When I came to the legislature I didn’t expect to be working on taxes so much.
But I’ve found that it’s a place to stand up for working people and those suffering under the deepest wealth and income inequality in generations.
It’s a place to push back against the legacies of settler colonialism and slavery which are the basis for our entire economy and are in part responsible for Minnesota having the deepest racial disparities in the country.
It’s a place to reject the lie of trickle down economics and the politics of austerity and assert that we have enough.
It’s a place where we can make the case that our natural state as humans is not ruthless competition and utility maximizing but interdependence and relationship.
That another world is possible if we make different decisions.
Last night just before midnight we passed a tax bill that increases taxes on capital gains, prevents the estate tax exemption from going up, brings back money that corporations are stashing in overseas tax shelters, and makes big investments in the Working Family Tax Credit.
Beyond the direct investments that are in the Tax bill, it is our insistence that the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share that is making all the other parts of the budget possible: debt-free college, historic investments in education, community-based public safety, and so much more.
I’m grateful to be a small part of this huge effort.
