Minnesota, District 26 On Right Track
If you take a look around Rochester and the outlying towns in Olmsted County, you’ll notice that new construction is on the uptick. And that means jobs. Construction jobs for the people who put up the buildings, and wholesale and retail jobs for those who supply our builders. Jobs for truck drivers who get the supplies from point A to point B. Commissions for real estate agents. Full- and part-time jobs in the businesses housed in the new construction.
But, it doesn’t end there: With the influx of new capital in the hands of entrepreneurs, business people, and employees, that means their purchasing power is stronger. That means more food on the table, or an extra evening out or two every month at a favorite restaurant. As a result, more cooks, more wait staff, more shelf-stockers and more cashiers get hired at area restaurants and grocery stores. More money gets spent at local retailers. And, in turn, employees get more hours, and some new hires occur in retail. More money gets left over from the paycheck every month, so more goes into savings, CDs, and retirement funds. Banks and credit unions have more money to invest in the community. Some more houses get built. Another new business opens.
That’s what a “business cycle” is, and that’s what it’s supposed to look like, as it does here in Southeast Minnesota. What we call the “business cycle” means people having the freedom to make their own economic decisions, to have the burdens imposed by onerous taxation and penalizing regulations lifted from the shoulders of the everyday people who make things happen in the economy. Naysayers call it “trickle down,” but for somebody who’s been out of work for months, even years, finally getting hired is not “trickle down,” but puts him right back in the mainstream of a productive society. For the mother who can finally get full-time benefits to go along with her full-time work hours, and give her kids new clothes from a local retailer – instead of mending hand-me-downs to make them last just one more child – the improving economy isn’t “trickle down.” It’s her path to economic self-sufficiency.
It’s pro-growth, pro-building, and pro-jobs leaders like Senator Carla Nelson who understand this. As Clint Eastwood stated so eloquently a few weeks ago, “We own this country.” It’s We the People who made this the most prosperous and dynamic nation in history, and can do so again.
Recently, the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters endorsed Sen. Nelson.
“When this session adjourned,” writes Kyle Makarios, Director of Government Affairs for the Council, “the legislature had passed bills creating thousands of construction jobs….Thank you for your service in the legislature and for running for reelection. We’re proud to stand with you this fall.”
According to the Star-Tribune, last month was spectacular for Minnesota: “The state took in $1.2 billion for the month, $41 million more than projected, according to Minnesota Management and Budget.” That’s because we have a fiscally-conservative legislature that has cut back on spending. Spending cuts create less demand for tax dollars. Lowered taxes means more money in your pocket. Which, ironically, means more for you to spend, and thus, more revenues flowing into state coffers. To keep us in the black, and out of the red. In two short years, the Minnesota State Legislature turned a $6 billion budget deficit into a more than $1 billion surplus.
That’s how the economy works – when it gets back to work.
