A well-funded public sector is needed

With gasoline prices falling and our infrastructure deteriorating after decades of relative neglect by both major political parties, it would seem a no-brainer to raise the gasoline tax in Minnesota. The short-sighted Republicans object, and Governor Dayton was right to call their plan “fantasy.” Even after the fiscal disaster of the Pawlenty administration, conservatives cling to the discredited notion of supply-side- trickle-down economics, which even the first George Bush famously labeled as “voodoo.” Plainly, you cannot raise revenue unless you raise revenue.

No one relishes higher taxes, but they are – like it or not – the price we pay for civilization, security, and justice. Tax revenue that is well-directed and of sufficient amount is a force for good. The increasingly irrational right wing of the Republican party loves to yell that “the power to tax is the power to destroy!” Yes, it can be, but it is also the power to create and sustain: safe drinking water, the interstate highway system, universal public education, Social Security, Medicare, the internet, libraries, fire departments, medical research and development, and on and on.

If we are to meet current challenges, such as climate change and economic equity, a vigorous and well-funded public sector is indispensible.

Peter Leschak

Side Lake, Minn.