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Select a Topic (in alphabetic order)
CRIME AND JUSTICE
Hate Crimes - Eliminate all legislation pertaining to hate crimes. Call it what it is: murder, assault, harassment. We have sufficient laws on the books to prosecute any offender regardless of their race, sexual preference, religion or other distinction. To place yet another label, albeit justified, will not prevent or stop these actions. Increased penalties may be needed in some cases, while reduced penalties for some crimes may be warranted.
Criminals must repay their victims -- this allows people and our communities to heal, and will lead to true justice. To that end, I will eliminate divisive laws, and ensure that a criminal's actions are punished, not his thoughts.
Violent Criminals - Allow families to reclaim their streets and neighborhoods by ensuring that violent criminals serve their full jail time.
Mandatory Sentencing - Allow judges the discretion to vary sentences. The circumstances of a crime may be very important!
ECONOMY AND JOBS
Minnesota's future and our prosperity depend on jobs and our economy. There are three goals and objectives to promote our economy: jobs, jobs and more jobs. Fiscal responsibility with efficient government must replace the tax-and-spend policies of the past few years. Government cannot create wealth; private enterprise can. No state has ever taxed itself into prosperity, but Minnesota is trying hard. We are now ranked the 4th highest taxed state in the nation.
A healthy business community with a fair tax structure will stimulate the economy. Business-friendly states attract more businesses, encourage economic growth and increase the job market with higher paying jobs. A government often restricts employers' growth by burying them in rules and regulations, which in turn drives up the price of goods and services.
Many states, like Minnesota, have a lethal tax "cocktail" of local income taxes, punitive business taxes, high property taxes, and out-of-control local government, which is more interested in regulating behavior than the real issues government should provide. Progress must come not from regulation. Instead of utilizing regulations, progress must come from the accumulating capital. This, in turn, makes investment in new labor-saving devices possible, allowing for increased production and wages.
A credible governor who keeps his promises can partner with business leaders to promote economic growth in Minnesota.
In Minnesota our top 5 employers in order are:
1. The State Government, 56,000
2. Federal Government, 35,000
3. Target, 32,000
4. U of M, 31,000
5. Mayo Clinic, 24,500
According to our state web site, one out of every six employees works for our state, local or federal government. The average salary for a government worker is $46,270, while a private sector employee earns $36,778. This translates to a 20 percent higher wage, paid for with our tax dollars.
The Old Boys Answer:
Meddling with private business is business as usual in Minnesota. Excessive mandates and more bureaucratic red tape are added to the cost of doing business in our state each year. This past legislative session added $559 million worth of new fees and fee increases for 2006 and 2007, the largest being a "health impact fee" of seventy five cents per pack of cigarettes.
Under our current Republican watch, Minnesota business owners have seen:
- skyrocketing property taxes
- increased "fees" across the board
- gambling expansion proposals
- mandated school policies without sufficient funding
- double digit tuition increases for higher education
- publicly funded stadium proposals
- increased drug and gang violence
Instead of solving Minnesota's spending problem, our legislators refused to close the checkbook and added another 8% to our budget.
Don't let the Democrats off the hook; they, too, are part of the problem. Their option was to identify the richest of the rich and create a new tax bracket they could get their hands on. Their option included not the 8% budget increase we got, they needed 11%. Again, our children were run up the flagpole in the Democrats' attempt to get more funds for education and health care. Plain and simple, they define government's purpose as redistribution of income from one individual to another. We can no longer reward them with our votes.
The Answer:
Sue Jeffers doesn't need a poll to know what issues voters care about. Sue stands for individual liberty, personal responsibility, and less government. We mean business, not business as usual, in Minnesota politics. A vote for Sue Jeffers is a vote to take back your life, your government, and your tax dollars. The games played by the "old boys" made our state a joke across the nation with our partial state shutdown, their insider's game where few set the rules and rules change on a whim. We cannot call a tax increase a fee, an 8 percent budget increase is not controlling government spending, and one and even two special sessions each year on top of a partial state shutdown that most didn't notice unless they had to use a highway rest strop is not what our state government should be about. Increased crime, skyrocketing health care, LRT that will not solve our traffic problems, more regulations, and not one, not two but three publicly funded stadiums are top priorities with the "old boys."
