BREAKING THE TABOO: Minnesota shutdown leaves poor, disabled screwed

[under serious construction]

In January, I went to see both my State Representative and my State Senator.  I explained that I am a disabled senior on SSDI, that I am a long-time activist and union organizer and that Citizens United had me greatly troubled.   I stand against money in politics, graft, corruption and the corporate takeover of the United States and Minnesota in particular.  I have troublesome Post traumatic stress disorder and multiple physical disabilities.  I am not psychotic.  I spent three years in a walker and had PCA services previously.  I am intelligent, generous to a fault, and extremedly determined to press that our democracy ends when we don't FIGHT for it - within legal constraints.

My interest was in seeing that proper legislation got written, said I was happy to do the research.  I left both appointments feeling x-rayed and found wanting.  Yet, the Citizens United information was not known to them.

I approached the Welfare Rights Committee to act as a "citizen lobbyist" for the duration of the session.  Last year, I lobbied for the homeless.   

Once upon I had an outstanding idea:  I suggested that the MN Legislature set up a Commission on the Economic Status of Women.  It was eventually adopted and I went to see the current Director for support.  During the session she got a new job  and was never replaced.  Yeah, right.

How was I supposed to  "take" the FACT that I pay 22.1% in taxes while the billionaire Macmillans pay 7.7% without screaming loudly about it?  How does one impoverished citizen fight against an ALL CUTS budget ?

I thought the answer to the threat of the Tea Party-dominated Minnesota Legislature was to start a true citizen's committee to fight back against cuts that undermined our health and the health of generations to come.  I handed out flyers at the end of each session of the Health and Human Services committee and other committees daily.  I flyered the Democratic caucus rooms repeatedly.  Each flyer highlighted the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council in undermining the health of our state and the health of our citizens in the following areas:  

1. Health cuts that would threaten citizens, rather than  -  getting rid of superfluous bureaucracy, continuing high medication costs flung at the State payers by Big Pharma, the idiocy of putting 15,000 in nursing homes @$80,000 each per year when it costs $15,000 to let them live independently, gutting mental health and addiction services including crisis lines, limiting ways to help our homeless veterans

2.  Cutting the rights of State workers and laying off 15% of the State workforce.   I repeatedly stated that a shutdown/special session would occur and that provisions for furloughing and early retirement be taken seriously.  And note, this takes an economic health hit, too.  We need State workers to contribute to revenue.

3.  Criminalizing voters who don't have IDs as well as denying the poor and student populations the right to vote.  Yet, the GOP proposed a $68 million dollar agency to issue IDs when there is no evidence of voter fraud in Minnesota.  In addition, I attended hearings on redistricting which were exercises in hysterical controlling by the chairperson and gerrymandering.  The Native vote, for example, was chopped up.  Although they contribute millions to the State coffers, they would never be able to get a member of the Legislature elected.  They never have had ONE native legislator.

4.  Tax cuts for the wealthy, loopholes for the corporations, subsidies for those who don't need them are the drumbeat of the Minnesota GOP, led by cynical Tony Sutton.  Yet, nothing was done all session to level the tax rates field.  I'll still be paying 22.1% tax for years to come.  These cuts and the fantasyland idea that trickle down economics creates jobs are still firmly in place at the end of our two-week State shutdown.  I started a blog to show a VARIETY of tax proposals and PROOF that higher tax rates do not lead to the mass exodus of the wealthy in a healthy state. I know that the DFL read it. I see them come and go and know what they read there.

5.  Our public educational system was once one of the treasures of the United States.   Now, our ALEC member who heads the Education Committee has proposed a voucher system, made our University tuition rates SOAR and created one of the worst educational situations in the nation.  Keeping peoples' educational aspirations alive is part of HEALTH.

6.  The Kochs and others wish to pollute our fair State at their whim and discretion, and damn  the cost to our health and pocketbooks.  Environmental protection measures have been

7. The privatization of transport, education, all health care and the introduction of more private prisons is the top of their agenda.  The introduction of more gambling into the State was also troubling .. who is going to get the rights to "work" that ca$h cow?


[more to follow - but right now my heart is BROKEN .. ]