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May 28, 2021
Quote of the Week: “In America today the principle that drove the civil-rights movement – equality for all – is fast giving way to the view that race must be a dominant factor in every decision from college admission to eligibility for a federal farm program to the makeup of corporate boards to who gets priority for a COVID vaccine.”
Quote of the Week: “He rejects Church teachings on abortion, marriage, sex and gender and is hostile to religious liberty. He embraces the most pro-abortion, and anti-religious liberty public policy program in history. The case against honoring him is immeasurably stronger than it was against honoring President Obama.”
Quote of the Week: “Why ain’t nobody mad about a 10-year-old, my grandson, fighting for his life? Because a cop didn’t shoot him, is that why?”
In This Issue:
OPAQUE So, here we are again. The regular session of the Minnesota legislature has adjourned and we have no budget, even though that’s the reason the legislature convened back in January. The governor and legislators have a little over a month until the new fiscal year starts July 1. Any budget items left undone will result in a government shutdown in that budget area. This isn’t the first time taxpayers have been in this situation. In fact, it’s been the norm, not the exception. And it isn’t any person or political party. It seems regardless of who’s leading and who’s in the majority, budgets don’t make deadline, which creates two issues. The first issue is that the work doesn’t get done on time, which isn’t a big deal. This publication would rather see Republicans fight for their principles instead of capitulating simply to meet some artificial deadline. Principles are worth fighting for. If things need to be shut down to prevent onerous and outrageous tax increases, so be it. Minnesota is at a tipping point, and smaller, less intrusive government is worth fighting for. In fact, it’s mandatory if we’re to keep from becoming the next Illinois. On the other hand, the lack of transparency is disturbing. These negotiations should be held in public, where taxpayers can weigh in and see the process. Crafting 99% of state spending behind closed doors, where only small handful of legislators (or just two) are participating is simply bad public policy. Republicans have the right ideas and the right agenda. They should welcome a public debate and negotiation. They should be willing to put their ideas up against DFL ideas at any public place at any time. Let the world compare their ideas to those of Tim Walz. The citizens of this state deserve better than the process that is currently playing out. VILE THREATS There may be no bigger domestic threat to America than Senate Majority Chuck Schumer. He personifies his party’s increasing willingness to publicly threaten our venerated political institutions in the name of political power. Think about what he and the Democrats in Washington have done and threatened to do since winning their narrow majorities in the last election. Statehood for Washington, D.C. which would alter the balance of power in the Senate. The constant threat to abrogate the filibuster, a key parliamentary device designed to forge consensus and compromise. (By the way, how did repealing the filibuster for judicial nominees work out, Chuck?) The bill that recently passed the House that would federalize elections for the first time in American history, repealing the election laws of all 50 states, especially those in red states. And now we read of the threat to “pack” the Supreme Court with new justices if the current court overturns the horrible Roe v. Wade decision. Here we have the leader of the Senate threatening the Judicial Branch if that separate, co-equal branch refuses to rule a particular way on a case. If a drug dealer or foreign power threatened the American court system this way, the perps would be arrested straight away and locked up for a long, long time. Democrats deserve a thorough rebuke at the polls in 2022. They fared rather poorly in 2020, barely retaining and eking out slim majorities that certainly didn’t provide a mandate for radical government. Vile threats, indeed. TAXASOTA An interesting study was published recently that calculated how much taxes a person can expect to pay over their lifetime in each state in the union. The study created a methodology that studied the income and tax obligations of an “average” person as their income and spending is applied to both the federal tax code and the tax code of each state for income, property, and sales taxes. Those tax payments over a lifetime were calculated as follows for select states: New Jersey: $931,698 (1) Illinois: $693,792 (10) Minnesota: $649,130 (14) South Dakota: $387,013 (35) North Carolina: $362,634 (40) West Virginia: $321,023 (50) Life of Tax: How Much Tax is Paid Over a Lifetime | Self. Thus, in order to happy to pay for a better Minnesota, one must be willing to pony up an extra $262,117 over neighboring South Dakota. To pick Minnesota over North Carolina, one would need to part with an extra $286,496. And Joe Biden and the DFL want to raise these taxes even higher – on everyone. |
 Harold Hamilton
Welcome to my web site!
I created this website in response to governmental waste and abuse in Anoka County. Many taxpayers don’t know that our local governments spend millions of tax dollars every year on things like public relations teams, lobbyists, and junkets to places like Hawaii. Since there seemed to be no place to turn for the “other side” of these issues, I created the Anoka County Watchdog. My intent is to create a one-stop-shop where concerned taxpayers can find fact-supported information and other resources to counter the governmental machine. Many people want to confront their elected officials regarding waste and abuse but feel they don’t have the information they need to make an effective argument. This web site offers that information. Some of our elected officials in Anoka County have become arrogant and unresponsive, forgetting that they work for the very people who put them in office. It’s high time to hold them accountable for their decisions. Sincerely, Harold E. Hamilton (harold@anokacountywatchdog.com) Email: harold@anokacountywatchdog.com
US Mail: Anoka County Watchdog C/O K Solutions LLC 3083 Victoria Street Roseville, MN 55113 (Anonymous submissions accepted!) |