TABOR - Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Constitutions were written to protect citizens from government. Minnesota needs a Taxpayer Bill of Rights to set a limit on government growth at the state and the local level. Any increase in government revenues and spending above population growth and the rate of inflation must be approved. A taxpayer bill of rights will seek to slow government growth, not reverse it.
Citizens will have an active role in the budget process. The legislators and public officials will have to justify expenditures, while making them spend our tax dollars in more efficient and cost effective ways. The Taxpayer Bill Of Rights redefines government spending as a basic good and makes sure it takes a smaller portion of income as our economy grows.
Small Business and the Minimum Wage:
Small businesses are the backbone and lifeblood of our economy, accounting for three-fourths of all new jobs created. The new minimum wage increase last year placed an excessive burden on many small businesses. Rather than increasing jobs, it eliminates lower paying jobs while attracting untrained workers to our state. Businesses are forced to pay higher wages to train these workers. The wages forced on the private market will soon be reflected in higher wages in all businesses, without increased productivity or experience.
Rural Minnesota
Thirty percent of our state's population lives in rural Minnesota; almost half are over age 65. As Minnesota shifts away from manufacturing jobs toward more technical, global, service-oriented and knowledge-based jobs, businesses and employees in rural Minnesota face serious challenges. These challenges are not insurmountable. Ready access to capital, a willing market, and well-trained workers with a business-friendly state can solve these challenges.
Minnesota owns roughly 1.1 million acres of state land and adds about 5,000 acres per year. As the state acquires more land, the concern of lost tax revenues is justified. Property owner concerns are often ignored, with some counties in Minnesota refusing to allow private landowners the ability to sell to the state. State payments in-lieu-of-taxes to compensate for lost revenues can ease some of the fears of economic hardship.
Adding to the problem...
Adding to the cost of doing business, we must address the lawsuits business owners face. Did you know the trial lawyers as an "industry" grossed 50 percent more revenue than Microsoft in 2001? Trial lawyers successfully sued so many businesses that their combined earnings eclipsed Coke's revenues by $22 billion. That figure does not include the tobacco settlement, most contract and shareholder litigation, most punitive damages, or defensive medicine. Trial lawyers are leading the Political Action Committee donor listed to the DFL.
Judges must throw out frivolous lawsuits--McDonald's coffee lawsuit, obesity lawsuits--and the exorbitant payments that go with them: Ed McMahon, who won $7.2 million claiming mold killed his dog. A NY'er who laid down in front of a train and lived wins $9.9 million. A patient who jumped off a parking garage but lived and collected $9 million. A Philadelphia man who tried to hang himself in jail and sued the city for $50 million.
Does it scare you to read warning labels on a product you are using? An iron with the warning label: never iron clothes while they are being worn. Toilet: unsafe for drinking. Electric wood router: not intended for use as a dental drill. Sleeping pills: may cause drowsiness. My personal favorite, a curling iron: not intended to be used on eyelashes.
EDUCATION
Excellence in education is imperative to prepare our kids for the future. Minnesota must promise to deliver a good education to all children regardless of where they live or the wealth of their parents. We need to slow the growth of educational spending by getting back to the basics. We cannot continue to expect our schools to raise our children; parents must.
Education funding often does not make it into the classroom; instead, it is squandered through government bureaucracy. Education reform is not enough. We have to let our teachers teach and reward them for a job well done. Real rewards for success and true penalties for failure are needed to reform the system.
Our urban school inability to graduate students who are academically prepared to become productive members of society is clear. Minneapolis ranks second behind only Washington DC with 50% of the black males graduating from high school. This appalling statistic should never happen in Minnesota.
No longer can we teach to the lowest common denominator; no longer can we allow disruptive students to impede the teaching of our students who want to learn. School districts, teachers, parents, and students must be held accountable for the success and the failure of our school system.
