people who don't drive cars and don't want to pay the cost of their own transportation. We learned from Sen. Dibble on the floor last night that they have a $30 million shortfall this year that we're going to have to cover. Sen. Day suggested raising fares and taking tickets, which they don't do now. He said, but I can't corroborate, that 50% of the rides are at night and on weekends. I think that may still be true but it's old information.
Sen. Day talked about the 33,000 jobs that this bill is supposedly going to create. He spoke with FlatIron who have about 350 workers on the ground and may hire 100 or more additional workers this summer to complete this $350 million project. Sen. Day speculated that Sen. Murphy must be bringing bricks, 40 bricks at a time. in by rickshaw in order to hire 33,000 construction workers. The Democrats used a federal formula to come up with their numbers, and in fact only 19% or 6,200 of those jobs will go to construction workers. Over 47% (15,500) are indirect jobs such as suppliers of equipment and materials, and 34% (11,200) will be created or supported by the previous workers spending their money for fast food or a pair of shoes.
He also mentioned all the transportation packages he has authored in the past which variously raised the gas tax a nickel, imposed a new car surcharge, raised revenue from slots (he said, we all know why that never passed, but he didn't say outright: a DFL bought and paid for by the tribes), and what we called a light rail TIF which would have captured some of the increased property value from areas along the Hiawatha line--which is in the bill as a captured value study. And last year he carried the governor's bonding bill, which leveraged the MVST money to get $1.7 billion in bonds. None of these ideas satisfied the DFL at the time, but they have all appeared in one form or another in the 2007 and 2008 transportation bill.
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Comments (1)
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