Tax proposal from President Trump, Congressional Republicans would eliminate tax deduction for one-third of Minnesota taxpayers, hurting residents in every county (as detailed below)
While 80 percent of the benefits would go to the top 1 percent, 900,000 Minnesota families would lose an average $12,000 tax deduction every year; totaling over $12 billion statewide
Credit: REUTERS/Eric Miller
ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Mark Dayton called on President Donald Trump and Republican members of Congress to abandon their tax proposal which would eliminate on an average a $12,000 tax deduction for 900,000 primarily middle-class Minnesota families. These tax deductions provide hard-working Minnesota families about $12 billion in tax benefits every year.
The following is a statement from Governor Mark Dayton:
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement honoring the legacy of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of Wellstone’s tragic death:
“I was only a senior at Eden Prairie High School when I joined Paul Wellstone’s first campaign for U.S. Senate. And as he did for many people, Sen. Wellstone inspired me to pursue a political career dedicated to the principle that ‘we all do better when we all do better.’”
“Paul never separated the life he led from that iconic ideal. He represented the good of politics and the joy of politics. He always came back to the fact that politics is about one simple thing: improving people’s lives.”
“In these troubled times, we must remember Paul’s legacy. We must seek common ground and work together to improve the lives of Minnesotans. We must stand up, and we must keep fighting.”
The following column by Sirish Samba was posted on the Sun-Sailor website October 18, 2017:
Sirish Samba is a Minnetonka business owner.
I am convinced that the best opportunities come at the most challenging times.
The year 2008 was not the best year for small business owners. The Minnesota economy, like that in many states, was hit hard by the Great Recession and many companies faced the reality of insecure funding streams.
Our company, Sambatek, was no exception. We were primarily a land development/municipal engineering firm that specialized in designing retail stores, apartment buildings, hotels and municipal infrastructure projects. Our services were not of much use in an economic bust.
But as a civil engineer, I was trained to see the solution that might be hidden to others. And I saw the recession as an opportunity to grow our company in a new direction. We decided to create a new specialty in transportation, including public transportation.
It has been almost 10 years and we have never looked back.
By 2014, we were the 48th fastest growing company in the country, with offices in Minnesota and North Dakota. We could not have become as successful as we have without a devoted staff and, strange as it may seem, sustained public investment in our public transportation systems.
When our government prioritizes public transportation, it not only keeps our systems running, but it spawns job creation in companies all along the supply chain.
Our firm employs 100 professionals in what we often refer to as the “Sambatek family.” Plain and simple, we would not be able to provide sustainable careers for these individuals without local, state and federal investment in public transportation.
Currently, we are working on several projects with Metro Transit including the Blue Line Extension and Southwest LRT projects. Not only do these projects provide jobs for hardworking Minnesotans, but they will spur economic growth in our state once they are completed.
Already, the Southwest LRT corridor has experienced more than $515 million in new development in anticipation of the project’s completion, according to a report by the American Public Transportation Association. Once it’s done, estimates hold that the line will create 16,600 jobs near the new stations and 18,500 jobs in downtown Minneapolis.
The Blue Line Extension corridor’s development has grown from $358 million in spring 2016 to $489 million today. It is estimated that, once completed, the Blue Line Extension’s 11 new stations will mean 4,600 new jobs along the route – a 30-percent growth for the region, not to mention the 20,000 jobs created downtown.
So when the federal government invests in public transportation, it’s doing much more than creating a rail in a vacuum. It is supporting small businesses, creating jobs within the supply chain, and facilitating long-term economic growth and long-term jobs.
When politicians fund public transportation, they are investing in our communities and in economic development.
Both the Southwest and the Blue Line Extension LRT rely on several different funding streams, including federal investment. They are both recipients of Capital Investment Grants (CIG grants), which come from the federal government.
Yet federal allocation for public transportation is far from secure. I am calling on Congressman Erik Paulsen and others to designate vital transportation resources in the federal budget next year.
Our politicians often speak about their focus on job creation and economic growth. They can act on these priorities and create real change in their districts and across the country with designated funding for public transportation.
After all, it is more than just the transit systems that benefit from this investment. Our employees would not have jobs without federal investment in Metro Transit’s system.
It was federal investment in public transportation that set our company on a pathway of growth back in 2008 – and what has kept us successful all these years.
I hope that if our politicians truly care about job creation and supporting small businesses in our country, they will support and fund public transportation.
The following article by Mike Hughlett was posted on the StarTribune website October 16, 2017:
NOTE: The Trump Administration is focusing on old energy as countries around the world are fast out pacing the U.S.A. on clean energy.
As wind and solar energy have grown, they’ve created a tide of jobs nationwide in fields from construction to manufacturing. Renewable energy jobs, most of which are in wind and solar, grew by 16 percent to around 6,200 in Minnesota from 2015 to 2016, according to a recent study by Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, an industry-led nonprofit.
Gallery: Outside the nacelle of a Vestas wind turbine, 300 feet in the air, Will Osborn, left and Shane Keck serviced a wind sensor that was out of alignment while Chris Berg worked inside. Credit: GLEN STUBBE – STAR TRIBUNE
SAUK CENTRE, Minn. – Golden cornfields stretched out 24 stories below Will Osborn, the autumn landscape dotted with silos and farmhouses.
