Strib Letter: Pay More Taxes

Paging Jason Lewis! Minnesota's Mr. Right to the white courtesy phone!

Apparently there is no problem with taxes in Minnesota... other than the problem that we do not pay enough taxes.

That according to a reader of the Star-Tribune.

Under-funding for the common good has to stop

Thank you, John S. Adams. Your Dec. 8 column on budget planning should be required reading by the governor, the Legislature and the antithetically named Taxpayers League.

For too long now, since President Ronald Reagan nationally, and Govs. Jesse Ventura and Tim Pawlenty at the state level, our leaders have promoted tax cuts and "no new taxes" as the utopian ideal. Actually, the reverse is true.

Ironically, the people most likely to trumpet American exceptionalism are the very same people who do not want to fund America. At some point, for example, the absence of additional public funding for our colleges and universities will price our future doctors, engineers, et al., out of the market at a time when places like China and India are becoming increasingly competitive in these areas. And the idea at the state level that we must continually cut taxes for business-friendly purposes has always been wrong on its face. If it were true, all businesses long ago would have moved to the low-tax states. In actuality, it's the higher-tax states that attract business because it shows the electorate is willing to finance and maintain the infrastructure -- from education to transportation -- necessary for the operation of successful businesses.

If we continue to under-fund for the common good to the extent we have for the last 40 years, we can be sure that American (or Minnesota) exceptionalism will be relegated to the dustbin of history in the not too distant future.

TOM OBERT, ALEXANDRIA, MINN.

Uh, yeah.

Say Tom... if you were paid $50,000 annually, but you had expenses for $75,000 would you simply say you were not paid enough and demand that your ungratful employer cough up the money?

After all, it isn't your fault that you spend more than you earn, right?


Additional insight gems from Tom Obert:
Another Tom Obert letter to the Strib.

Anti-Strib (specifically Brent) on a Tom Obert letter to the Strib. (Tom Obert doesn't understand that roads are used for the market much more than Governor Turnbuckle's light-rail... unless Mr. Obert often sees folks hauling cargo on the people-killing Hiawatha line.)

More from Tom Obert.

Following Guns, Smokes, and Fat

Who would have thought that after our government hand-wringers started wagging their official fingers at guns, tobacco, and fat they would focus on a new target?

SF Considers a Tax on Sugary Drinks
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- For years, the idea of taxing soda to beat back obesity has been tossed around in medical circles. But now, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is proposing a tax on beverages high in fructose corn syrup.

Newsom says obesity accounts for tens of millions of dollars in city health care costs. He cites a recent San Francisco Health Department survey that found nearly a quarter of the city's 5th, 7th and 9th graders were overweight and that high sugar drinks make up a tenth of a kid's daily calorie count.

Newsom reportedly wants all big box retailers and chain drug stores to pay into his new "Shape up San Francisco" program, which started this past summer with a walking regimen.

This comes as the state of California is considering slapping caffeine-infused sodas, and energy drinks with warning labels, saying consumption can contribute to diabetes.

If I were interested in changing the subject, I'd wonder aloud whether or not Mayor Newsom wants to tax adultery.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's re-election campaign manager resigned Wednesday after confronting the mayor about an affair Newsom had with his wife while she worked in the mayor's office, City Hall sources said.

Alex Tourk, 39, who served as Newsom's deputy chief of staff before becoming his campaign manager in September, confronted the mayor after his wife, Ruby Rippey-Tourk, told him of the affair as part of a rehabilitation program she had been undergoing for substance abuse, said the sources, who had direct knowledge of Wednesday's meeting.

He even looked for treatment for alcohol abuse following that story.

The mayor also faced scrutiny late last year for bringing a then 20-year-old woman out on dates, where she was reportedly seen drinking what appeared to be alcohol.

However, that is irrelevant. (Even if it was a media-dodge.)

Back to the topic. The mayor doesn't like kids drinking sweet drinks.

After banning plastic bags from chain grocery stores and bottled water from City Hall...

Now Newsom wants the soda sellers - primarily big-box retailers and chain drugstores - to chip in for his "Shape Up San Francisco" program and for media campaigns to discourage the soda habit.

The size of the fee (it won't be billed as a tax) is being worked out, but it may include a sweetener - namely giving the stores some other kind of fee break.

A fee... not a tax. Hmmm. Governor Pawlenty, call on Line One from San Fran.

"Shape Up San Francisco"? This is part of government's responsibility... how? If he were really interested in the health of citizens maybe they would focus on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases.

According to the press release from last Spring:

The Mayor will issue an Executive Order adopting the Shape Up at Work Standards and directing City departments to incorporate the standards as well as worksite wellness into each department’s goals and objectives.

I can hear Soucheray's bit with Buddy or the German right now.

For Christ's sake, just do what the government used to do, if you need to do anything at all... have the Department of Education hand out fitness awards for kids who aren't fat.

With all of that clap-trap, can you guess what else he likes (other than his employees' wives)?

...an unprecedented program called "San Francisco Health Access Plan," which Newsom hammered out with labor, business, and city leaders. More than 82,000 San Franciscans who lack health insurance and do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid stand to benefit. The majority are employed adults (children already have access to subsidized care); others are unemployed, self-employed, homeless, or have pre-existing conditions like diabetes, AIDS or cancer; some are even undocumented (yes: illegal) workers. Starting in early 2007, every uninsured San Franciscan can seek comprehensive primary care at the city's public and private clinics and hospitals, including top research facilities like the University of California at San Francisco. Coverage includes lab work, prescriptions, X rays, hospitalization and surgery. Annual funding for the $203 million program will come from re-routed city funds (including $104 million that now goes toward uninsured care via emergency rooms and clinics), business contributions and individual enrollment fees, which will be income-adjusted.

Newsom considers San Francisco's historic undertaking a "moral obligation," one that other city, state and federal officials have shirked. "We are implementing this. We're not waiting around," he told TIME. "It's no longer good enough to explain away our problem and to point fingers."...

• For what else is Mayor Newsom in favor? C'mon. You know the guy.
  Mayors Against Illegal Guns
• San Francisco as a sanctuary city and won't help feds on immigration raids
• Carbon tax
• Avoiding questions

[Mayor Newsom] called just about every lobbyist and special interest in town seeking money to defeat Proposition E, a ballot measure put before voters last month by his chief nemesis, Supervisor Chris Daly.

The measure, which lost, would have required Newsom to submit to a once-a-month "question time." According to records on file with the city Ethics Commission, Newsom raised some $194,000 to defeat it.

Although I'm breathing a sigh of relief for living in Minnesota... this stuff always seems to wash in with the tide eventually.

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.