Vouchers or Tax Credits:
School vouchers allow talented students to attend schools that challenge them and allow underperforming students to find schools that better meet their needs. Vouchers return control of children's educations to those who both know their needs best and are most likely to have their best interests at heart: their parents. School choice substantially improves the performance of public schools.
Choice in education will lead to smaller schools that can and will compete for our children. Schools will have to perform better to win students. Some will specialize in math and science and some will focus on art and literature. Satellite television and the internet to interactive media, the options will be endless. Gone will be the debates about sex education and religion that cannot be solved by a single curriculum.
Working to be part of the solution:
Today bureaucrats decide when children will attend school, how long they will attend, who will teach them and what they will learn. Parents and teachers should make these decisions. I have the courage to stand up to the powerful special interest groups, to work with the unions, to eliminate over-regulated and wasteful bureaucracy so we can improve our schools.
Parents are the most likely to know their children's individual needs and have strong incentives to choose the right schools. Their voice must be heard. There is little doubt if parents had an affordable option they would not send their children to public school. Parents and teachers must be empowered with decisions that include curriculum, textbook selections, admissions, retention, and disciplinary policies.
How much is enough?
Currently 41% of the general fund goes toward our education budget. The answer this past legislative session was to throw even more money into a system that gets a failing grade. In Minnesota, per pupil expenditures are about $8,000 in government funded schools. Private schools spend about half. Many studies exist to show no consistent relationship between higher spending and improvement in academic achievement.
School districts and high schools can become too large for a single curriculum to be best for most students. Powerful teachers unions charge hefty dues used largely for political campaigns. These unions can and do protect incompetency; the students ultimately pay the price for this failure.
Drugs-legal and illegal
Too many of our children are over-diagnosed, over-treated and over-drugged. We have seen a 300% increase in psychotropic drug use in 2-4 year old children between 1991-1995 (JAMA,2000). More money was spent on drugging our children than was spent on antibiotics or asthma medication. Thankfully, the schools can no longer force parents to drug their children, and passage of mental health screening in children under age 5 was defeated in the 2004 session. You can be sure this idea will return and it must be stopped.
Students who attend religious and secular private schools score higher on the NAEP (Clowes 2000), graduate at higher rates, and are twice as likely to attend and graduate from college than their public school peers in spite of spending half as much per student. Parents, teachers and students all report higher levels of satisfaction with private schools than with public schools. Unfortunately, middle and lower income parents cannot afford to pay tuition at private schools. Many magnet schools have long waiting lists.
There is not a simple solution to solve the problem of children being exposed to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, violence and sex. Old ideas do not work to protect our children or offer alternatives that include personal responsibility.
EMINENT DOMAIN
Our home is our castle, but our castle is under siege. Property rights are fundamental to America. They are the foundation for freedom and nothing touches people more personally than their home and their businesses.
The 5th Amendment provides for the right to own and control private property. Two limits on this use of power include that property can only be taken for public use and that property can only be taken with just compensation. Last year’s Supreme Court Kelo ruling made it constitutional for local governments to seize private property for private development.
The judges failed to defend our freedoms, and we can no longer believe they will protect them. We are safe from the government in our homes, but now our homes are not safe from the government. If government can make its decisions about private property based on what is best for government revenues, liberty is lost.
Eminent domain is the power of government to take land. We have seen the heavy-handed eminent domain tactics used on families and small businesses in Minnetonka, Duluth, New Brighton, Richfield, Brooklyn Center, St. Paul, Minneapolis and many other cities and counties in Minnesota.
Everyone in power loves eminent domain. The residents take a back seat to development and increasing the tax base. It will be up to our state legislators and local representatives to protect our rights, and there is no bigger champion of private property rights than me.
The middle and lower-income homeowners and small business owners are at the highest risk of having their property seized and bulldozed to make way for new developments. The beneficiaries are most likely to be citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process including large corporations and development firms.
Some states like Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Utah, Texas, Alabama, already passed laws protecting their citizens. Over 20 other states are discussing it. Minnesota needs to act now to pass legislation to protect our homeowners by setting limits on the power to take private property.