Of course, he didn’t have much time to gaze. Planted atop a wind turbine — one of a few dozen here — Osborn was diagnosing a weather sensor.
Osborn’s job, wind technician, is the fastest growing occupation in the nation. As utilities rapidly increase the amount of power they get from wind farms, workers willing and able to climb hundreds of feet to keep turbines running smoothly are in high demand. Students in wind power training programs in Minnesota are getting jobs as soon as they graduate or even before. Continue reading “For clean-energy jobs, sky’s the limit”
[ST. PAUL, MN] – Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement today in response to disparaging comments made about Minnesota workers in a recent New York Times Magazine story on mining:
“My brother, Trevor, is a hardworking carpenter. Every morning before the sun comes up, he wakes up, packs up his tools in his truck, and drives through Minnesota to a job site. He works long hours performing back-breaking work to put bread on his table for his family. When I read the disrespectful remarks made about workers in the New York Times article on mining, I immediately thought of Trevor.”
“These judgmental comments wrongfully disparage thousands of hard-working Minnesotans. There’s no question that the issue of mining in Northern Minnesota is a contentious one. But there’s no room in the debate for sharp-tongued attacks on Minnesotans who work hard every day to provide for their families and support our state’s economy.”
“As the campaign manager for the landmark Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment in 2008, I know firsthand how important it is to protect our natural resources for future generations. I also know that there are few people who value the environment more than the men and women who hunt, fish, and hike outside their homes on the Iron Range.”
“Here in Minnesota, we value civility. We treat each other with respect. We must keep this debate healthy, productive, and focused on the issue at hand. Because at the end of the day, we all want the same thing: a better life for our family and a brighter future for our state.”
Republican-Controlled Congress has not restored funding for a critical children’s health program after missing its Sept. 30 deadline
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Chairman Ken Martin today called on Representatives Erik Paulsen, Jason Lewis, and Tom Emmer along with their colleagues in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to step up and take immediate action to fund a critical children’s health insurance program.
“The health of 125,000 Minnesota kids hangs in the balance—and Republicans continue failing to take action,” DFL Chairman Martin said. “Amid their frantic efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans dropped the ball on funding a program that provides health coverage to millions of children across the country. They must make up for the time they wasted, do the right thing, and take immediate action to protect Minnesota kids.”Continue reading “125,000 Minnesota Kids Still Waiting for Republican-Controlled Congress to Save Their Health Coverage”
The following commentary by Gov. Mark Dayton was posted on the StarTribune website September 26, 2017:
I didn’t leave legislators cash-starved or try to destroy a coequal branch. I just want to revise a tax bill to keep the state on firm fiscal footing.
Ever since I vetoed some of the Minnesota Legislature’s funding for the next two years, Republican legislative leaders have been screaming that I am trying to abolish their branch of government. They sued me, claiming that I had acted unconstitutionally by denying them enough money to “survive” until next February’s legislative session, when they will be able to restore their full funding.
In the Legislature’s brief filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court just last week, they again swore that my vetoes had denied them enough money to operate until next February. In addition, a group of Republican legislators wrote in these pages last Friday that “ … the governor used his line-item veto power to eliminate funding for the Legislature, effectively abolishing the legislative branch.” Continue reading “Dayton: Republican claims about my vetoes simply aren’t true”
Tuesday, Sept. 26, is Voter Registration Day. This nationally recognized day was created to boost voter registration numbers and raise awareness about the importance of voting.
In Minnesota, we know voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. That’s why we have the highest voter turnout rate in the country. Yet even with this claim to fame, many of us still miss a key opportunity to have our voices heard: Odd-year elections.
Presidential and statewide elections take place on even-numbered years. These elections get a lot of attention and Minnesota voters generally head to the polls in droves. But elections that take place during odd-numbered years, often for municipal level positions, see lower turnout. Minnesota’s voter turnout for the 2016 election, when the presidential race was the top of the ticket, was 74.72 percent. In 2015, the last odd-year election, it was only 50.51 percent. Continue reading “DFL Chairman Martin on voter registration day a reminder to vote in odd-year elections”
The following article by Brian Bakst was posted on the Minnesota Public Radio website September 8, 2017:
Minnesota’s pitch for the new Amazon.com headquarters will be “dynamic,” the state’s top economic development official said Friday. But don’t expect details of what’s on the table to be made public.
Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Shawntera Hardy met privately with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and an executive from Greater MSP, a group that promotes business growth in the Twin Cities. They’re in the early stages of discussions about landing Amazon’s second North American headquarters. Continue reading “Amazon HQ bid to be hush-hush affair”
The following article by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger was posted on the Pioneer Press website September 8, 2017:
Credit: Steve Mullis, MPR
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday decided that Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of the House and Senate budgets earlier this year was constitutional.
“We hold that the governor’s exercise of his line item veto authority … was constitutional,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote. “This conclusion, however, does not end the matter.”
