What does Republican Governor Kristi Noem do when South Dakota runs a budget surplus? Brag about it and tuck it in the bank.
What does Democratic Governor Tim Walz do when Minnesota runs a budget surplus? Sends some of it straight back to taxpayers who can use it most:
Distribution of special tax rebates is targeted for September for more than 2.5 million Minnesotans who qualify.
The one-time rebates are $260 per person — maxing out at $1,300 for a family of five. The rebates go to single filers who made less than $75,000 in adjusted gross income in 2021 or married filers who earned twice that.
The $1.1 billion rebate uses a portion of the state’s budget surplus.
In an interview Wednesday, Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart said the early fall goal for distribution will come in handy.
“That’s going to help pay for groceries, going to help pay for school supplies, help pay for rent, child care,” he said. “That’s going to be very, very valuable to a lot of people” [Brian Bakst, “Minnesota on Course to Deliver Tax Rebates This Fall,” MPR News, 2023.05.31].
Minnesota Republicans are complaining the rebate plan isn’t big enough (also heard from Republicans: that’s what she said), and even Governor Walz wanted to write bigger checks to send back even more of the surplus, but compared to South Dakota’s surplus rebate plan, those Minnesota rebate checks, like Minnesota’s surplus itself, are positively robust.
During the Obama first term I began researching why South Dakota is the way South Dakota is. One certainty is that y’all suck up negativity like a gasping sponge.
While that’s great for political blogs it’s not at all great for group mental health.
Turns out consuming good news daily can help South Dakota’s debilitating “negativity bias syndrome”.
“I’m here to research not to give advice.” – P. Aitch
– Research consistently shows bad news can have a negative effect on us. During the pandemic, multiple studies linked news consumption to poorer mental health, documenting symptoms of depression, anxiety, hopelessness and worry.
– However, our latest study has found that looking at positive news stories — specifically, videos and articles featuring acts of kindness — can actually counteract the ill-effects of seeing negative news stories.
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/05/seeing-stories-of-kindness-may-counteract-the-negative-effects-of-consuming-bad-news/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter
That is good news indeed. grudznick shall grimace at all I meet today in a very happy way.
P. Aitch- you are, again, bringing up a beneficial morsel to ruminate on. I always practice your research and it results in tangible improvements. Today, I gave your comment a whirl and struck gold. I just watched Kotaro and Hana, two otters on Youtube. They are so funny and so cute, they might make Mr. G vomit. (Just wanted to warn you, Mr. G) Thanks.
To me the HUGE headline is
JULY 1 TAX Decrease!
So 3 cents out of every $10 we spend is ours!!!
Not the States or the municipalities
But OURS!
Start building Wealth and Millions! It will happen! To those of us who believe! It is so!
$520 bucks for a retired couple is a trip to see the grandkids.
Gov Walz calling out hatred and bigotry from bully governors in deep red states –
https://www.tiktok.com/@minnesotadfl/video/7224559628057693483
Walz has made the DFL Party popular again in MN with our historic year of delivering for the People. MN is what happens when you elect good, decent people that truly want to make life better for their voters:
Universal free school lunches for every student
Voting Rights Law that expands voter registration and felons can vote once they are out of prison
Paid Family and Medical Leave for all workers
Decriminalizing cannabis and expungement of prior records
Mandatory universal background checks and red flag laws
Transgender and Abortion refuge state
Free College for families making $80000 and under
Just some of the historic bills passed this legislative year.
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2023/05/minnpost-guide-to-the-minnesota-legislatures-2023-done-and-undone-lists/
Democrats in Congress should really learn from MN in how to get bills passed. These are all popular statutes that the majority of voters in MN wanted and our legislators delivered.
The state of Minnesota is an absolute joke.