Kendall Qualls: More government, more picking winners and losers? Not the way to a better Minnesota
A lot has changed since my childhood. The freedoms I enjoy today were once a dream for which my parents and grandparents longed. Yet the values that made our families strong and state government even stronger have been sidelined for “my way or the highway” mentalities that hurt the people they’re meant to protect. As lawmakers debate tax-and-spend legislation worth billions, they need to remember this: For a better Minnesota, we need to go back to our fundamental values.
Democrats are currently sitting on an $18 billion surplus – also known as our hard-earned tax dollars. At a time when eggs cost more than a gallon of gas, families are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, you’d assume Democrats would offer relief for Minnesota families. Instead, we’re debating how big they’ll grow the government and how much they’ll raise our taxes. If you’re waiting for a punchline, there isn’t one.
It’s hard to fathom how much bigger the government can get, but Democrats are proposing a 22 percent to 25 percent increase in the state budget from the previous biennium – to a whopping $65.2B. Have you seen a 25 percent increase in your budget over the last year? I’d venture to say we’ve all lost any financial padding in our budgets due to inflation and taxes. We’ve all learned to live within our means, and it’s time for lawmakers to do the same.
As the party in power, Democrats have introduced more than a thousand pieces of legislation since the session began in January. They’ve boasted about the rate at which they’ve moved legislation – the fastest in five years. These bills include new fees and taxes on multiple fronts as well as new government programs and spending – and in a seeming crusade to grow the footprint of our government and push through an exceedingly far-left agenda that abandons the needs and values of everyday Minnesotans.
They have broken promises and created new problems without so much thought for the people their decisions will affect. If we want our state to lead the nation on important issues and watch our families thrive, we need to get back to fundamentals.
First things first: You don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. After over-taxing Minnesotans to the tune of $18 billion for the past few years, tax hikes should be the furthest thing from lawmakers’ minds. Instead, Democrats have proposed more than $2 billion in new tax hikes. As a result, every time Minnesotans shop at Aldi, buy a cup of coffee, fill up at Holiday, go fishing or sell their homes, they’ll pay more. I learned early on that when I invested in my employees — they thrived. When we put Minnesotans in charge of spending their hard-earned dollars? Everyone thrives.
We can do that by putting more money back into Minnesota wallets. That means cutting taxes for Minnesotans, not picking winners and losers for rebate checks worth a fraction of the surplus. Many middle-class families make more than $150K and would be exempt from a rebate check under Gov. Tim Walz’s current plan. Democrats must also own up to their promise and eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits. Minnesota is one of 11 states to double-tax seniors who live on a fixed income. With an $18 billion surplus, there’s no excuse for robbing seniors of an extra $1,200 a year.
Secondly, in my experience as a businessman, the best programs that benefit workers don’t come from government-induced regulations; they come from job creators who recognize the opportunity to create programs that weigh the benefits and challenges both businesses and employees face. Workers don’t need their take-home pay reduced to fund a new 300-person, billion-dollar government department to implement a paid family leave program. Paid family leave is important, but we don’t need the government to create or manage a one-size-fits-all program that will treat small businesses the same as corporations.
Finally, contrary to popular belief, fossil fuels and green energy can coexist. Unfortunately, Democrats can’t see beyond their agenda as they look to ban gas-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, stoves, fireplaces and potentially even furnaces. They’ve ignored industry leaders who have warned of unstable power grids and higher costs for consumers in favor of California’s green-powered electric grid, which led to rolling summer blackouts and pleas to reduce energy intake during peak hours. How will that work when every furnace in Minnesota constantly runs during -20 below days? Democrats won’t say.
When our state is led by experts and industry leaders, dollars are spent wisely by those who worked hard to earn them, and the government gets out of the way, Minnesotans will thrive. How do we do that? We go back to our roots.
Kendall Qualls is an Army veteran, business executive, and the founder and president of TakeCharge MN, an organization dedicated to building coalitions within the Black community through Republican values and the American dream. Qualls recently ran as a Republican candidate for governor in 2022, and was the Republican nominee for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District in 2020.
