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A new way to approach tax day — with celebration
It’s a familiar refrain around this time of year: “Ugh, I need to finish my taxes!” Always with the “ugh.” If you haven’t uttered those words, you’ve likely heard someone else do so. In fact, in a recent survey from WalletHub (bear with me — just take it for what it is), people said they’d […]
Minnesota can shrink childhood poverty by creating a child tax credit
Powerful… dramatic… unprecedented… those are a few of the words used to describe the impact of the expanded federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) that kept an estimated 2.9 million children out of poverty in 2021. Millions of kids across the U.S. had nutritious breakfasts to start their day, warm clothes to wear to school, and […]
Lawmakers can help people who need it, or squander a huge opportunity | Opinion
In the final weeks of Minnesota’s legislative session, policymakers have a clear choice. They can rise to this moment and take bold action to solve significant challenges average Minnesotans face. Or they can squander our state’s resources — either on large, unfair and permanent tax cuts, or by failing to get much done. With a […]
Minnesota must not waste this historic opportunity to close racial gaps | Opinion
We are at a critical point in our state. We can — if we choose to — decide that our collective investments ensure the dreams for ourselves and our loved ones are fulfilled. Minnesota has a historic opportunity to use federal relief and long-term state investments to dismantle the structural inequities that made COVID-19 and […]
The K-shaped recovery requires help for lower wage workers | Opinion
Click through national news stories these days and you could be easily confused about how our economy is doing. Click one story and you can read that the stock market is soaring — a “record-breaking” year, some call it. Click another and read that one in six Americans struggle to get enough to eat. Readers […]
To help the neediest in these tough times, we may have to raise taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans
Mittens, hat, warm coat: check. Face mask: check. Ah yes, we’ve pulled out our cold weather gear, bundling up to walk the dog, get the mail or get the kids outside. Many of us are also gathering some extras for friends and family, ensuring they too are warm and safe. Minnesotans understand that we all […]
More than 400,000 Minnesotans need Congress to extend unemployment benefits
Picture this: a $600 a week loss in your income, few job openings, and a significant threat to your health or your family’s health if you do go back to work. Now multiply that by 35 million. That’s the calculation if expanded federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are allowed to expire later this month. It’s […]
Winter is coming! (It always is.) The Legislature should bank the extra cash.
Everyone has grand ideas about what to do this legislative session with money they claim is a “surplus.” But we have a better idea — albeit maybe less flashy. We think legislators need to be prudent — and save. Yawn, you think? Stay with us. Minnesota’s budget reserve today is the strongest it’s ever been, thanks […]