Strib Letter: Go Ahead, Pay More

Again, we are asked to pay more, more, more. By who?

Do you really need to ask?

Willing to pay for a better Minnesota...

Lieutenant Governor Molnau: For the record I would be willing to pay a bridge safety tax of 35 cents for every gallon of gas I purchase. Don't underestimate the willingness of Minnesotans to invest in what really matters.


LARRY WICHLINSKI, ST. PAUL

Glad to hear you've volunteered, Larry. Go ahead... start paying more willingly. Just don't expect to impose your desires on everyone else.

On a related note:

An Aug. 7 letter writer asks, "Why is our money being spent on things that aren't absolutely necessary?"

Given the redundancy of modifying "necessary" with "absolutely," we can deduce that the writer is pretty serious about putting a stop to all these frivolous purchases like theaters, museums, park, sports venues and light rail. All that is "necessary" (absolutely) is food, water and probably, in Minnesota, shelter.

The writer should understand that the other amenities are what attract businesses to a city, augmented by a reputation for excellent medical care and good schools. People with good salaries create a solid tax base. Investment generates revenue. Professionals want to take the kids to Twins game, or spend an afternoon at a special exhibition or see a live theater production or even an opera. If we don't provide that type of environment, they can always go somewhere that does aspire to be world class.

But wait! I have a better idea! The world, and even the United States, has plenty of grim and joyless cities, deprived of investment, destined to mediocrity. Instead of sucking all the life, beauty and livability out of the Twin Cities, why doesn't the writer just move to one of those cities? Everybody wins.


ANNTOINETTE GURVIN, BURNSVILLE

Here's a better idea, Anntoinette: instead of making taxpayers front for unnecessary items that you consider investments in sparks of joy, why not start investing yourself. Pool your resources. Wrangle up funding. Collect donations of money and volunteer work. Why should the taxpayers cough it up?

You folks want to spread the pain of paying for everything to all of us. You want us to pay for your joy.