EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
E-mail

April 12, 2000

- Letter to the editor:
Taxes in the new millennium going global?

To the editor:

Federal taxes. State taxes. County taxes. City taxes. Sales taxes. Income taxes. Property taxes. Minnesotans “voluntarily” pay such a multitude of taxes. Isn’t it about time to say we’ve had enough?

But wait, citizens and business owners, hold on to your checkbooks! A great black hole of taxation is developing.

Another tax will soon be added to your already heavy burdens. The new tax might be called the Governor’s Regional Workforce Development tax or the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) tax. The WIA works hand-in-hand with the Minnesota School-to-Work (STW) Initiative, which is the plan our state submitted to the federal STW office to receive grant money. Our local school district is participating in the implementation of school-to-work and the move toward “one-stop” workforce centers in Minnesota.

The STW Initiative states that the School-to-Work Opportunities Act funds are to be “viewed only as venture capital.” The document says, “To achieve system expansion and lasting reform, Minnesota will establish a comprehensive plan for system maintenance based on the coordination of public and private resources.” We are left with no doubt as to what is meant by resources. The STW Initiative states, “In addition to the appropriation of state funds for education, local/regional education agencies receive additional funding through local/regional property taxes and levies.”

Statewide, local business leaders have been lulled into believing STW will help offset the cost of entry-level employee training (now to be paid for by the taxpayers through workforce training in the schools) by providing them with skilled human resources enabling them to compete in the new competitive marketplace. They have been asked to provide mentors, internships, community service opportunities and input for curriculum in our schools. The state expects 100 percent participation by employers.

What will the business community receive in return? They are being promised a future workforce adapted to their needs, free or minimum-wage student labor and positive public relations in their community. What is not mentioned are the tax dollars necessary to support this reinvention of education.

If our public schools and the business community continue to fall in line without so much as a word of resistance, we will soon have additional taxes at local, state and federal levels to support the new “K-80” workforce “supply chain.” And with all the talk about competing in the global economy, don’t be surprised if an additional Global Tax doesn’t show up in the new millennium.

Cindy Zipf

Eden Prairie

EdAction - 105 Peavey Rd, Ste 116, Chaska, MN  55318 
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