What's in it for Me?

I just got Governor Mark Dayton's newsletter.

It continues a modern tradition that ties policies and their benefits to specific citizens, who are paraded in front of the cameras for political advantage. The point is that real people benefit from the policies, and of course, the politician in the photo has his hand on the money spigot.

I was taught that government taking money from some people just to give it to other people was a bad thing. Taxation is supposed to be a shared civic burden, and tax money spent only on things that are somehow essential. Mark Dayton says that taking care of the needy is essential, but no one in Gov Dayton's newsletter is particularly needy. One family is saving $35,000 in taxes this year after losing $500,000 on a house. A pending state tax liability of over $30,000 hints at a hefty income last year. These are not poor people. By what principle should other Minnesotans pay higher taxes so these folks can pay less? Aren't these "the rich" who Governor Dayton has been so anxious to tax?

Governor Dayton's message is simple, and appeals broadly. He wants to tax someone else and give to you.

Leaders should tout virtue, not greed. They should ask for shared sacrifice for the greater good, and praise those who give back to others, not parade the winners in front of the losers in the political struggle for tax preferences. Politics should not be a bidding war between politicians over who can give us more from the public treasury. Elections must never become a question of "What's in it for me?"

Governor Dayton took $2.1 billion from taxpayers in 2013, and is beating his chest over giving back a quarter of what he took, to carefully chosen constituencies. He is parading the beneficiaries of his choices before us in an attempt to buy our votes.

This is not leadership. This is shameful. It is the promotion of greed and resentment. I hope the taxpayers remember this sorry spectacle this November.

Follow me on Twitter: @donlee1037