Letter to the editor: Government Shutdown II

­­Letter to the editor:
With the state shutdown well under way and the government officials trying to appeal to the individual voters to be reelected in the next elections, I feel as though, we the proud people of Minnesota are being somewhat ignored. We all seem to work hard to put food on the table and have a strong sense of community values. I personally have seen people around our area when the Red River comes up in the spring, to tornados ravaging cities, the people of Minnesota have come out to lend a hand to show that together we the people can climb the highest mountains, we the people have the ability to correct the wrongs.

Lately I’ve been listening to MNPR and they’ve talked about how our state government needs to budget, how they need to cur costs in order to maintain an effective government. One day I walked into the local library and the local women who work there are volunteering their time to insure a brighter future for generations to come. By insuring the people in our local community get the books they need to become knowledgeable about the world around them. ( I thought; wow, these people understand the importance of knowledge, which, in turn brings people together.) From farmers to bakers, to children to the elderly, of any race, or gender; this is a place for all people to come and benefit for the good of all. This is just one of so many other services in the state budget that doesn’t just affect one group, it affects us all. From people helping others find work, to public parks every service is a part of our American life; sure it’s easy to say we don’t need it, we could manage without it, but they’re still pieces of a whole without those services we wouldn’t be American. We could be Afghans, we could be Somalians, and we could be North Koreans; without strong public services the weak get weaker and the strong get stronger. Long has blood been spilled for the freedoms we hold so loosely today, we the American people have the ability to change, to grow, to invent, and to speak freely. As the great societies that have stood before us we ought  not to make the same mistakes. We should understand that educated populations are most acceptable for the longevity of a republic. As the Greeks educated all of their citizens to make a stronger nation, so we should do the same as inventors and entrepreneurs, engineers and architects, we ought to have painters and sculptures, but it is impossible with an under educated community of citizens. The more everyone knows and understands the better we all are to stand to make a world a better place for generations to come. (Instead of passing the debit to one generation to another, our forefathers understood this well and until the early nineteen hundreds the taxes for the rich were 92%.)

Rome on the other hand at its time of destruction decided to heavily tax the masses and the rich ruled in key family units. They cut out public bath houses and educational centers, they cut out places to make and produce stable incomes. The general population became angry and the nation of such great feats came crashing down. What we have is worth fighting for, for most it’s worth dying for, but we aren’t Greeks and we’re not Romans. We are Americans we can vote and every vote counts. We must increase the taxes for the rich in times of depression, in order to push them to invest in the working classes, so you and I can keep working and we may keep the freedoms we have. The rich make their money on the backs of the poor and middle class so it is only fair for them to pay more.

If ten people were stuck on an island and one person counted and distributed the wealth to all, from the fish caught, clothes made, houses built, to the inventions, that person didn’t sweat all day working his heart out. That one person decided who got what and everyone was ok with how much he should get, just a little bit of everything. Sadly if a rich man has three hundred businesses and he’s taking a little from everyone he should stand to be highly taxed but with recent tax laws he’s not, he’s taking a majority of the wealth for himself and what was to be taxed and go back to the public as a whole is cut. Increasing the taxes on the richest Americans will force them to hide their money and most of them will be smart enough to invest it in you. If a rich man is being taxed at 32% now and the taxes go up to 72% that man will try and hide his wealth, he most likely will invest in small businesses or new inventions, and by expanding our tax revenue we can pick up and begin to grow again. Please I ask you call or email Governor Dayton to stand up and fight for what’s right, tell him Don’t Back Down.

Contact info: Email: mark.dayton@state.mn.us
        Telephone: (651) 797-1850
        Website: http://mn.gov.governor/contact-us/
Physical address: Office of the Governor
               130 State Capitol
               75 Rev. Dr. Matin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
               St. Paul, MN 55155

Your Friend,
Hallock City Councilman
Alex J. Gustafson