The Supreme Court may have ripped apart the Fifth Amendment, but it is up to us, "We the People", to repair it.
Asset forfeiture provisions used by the Drug Enforcement Agency, IRS, FBI, Coast Guard, Post Office, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife service, Securities and Exchange commission, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Customs, and Immigration affect individuals thousands of time every year. Over 3000 state and local governments have their own forfeiture laws as well as the 10,000 ED cases nationwide each year. Each began enforcement with a noble cause in mind but it is now spinning out of control as more people forget the Bill of Rights.
ENVIRONMENT
Minnesota is blessed with abundance. The North Star State, divided into 87 counties, covers almost 87,000 square miles of woodlands, and prairies, and lakes and bogs. Minnesota is the 11th largest state in the union (21st by pop.) and has the largest county (Saint Louis) east of the Mississippi. The rain that falls in Minnesota follows the terrain left behind by the last glaciers and drains to Hudson Bay via the Red River, or to the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Superior and the St. Laurence Seaway, or to the Gulf of Mexico traveling down what Mark Twain called the Old Muddy Mississippi.
Just over five million citizens call Minnesota home and we occupy around five percent of the territory that is Minnesota. Our population growth averages about one percent per year. There is no need to limit growth.
It is proper to encourage responsible actions by individuals, industries and government agencies in our state, we certainly do not wish to "foul our nest". But we must not lose our perspective as technology makes it possible to peer into a glass of water down to the parts per billion, or trillion.
We must ensure that regulations of citizens private property rights are based on sound science with demonstrable harms to be avoided.
It is necessary that the average citizen has access to a fair and unbiased judicial systems to give an honest hearing to any tort resulting from the irresponsible actions of a more powerful or politically connected individual or corporation.
We must also ensure that people are free to do their business unencumbered by well meaning but unworkable environmental regulation. Citizens must be secure in the knowledge that their property will not be frozen in a bureaucratic limbo while others decide, over years, what can and cannot be done. Or worse, told their plans are acceptable to the "planners" expend their resources, and then find out that what they have just completed is no longer in compliance with some arbitrary and subjective rule. We can do better.
A very large portion of the State of Minnesota is under the direct stewardship of Federal and State agencies and we should ensure that proper management is maintained on these lands by these responsible agencies.
We also must see that our State Agencies are not inadvertently wasting precious taxpayers' dollars on overlapping jurisdictions and redundant projects.
The people of the State of Minnesota have proven to be caring stewards of this land. The air is clear, the water safe, and the outdoor recreational opportunities abound for Minnesotans as well as our friends from around the Nation and the World.
I am confident that the people of the State of Minnesota will continue to entertain, feed and power the nation in the same responsible fashion they have in the past.
GAMBLING EXPANSION
Government has no business involving itself with gambling.
GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Minnesota still has a spending problem and our current elected officials refuse to close the checkbook. Recent fiscal policies have failed under the Republican leadership. Democrats continue to lead the charge with more out-of-control spending and increased taxes. Minnesota desperately needs a change in the status quo.
Government programs, no matter how well intended, have not been capable of avoiding a fundamental economic principle: that scarce resources are best allocated by the free choice of consumers and producers, on the basis of prices that reflect genuine conditions of supply and demand. The choices may not always be correct, but when private investors make mistakes, they suffer immediate consequences in the form of losses.
When a government program fails, the most common response is to say it needs more money, our taxpayer dollars. Of course, it is always for the children, the economy, the poor, the disadvantaged or another under-represented sector. The Democrats talk about the children as they make government bigger while the Republicans talk about smaller government while they make it bigger. We need to make government smaller, more efficient and more effective.
Prosperity results when government protects private property rights, maintains law and order, provides basic services, low taxes and regulation. Government produces nothing and does not always have to do something. Government can only redistribute wealth created by private enterprise or it can destroy it. There is nothing right about taking money from one and giving it to another and calling it compassion. Subsidies, research grants and similar expenditures were never intended to be the role of government.
