Community Corner

Letter: Dave Thompson Says 'Limited Government' the Right Path

Dave Thompson: "I respectfully ask for your vote on November 6th."

To the editor,

It has been an honor to serve in the Minnesota Senate for the last two years. I am asking for your vote again on Tuesday.

In February 2011, Minnesota faced a projected $5.1 billion budget deficit. Governor Mark Dayton and DFLers in the Legislature immediately started pushing a tax increase that would have slowed our economy, resulting in less job creation and higher unemployment. The Republican Legislature stood up to the Governor, and we balanced the budget without raising taxes.

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Unfortunately we were unable to persuade the Governor to hold spending at the same levels as the previous biennium. The compromise ended up being approximately $1.5 billion more in spending using revenues taken from an education “shift” and “annuitizing” tobacco bonds. My opponent has criticized me for supporting the school shift. In fact, I was on record strongly opposing the shift. We should have held the line on spending and it would not have been necessary to find extra sources of revenue.

This election presents a clear choice. Do we want bigger government with higher taxes, or do we want smaller, more efficient government that takes less from the people who work so hard to take care of their families? If I am re-elected, I will continue to promote and vote for limited government. I strongly believe in the maxim that when government gets bigger the citizen gets smaller.

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Wisconsin, Indiana, and many other states have chosen the path of limited government. These states are seeing the results. Their economies are growing, employment is increasing, and businesses are starting and growing. Conversely, Illinois, California and other big government states are drowning in debt, and stifling economic growth. Governor Dayton and his DFL allies want to take us the way of these big government states. We should not go there. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 6th.

Senator Dave Thompson (R–Lakeville)


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