Minnesota tax tyranny!

[thebaldguy]

It looks like another stadium tax is headed our way. Our elected officals have voted to stick it to us Hennepin county residents. Against the popular opinion, a new tax of .15% will be applied so that the Minnesota Twins will get a new stadium. Our current sales tax in Minnesota is 6.5%. However, in downtown Minneapolis, there is a extra 3% entertainment tax on restaurants and entertainment. We're still paying an extra .5% tax in Minneapolis from the building of the Metrodome from the early 80's. They simply transferred the tax to construct a new convention center which is vacant most of the time. The best part is that we had passed a referendum back in the 90's requiring voter approval for such a tax. Our spineless legislature totally ignored this; evidently the Twins had spend tons of cash to bribe (oops, lobby) elected officals. They knew that the voters would not approve a new tax; so they simply passed us by. Our sales tax alone in Minneapolis will now be 7.15%, while the rest of the state will have a 6.5% sales tax. My property taxes have doubled in the last five years as well. What in the hell are they doing with all my money?

Many of us already leave the city for major purchases. You can save tons of cash in taxes by using internet/mail order, or by just shopping in the next city. Remember, the worst thing you can do to a business is to not give them your money. The same applies to the city, county and state. Since our elected officals spend money like a drunken sailor (my apologies to sailors), they will receive less money from me. Our Republican governor who promised not to raise taxes evidently lied. He will sign the bill this week. I have a feeling that many elected officals will be looking for a new job after the fall election.

I will never buy a ticket for a Twins game again. The billionaire owner, Carl Polhad, is the 78th wealthiest man in the US. This guy can afford to build a new stadium himself. He and his ball team can kiss my butt. They won't get any more money from me.

[grampster]

You know, it's too bad most citizens don't use the power that we have to put a stop to this kind of crap.. Rather than actually doing it, they sigh and go mow the lawn.

[thebaldguy]

Grampster, you are correct. In this stadium tax situation, the politicans just ignored the wishes of the majority. Numerous polls showed that most people were against the tax. That was ignored. Even worse, the elected officals from outside the county voted to raise my taxes - and they don't even live here! Us residents will have to pay this tax every day, while they will only pay this tax when they visit Minneapolis and Hennepin county. The Twins spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get this passed - us stadium tax opponents couldn't match the bribes that the Twins put up.

Money from big business is more important than a vote. That's how our politicans at all levels seem to behave. Sad but true. Hopefully, most of these rotten politicans will be ousted in our November elections.  But that will probably turn out to be wishful thinking. The two monopoly parties will continue their dominance and their reckless spending until we are bankrupt. Voter apathy reigns supreme. We will be victims wondering what happened. I think that cartoon strip Pogo said years ago, "We have met the enemy and he is us".

[grampster]

The folks that infest the halls of government got there en masse since the 60's.  There have always been pettifoggers.  I just don't think on the scale we see today.

  Unfortunately it would take a mass movement of Conservatives, real conservatives in the historical sense, and the old time Liberals, the real independent progressive thinkers, to join forces.  But it would take another 20 - 30 years to wrest control from the Socialists on the right and the left.  We don't even have that movement yet.  The nation as a whole thinks along these lines, but there is no formal organization to focus that notion.

Hell, I'd do it but I have to cut the grass.