The vast majority want smaller government. Minnesota is still one of the highest taxed states in the nation. We are paying a high price for that mediocrity and inefficiency. Together we can slow government growth and eliminate the cumbersome bureaucracy and eliminate the unneeded over-regulation.
GUN CONTROL
As a woman and a small business owner, I believe that self-defense is not only a right, but a necessity. Relying on others to protect myself is irresponsible. I firmly support the permit-to-carry legislation from 2004 and 2005; as guaranteed in the US Constitution, these rights are cast in stone.
HEALTH CARE
Now topping $1.5 trillion nationwide, health care costs continue to rise, and Minnesota is no exception. A long overdue overhaul of our health care system would allow affordable health care for all Minnesota residents. A competitive medical market with clear information on costs would drop insurance costs immediately and allow uninsured Minnesotans to obtain affordable insurance.
Readily affordable health care is a priority for a healthy Minnesota, but let's be clear: health care is not an entitlement. Education and prevention policies, already in place, should continue to inform people. Market-based reforms, consumer-directed health plans and out-of-pocket costs will directly impact the cost of health insurance in our state.
Navigating Minnesota's health care system can be difficult for the experts.
It is almost impossible for a patient facing minor or catastrophic health concerns. A large part of our state budget is for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which alone accounts for 24% of the state budget. Over 90% of that is spent on health care and long-term care programs and related services including MinnesotaCare, Medical Assistance, General Assistance Medical Care, mental health services, alternative care services, chemical dependency services and regional treatment center services. Each program is split off into so many branches it is impossible to follow the trail of dollars to each. Programs are redundant, and I challenge anyone to prove any is more effective than a similar program in another branch.
Tax reform, malpractice reform and insurance reform should be a top priority. All health care expenditures should be tax deductible. By restructuring the tax code, people will have equal treatment between employer-provided insurance, individually-purchased health insurance and out-of-pocket costs. More small businesses will be able to offer health insurance to their employees with a tax break.
Deregulate health insurance companies. By removing the mandated coverage, the cost of a basic policy will be reduced. We should not have to pay for extras we do not want or need. Insurance companies should publicly disclose the fees it negotiates with physicians and procedures. Scamming the system must stop at all levels. By eliminating the taxes on certain programs, like Medicaid Managed Care, which are reimbursed after obtaining matching funds, scamming the system can be stopped starting at the top.
Minnesota has sued the top three HMOs which cover 85% of us. This adds to the cost of insurance. Medical savings accounts are another key to controlling health care costs by empowering the individual consumer. By knowing the amount of the procedure and what it will accomplish will give the individual an informed choice. At no time should government be able to deny patients choice of health care or procedures or should a government agency force medical providers to perform procedures which they don't believe are good, medically or ethically.
Doctors kill 120,000 patients every year. Eighty percent admit to ordering unneeded tests. This all adds to the increased cost of insurance.
Adding even more to the cost of doing business, we must address the lawsuits. Did you know the trial lawyers as an "industry" grossed 50 percent more revenue than Microsoft in 2001? Trial lawyers successfully sued so many businesses that their combined earnings eclipsed Coke's revenues by $22 billion. That figure does not include the tobacco settlement, most contract and shareholder litigation, most punitive damages, or defensive medicine. Trial lawyers are leading the Political Action Committee donor list to the DFL.
I do not want to see pharmaceutical commercials on television. If you can't sleep, get it up or have high blood pressure, those decisions should be made between you and your doctor, not based on a commercial during the Super Bowl. The money spent on these commercials could be used to develop a cure for any number of health care issues we need to address. Pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to provide gifts to doctors, clinics or any health care organization.
The Mercury Mom's deserve our support, and I personally raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and St. Joseph's Home for Children.
IMMIGRATION
Immigrants built our nation, and Minnesota opens our arms to welcome them. To grow, Minnesota must continue to attract skilled workers and goods and services from other countries. My goal would be to help immigrants obtain legal status and understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
The language barrier is the single most important factor in the successful assimilation of immigrants into our communities. A clear understanding of the rights, responsibilities and path to obtain citizenship should be our priority.
