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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
2. If Minneapolis won’t act responsibly, then House Republicans will do it for them.
3. The Minnesota Legislature: Making the mistake before Congress can.
4. Congressional Democrats do hypocrisy, too.
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot from 9 – 11am when David will be joined by Robert Kagan and Phil Krinkie. Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author – most recently of Dangerous Nation: America in the World, 1607-1898, will discuss President Bush’s Wednesday night address to the nation and what chance, if any, 21,500 additional troops have of securing Baghdad [also, and apropos of nothing, be sure to read Kagan’s, “I Am Not a Straussian”].
Krinkie, a Lifetime Best Friend of the Taxpayer as a state legislator from Lino Lakes, will stop by and give us his thoughts on the 2007 legislative session.
2. An unfortunate but necessary step for the city of Minneapolis.
One of the main tenets of conservatism (not that compassionate conservatism bunk but the real kind that means something) is support for the idea of local control (it’s even part of the Taxpayers League’s mission statement). Unfortunately the League’s mission statement was written long before Mayor Rybak and his merry band of buffoons booked a one-way ticket for Minneapolis to Detroit. So with the assistance of the House Republican’s crime bill that was introduced this week – which would require increased state aid be tied to public safety spending – I’m now establishing the Minneapolis corollary to the Taxpayers League’s mission statement: We believe in local control for every city in the state except Minneapolis. If they want increased Local Government Aid payments, then it’s time to start realigning their priorities. They have repeatedly proven they have no idea what they’re doing so let’s give someone else a shot.
3. For the last time, the only proper minimum wage is $0.
The economic fantasy fairies and their reality-defying magic pixie dust struck again this week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the first federal minimum wage increase in nearly a decade. The wage floor, which will move from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next 26 months, was supported by unions and approved by 315 representatives with serious deficiencies in their economics education. As is generally the case, John Stossel has no problem speaking truth to silliness. I guess it’s lucky for local businesses that Minnesota made this mistake a year ago.
4. I guess it must be a leadership thing.
As mentioned above and widely reported elsewhere, the first increase in the federal minimum since 1997 was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. What wasn’t so widely reported was a notable exemption from the new wage mandate: American Somoa. So why would that be, sez you? Well sez I, besides manufacturing delicious Girl Scout cookies, 75% of the island’s work force is employed by StarKist tuna. StarKist tuna is owned by the Del Monte Corporation who conveniently have their corporate HQ located in (wait for it, wait for it) Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
How will the Gophers humiliate the Badgers this weekend? Two words: Kyle Okposo.
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota's E Update is written by Mark Giga
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