To the Editor:
I was taught in my high school government class that political apathy is one of the biggest threats to democracy. Since then, I’ve paid close attention and care deeply about what happens in my community and this country.
Some of our current politicians care more about staying in office than the welfare of the citizens they represent. For example, Congressman Erik Paulsen. He was one of the individuals who authored the recent tax legislation.
There was a provision in an early version of the recent tax legislation called the Graduate School Tuition Waiver. This provision would have required graduate students to pay taxes on the value of their waived tuition, plus their actual salary. Consequently, instead of paying taxes on a teaching/research assistant’s salary of $25,000, some students would have been required to pay taxes based on approximately $65,000 of income. That provision made no sense and a graduate student could not afford to pay taxes on $65,000 while earning only $25,000.
I was incensed and did not understand how Erik Paulsen, my congressman, could support such an absurd provision. I called his Washington D.C. office and Eden Prairie office once a week for six straight weeks. During each conversation, I asked if someone on the congressman’s staff could either call me back or send me a letter with an explanation for this provision. They had six chances over six weeks to answer me and I never heard back.
If the Republican-led Congress had enacted this provision, it would have financially harmed thousands of American students. Erik Paulsen’s indifference regarding this issue and others leads me to one conclusion: It is time to replace Erik Paulsen with someone who will listen and respond to their constituents.
Brian Golob, Minnetonka
Minnetonka Sun-Sailor, July 3, 2018