Backdoor Lady

Sounds like an old Deep Purple song title, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's only another example of the kinds of silly games that our legislators here in Minnesota play on a regular basis. It would almost be laughable, if these schemes didn't affect our freedoms so much.

For those of you unfamiliar with Minnesota's laws, our state Constitution mandates that the legislative session end on "the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year." This year, that was May 20, yesterday. The hard deadline means that as the end of the session looms, some unscrupulous lawmakers attempt to sneak in last minute items, hoping that the peasants don't notice.

This year's brazen try at a backdoor tax increase is courtesy of Sen. Mee Moua, DFL - St. Paul. She had already earned my ire in 2003, when she served on one of the committees that debated the Minnesota Personal Protection Act (our "shall issue" handgun carry law). Ms. Moua saw fit to open and read her mail instead of paying attention to the testimony in favor of the law's passage, which is what we peasants pay her to do.

This year's antics from Ms. Moua make that episode seem like amateur hour. While a joint House-Senate conference committee was debating on Sunday night, Moua at 3 a.m. inserted a measure that would allow the St. Paul City Council to levy an additional 3% sales tax increase on all food and drink sold by bars and restaurants in the city. (In Minnesota, local governments may not raise sales taxes without a voter referendum, unless the Legislature specifically votes to override the citizens, allowing them to do so. This kind of thing happened last session, when the Legislature denied the residents of Hennepin County the right to decide for themselves a sales tax increase to fund a new Twins stadium.) Moua's submitted measure would have made booze subject to a 12.5 percent tax, and food subject to a 9 percent tax. All of this without one second of debate, testimony, or analysis, of course.

Well, people noticed, fortunately, and the entire Senate killed the proposal on Monday night, although not without angering residents and businesses in St. Paul, who didn't get any notice or chance for input on yet more tax increases. Reading the above cited story, one gets a good look into just how elitist and nanny-statish these legislators can be:

"I'm not happy about it," Moua said of her tax proposal, "but it was either raise property taxes or find other resources. The food and beverage tax was the only other option."

According to you, Ms. Moua. How about being upfront with your constituents about your perception of a problem and its possible solution, instead of taking it upon yourself to solve it for them, using their hard-earned money, of course?

"While the tax was her idea, Moua said Mayor Chris Coleman and some City Council members vetted it privately. "Nobody likes to impose a tax, but they didn't object," she said."

Of course they didn't. The St. Paul DFLers have never met a tax increase they didn't embrace warmly. This should piss the residents of St. Paul off royally. How dare their mayor and city council conspire secretly with their local lawmaker in order to spring a "May Surprise" on their serfs? According to them, this budget problem has been around for quite awhile. Why, then, did no one bring up this wonderful solution until 18 hours before the session was over? Because they knew it didn't have a chance in hell of passing in the light of day, that's why.

Citizens get the kind of government that they vote for. It would be wise for the residents of Hennepin and Ramsey Counties to examine just how much their elected representatives care about them, seeing as they have no problems ignoring their wishes on a regular basis, and taxing them heavily without ever giving them a chance to decide the issue for themselves.