Will John Kline (R) Vote For Minnesotans?

Over thirty people attended a vigil outside Kline's office in Burnsville last night. They came out on a cold and snowy night to ask John Kline to vote for a moral budget that reflects Minnesota's working family values. They came because they've seen first hand how Minnesota has fallen from being the leading advocate for working families and for children.

Minnesota's state and local rankings are going down in both taxes and spending. Total state and local taxes ranked 8th in 200 and 10th in 2002 (most recent data available). Total state and local spending ranked 19th in 200 and 22nd in 2002*+

Minnesota now ranks among the low-spending states (below 25th) for:
K-12 Education (27th)
Higher Education (35th)
Total Education (29th)
Health and Hospitals (43rd)

Key Public Safety Areas:

Police (36th)
Fire (47th) and
Corrections (49th).*+

State and local tax burdens heading downward by more than 12% from 1996 to 2007:

-In 1996, Minnesotans paid 12.7% of their income in state and local taxes.
-In 1998, state and local burden went down to 11.8% .
The Projected burden in 2007 is 11.1%+

* Governing magazine Sourcebook — ranking derived directly from the U.S. Census Bureau

*+ Minnesota Taxpayers Association — rankings derived from U.S. Department of Commerce

** Tax Foundation in Washington, DC