Immigrants are attracted here by jobs and families and can be a valuable asset to our state, but our generosity hurts us. Immigrants move here having heard Minnesota has good schools, excellent social services and an active, supportive community to welcome them.
The majority, almost 68% of the immigrant population, lives in the metro area. Entry-level job opportunities have drawn immigrants to places such as Owatonna, Willmar, Austin, Rochester, Pelican Rapids, Marshall and St. Cloud. Northern Minnesota has the lowest immigration population.
Minnesota currently has seven agencies who work to resettle refuges. We were one of the first states to take an active role by addressing important issues like jobs and affordable housing. Over 450 programs offer language instruction; most are attached to school districts.
The state has the power to curtail immigration by enforcing laws, denying documentation to illegal immigrants, punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants and other avenues. The federal government must address the issue of immigration. Porous borders, lack of enforcement and fraud make it easy to enter our country illegally. Sanctuary cities, like Minneapolis and St. Paul, tie the hands of immigration officials and cops by choosing which laws to ignore and which to enforce.
It is estimated Minnesota has a population of almost 18,000-85,000 illegal immigrants. Our generosity has hurt us. Costs to our hospital, law enforcement, judicial system and government have been expensive to sustain. In December 2005, the State of Minnesota estimated illegal immigrants cost the State of Minnesota $180 million per year. Minnesota spends $6 million per year to house illegal immigrants in our prison system.
PROPERTY RIGHTS
One of the most important issues facing a business owner is the issue of eminent domain. This blatant abuse of power received a boost from our very own US Supreme Court in the 2005 Kelo decision. Minnesota needs to protect business owners like many other states are doing by providing protection for our constitutionally guaranteed property rights.
Asset forfeiture provisions used by the Drug Enforcement Agency, IRS, FBI, Coast Guard, Post Office, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Customs, and Immigration affect individuals thousands of time every year. Over 3000 state and local governments have their own forfeiture laws as well as the 10,000 ED cases nationwide each year. Each began enforcement with a noble cause in mind, but it is now spinning out of control as more people forget the Bill of Rights.
Some of the victims of eminent domain have had to evacuate their homes without just compensation. The poor and middle class will be most vulnerable to eminent domain abuse by government and their corporate allies.
Read how the Hmong community of Brooklyn Center was effected by government's abuse of Eminent Domain.
RURAL ISSUES
Farmers have always been the stewards of our land. Half the land in Minnesota is farmland, we must continue to assist the economic viability of family farms and their communities.
Agriculture and related industries account for 20% of the jobs in our state. The bulk of these jobs are off farm in processing, distribution and services. Agriculture brings an estimated $2 billion to our state economy and related Ag businesses add another $5 billion. Agriculture accounts for 17% of Minnesota's gross state product.
Minnesota ranks in the top five in production of corn, soybeans, feed grains, sugar beets, green peas, oats, turkey, bees, mink, ostrich, emus and llamas. Niche markets, and the additional income it provides are an every growing segment of income growth for farmers. More consumers want to buy their food directly from the farmer.
Minnesota is one of the top dairy states. While the number of dairy farms continues to fall, milk productions decline about 1% per year as most Minnesota dairy products are sold out of state.
You may think the family farm has remained basically unchanged for generations, you would be wrong. Farmers of today must be proficient in all aspects of farming including farm prices, expenses and weather. Top concerns also include inventory controls, livestock yields, fertilizer, chemicals, water, soil, disease, pests, and marketing. Farmers must also know how to navigate the immense subsidy programs the government offers, not an easy task.
Minnesota farmers collected a record $1 billion in farm subsidies from US taxpayers in 2005, payments up 35% due to lower crop prices and huge harvests. Corn farmers receive the bulk of it. Market driven rather than production driven federal farm programs will mostly likely be reined in at the federal level this legislative session. The law of supply and demand is the best guarantee against overproduction and protection for fair prices for farmers.
