Here's an interesting commentary (published in the March 1 Villager) on what should be done with the state budget surplus. It's written by former Chanhassen city councilor Brian Lundquist. Feel free to chime in on how you think the surplus should be used. 

Tell elected officials

to give surplus back

By Brian Lundquist

As our legislative session kicks into high gear there is lots of “talk” about all of the issues and even some action – but I wonder “Are we talking about the right stuff?” 

We got some great news early in the year about a projected $2 billion surplus in the state coffers. Happy days are here again. The interesting thing is how quickly everyone lined up to get a piece of it and in addition to that how many tax increase bills are still being proposed. Here are some interesting statistics:

The Tax Foundation lists Minnesota’s total tax burden at fifth highest in the country at 33.6 percent.

Our tax freedom day is May 3rd. That means that 33.6 cents of every dollar the average Minnesotan earns goes to pay some sort of tax and it takes your salary from Jan. 1 to May 3 — 100 percent of it — to pay your tax bill for the year.

The Minnesota State Department of Finance shows that the biennial General Fund budget has increased over 50 percent since 1998. If it were $50 that wouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s gone from $21 billion to $32.5 billion in just eight years with only one of those cycles at less than double digit percentage increases.

CareerInfonet shows the three largest employers in Minnesota are the federal government, state of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota. The smallest of them is the University at 25,000 employees. Thank goodness for 3M, the largest non-government employer in Minnesota with less than half of the third place winner at 12,200 employees. No wonder it takes until May 3 to pay that bill. 

Of the top 25 largest employers in Minnesota, 14 are hospitals, clinics, or other health-care related businesses. Gotta love those state and federal health care mandates. Just in case you were wondering, the total tax bill doesn’t include health care premiums and related expenses – those are extra.

Those statistics and a good bit of research in my profession lead me to propose that Minnesota is an expensive state to live, work, and play in. Don’t get me wrong – I love it here and chose to move back in 2000 after seven years away. That said, everything has its limits and we often don’t see them until it’s too late.

So my question to my fellow residents and honorable legislators is why aren’t we giving the surplus back to the taxpayers? When Exxon Mobil reports record earnings people get up in arms and want to throw a “windfall profits tax” on them. Ladies and Gentlemen – your state government has taken $2 billion dollars more of your money in the form of income taxes than it needs to operate and instead of giving it back they are lining up to spend it and nonchalantly authoring bills to extract more of your income. A 50 percent increase in eight years and the fifth highest burden in the country at 33.6 percent isn’t enough? 

What would happen to a business if they announced that they had overcharged their customers by $2 billion over a two-year period, they knew it was coming, and then proceeded to take some more? 

Instead, the topics that dominate the media are smoking bans on private property and the strictest renewable energy mandate in the country – things that government should not be involved in to begin with. 

There are a few legislators willing to fight for the taxpayers but they are seriously outnumbered – they need some help. Let your legislators and the governor know you want them to talk about the right stuff – your money. Give back the surplus in the form of income tax relief. Don’t let them mask it in some form of property tax “relief.” That’s not where the money came from. Those are your income tax dollars – ask them to give it back, in income tax relief. It’s your money, and your choice.

Lundquist is a Chanhassen resident and former member of the Chanhassen City Council.