Mother's Little Helpers

Most people spend Mother's Day by spending a little quality time with their mothers. Maybe they take Mom out to lunch, or buy her some flowers or a nice gift.

That's not what happened on Mother's Day in St. Paul:

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Democratic legislative leaders reached a budget agreement Sunday that calls for $2 billion in new taxes and boosts spending for schools and property tax relief.

The Democrats are relying on a tobacco tax hike and the governor’s long-sought income tax increase on high earners to pay for the new spending. The budget outline scraps a proposed sales tax on clothing, but lawmakers continue to consider resurrecting at least part of a heavily criticized plan to tax businesses services.

We've been through this enough times to dispense with the arguments. All that needs to be said was said by Dayton himself:

“It’s a budget that is going to work for Minnesota. It’s going to put Minnesota to work,” Dayton said Sunday afternoon. “It’s going to fulfill our promises to invest in education and infrastructure. We’re going to see a better Minnesota as a result of this budget.”

Fortunately, we're only about 18 months away from having a chance to weigh in on whether or not taxing and spending more actually delivers a "better Minnesota."