I recently attended a superhero themed birthday party for a 3 year old. Imagine dozens of kids in capes, masks, and tights of all colors. Yes, it was a cute as it sounds. During this party, as cake was doled out and presents were opened, I watched parent after parent explain the concept of sharing to their kids. At one point, I overheard a parent say to their 3 year old, “we share so that everyone can have a good time.”
It’s time for corporations in our state to learn this lesson of sharing. For too long, corporations have failed to pay their fair share, and have instead been taking advantage of every opportunity they can to keep more and more money for themselves.
Let’s look at the real life examples of this in our state. We have corporations like Verizon paying 0% state income tax. We have companies like Wells Fargo using tax loopholes to stash money tax-free in Cayman Island shell companies. And we are just recently learning more about the millions of dollars in excess reserves that the four biggest HMOs in Minnesota are sitting on. That’s money that they’ve made from running our public health care programs that isn’t being spent on care.
And that’s the heart of the issue. When these corporations game the system to avoid paying their fair share, it hurts us. We need the money that is being held in overseas accounts, that is sitting in reserves, or that isn’t being paid in taxes. We need it to invest in well-funded schools, a more robust transit system, and public health care programs that Minnesota families can afford.
The good news is that our Legislature can, as it finalizes tax proposals and budgets in the next month, make major moves towards fixing our sharing problem. Lawmakers can close corporate tax loopholes, can end tax haven secrecy, and can put real reforms in place to prevent HMOs from sitting on excess reserves.
It’s the time to make sure the Minnesota Legislature pushes for a Minnesota where everyone understands what it means to share. These last few weeks are critical. Now is the time to visit your legislators and tell them why it matters to you that corporations pay their fair share.
On Thursday, April 25th, the Organizing a New Economy and Health Care teams will host a joint lobby day. We’ll do an update and brief training and then go and talk to legislators about the kind of fair Minnesota we want to see. Click here to sign-up today! Together we can build a fairer budget and a healthier Minnesota.
— Elizabeth
Elizabeth Lienesch is TakeAction Minnesota’s Deputy Training & Organizing Director
