Dan Wolgamott, economic illiterate

Based on DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott's statement in this article on the Minnesota state budget, it's painfully apparent that Rep. Wolgamott is an economic illiterate. In the article, Rep. Wolgamott said "We are being bold. We are raising taxes on those who can afford to chip in a little more." It's painful to listen to for multiple reasons. First and most importantly, raising tax rates rarely raises the amount of revenue that's forecast. The simple truth is that capital and labor are mobile. With South Dakota actively recruiting Minnesota businesses to relocate to their state, creating a new top marginal tax rate is a loser from a policy standpoint. Next, higher tax rates cost employees pay increases, better benefits, more job security and promotions. Hint to Rep. Wolgamott: Higher tax rates reduces business expansion. Third, higher taxes that go toward increased spending on government schools is a foolish idea. The achievement gap keeps getting wider. It's gotten worse thanks to the DFL's lockdown. More parents are opting out of government schools and putting their children in private, pod or parochial schools or homeschooling.

The budget includes an expansion to the working family credit and the renter's credit and a change to subtract unemployment benefits from taxable income, Doty said. It also includes an 11% tax increase on the 0.7% of couples in the state who earn more than $1 million or single people earning more than $500,000 a year.

If Tim Walz and the DFL think that successful companies will stay in Minnesota, they're kidding themselves. I won't automatically say no to raising taxes. However, I'll say no if the tax increase isn't tied to major K-12 reform isn't part of the package. Without robust school choice, a tax hike is dead. Period.

Amy Fredin, a St. Cloud State University professor, asked for higher education to be prioritized in the budget. "I feel that higher ed has been a little bit underfunded, to say the least," Fredin said. "This is the prime opportunity to get students back to school. Whether they're traditional students or returning adult students, we are here for them and we want them to be our future leaders." Lori Kloos, vice president of administration at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, seconded Fredin's comments. Kloos asked that the House fund the full budget request from the Minnesota State system. The House proposal freezes tuition at those schools. "We're navigating our way through the pandemic. We think workforce development is going to be critical for economic recovery. And we want to make sure we're offering a quality education," Kloos said. "We just need a little bit of flexibility."

MnSCU reform is essential. MnSCU was started in the 1990s. It was ineffective then. It's outdated in the 21st Century.