STADIUMS
I oppose publicly funded stadiums without a voter referendum. If taxpayers are smart enough to vote for a gas tax, gay marriage and abortion we are smart enough to vote for stadiums. I oppose any financing of a private interest at taxpayers expense. It diverts resources from important priorities government should be funding. I proudly admit to a soft spot for the University of Minnesota, they are a public asset to our state that cannot pick up and leave. Only an elected official would be fooled into thinking that using taxpayer dollars to buy taxpayer owned land while turning down a generous naming donation is a good idea.
Double digit property tax increases, no money to fund education, roads, the environment, the list goes on. Yet our elected officials want not one, not two but THREE publicly funded stadiums. I say elected officials: three strikes and you're out (of office - you don't deserve our vote).
TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE
I believe marriage is between and a man and a woman, but marriage should be defined by churches, families and society not politicians and bureaucrats.
TAXES
Listed below is a partial list of the taxes we pay.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
ACC License Tax
Cigarette Tax (plus a cigarette fee)
Corporate Income Tax
Court fines
Dog License tax
Federal Income tax
Federal Unemployment tax
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gas tax
Hunting tax |
Inheritance tax
Liquor tax
Local Income tax
Luxury tax
Marriage tax
Property tax
Real Estate tax
Septic Permit tax
Social Security tax
Road Usage tax
Sales tax
School tax
State income tax
State Unemployment tax
Telephone Federal Excise tax
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Telephone, federal, state, AND local surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non recurring charge tax
Traffic fine tax
Trailer registration tax
Utility tax
Vehicle license registration tax
Vehicle sales tax
Watercraft registration tax
Well permit tax
Workers compensation tax
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A little here and a little there and it adds up to Minnesota's $30.5 billion budget up 8.4%. Our state budget for 2006 and 2007 budget these new fees and taxes add up to a whopping $559 million. Sixteen cents on every dollar a Minnesota resident earns goes to pay for state taxes, property taxes, special assessments, fees and charges.
Sue's New Plan For The Under Taxed Voter:
For those who don't believe we pay enough taxes, can afford to pay more, WANT to pay more, send me your check.
To ease your pain, check the box on the bottom of your tax return to ease the pain my tax cuts will cause you. It reads: Please change my tax rate to ____,
Calculate your tax liability, and mail it in.
Three other states currently have this plan: Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Based on revenue stats from the MA Department of Revenue, this will generate approximately $200,000 per year. Only .046 of the population will actually donate. It appears many are generous in words only.
Political Contribution Refund Program
It was developed to encourage more people to donate to political campaigns. Simply put, it is really government funding of a political campaign and uses our tax dollars to do it.
This program began in an attempt to strengthen the spending limit laws and getting the candidates to agree to spending limits. No surprise the wealthy candidates opt out of the program and it becomes more difficult for non-wealthy candidates to compete.
A donor picks the campaign to receive the money, and the state's general fund will reimburse the donor. Hatch calls it a short-term loan, Pawlenty wants to repeal it, but it is still there. Jeffers calls it a waste of taxpayer dollars and will eliminate it immediately. Let people spend their own money how they see fit. Taxpayer dollars from the general fund should not be spent on political campaigns, especially when most people do not even know this program exists.
WOMEN'S ISSUES
As a 26-year small business owner in a "man's" field, I had experienced gender discrimination first-hand. As a political candidate for a "man's" job, I have already been asked questions no one would ever ask a male candidate. As a single mother raising three children, I already know what a tough job it is. I have clearly proven I can run with the "big boys" in any arena.
Issues concerning women and families will always be a priority for me. Strengthening our families and child protection issues will top that list. I will support strictly upholding restraining orders and domestic violence laws and longer sentences for violent criminals.
Women's issues are not just limited to health care, education, child care and women's rights. Other issues have special relevance for women, and the many options out there to help all succeed. By empowering women, we can help them prepare for their future, secure their independence and make healthy choices. Education and awareness pertaining to women's issues will improve their lives, the lives of their children and society as a whole.
Women throughout history have taught us just how much we can make a difference in our world. Women like Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Sally Ride, Anne Frank and millions more have paved our way. There is a big wonderful world out there; together we can tackle anything.
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