Returning a portion of the overcharge

From Gov. Tim Walz's Twitter X feed on Wednesday. 

NEW: Checks of up to $1,300 per family have started going out this week.

This back-to-school season, we're taking a weight off families' shoulders by sending checks to millions of Minnesotans.

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) August 16, 2023

Nice spin. Actually the rebate (going only to those within a certain income bracket) is $260 for a single,  $520 per couple. The only way you get the $1,300 is if a couple has three or more kids. Regardless, that's still a tad shy of what Walz promised back in November. 

Millionaires like Scott and Matt don't understand that working Minnesotans need $2,000 checks in their pockets.

They killed that deal for their self-interest.

But when @PeggyFlanagan and I are reelected, we'll push to get this done.

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) November 4, 2022

Given that inflation is still wreaking havoc on everyday expenses in addition to new taxes/fees being passed (including a 1% sales tax increase in Metro area) despite a near $18 billion state budget surplus, these rebate checks don't do near enough to take "weight off families' shoulders." 

Not even WCCO-TV allowed this spin to be ignored. 

 

Democrats say their rebate checks, tax credits, and changes in Social Security income taxes represent the largest tax cut in Minnesota history.

However, there are also taxes going up for most Minnesotans.

Increases that will affect everyone in the state include a new gas tax starting Jan. 1 that's linked to inflation. The increase could be 5 cents a gallon by 2027. That would increase the current state gas tax from 28.5 cents to possibly 33.5 cents a gallon.

Another increase – there will be a delivery fee of 50 cents on packages valued at more than $100 starting July 1.

There has been a lot of back and forth on what should be included in the delivery fee tax. Right now, according to legislative aides, it does include 50 cents for over $100 in clothing -- even though Minnesota does not have a tax on clothing. It won't include deliveries of more than $100 for prepared foods, regular foods baby supplies and medical supplies.

From the DFL's perspective, overtaxing Minnesotans (resulting in the aforementioned surplus) isn't a wrong to be righted but rather, as Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) said earlier this year, an "opportunity" to dole out the excess money elsewhere. Given there has been significant wealth leaving Minnesota the past few years, progs are about to find out the hard way the lesson of Margaret Thatcher's warning about "running out of other peoples' money."

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