Letter: Capital needs Bills and 'Econ 101'

To the Editor:

When Amy Klobuchar ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006, she said having a $300 billion deficit was immoral. Yet, in her six years in the Senate, she has voted for nearly $8 trillion in new debt resulting in deficits exceeding a trillion dollars for four years in a row. The federal debt is now over $16 trillion — that’s $55,000 a citizen or $220,000 for a family of 4. In addition, she has voted for $46 billion in earmarks.

One of Klobuchar’s solutions is to increase revenues by increasing tax rates in 2013 on those earning over $250,000 per year (known as eliminating the Bush “tax cuts”). However popular it is to say that you are increasing taxes on the rich, this approach will not have the desired result.

If you were to increase the tax rate on millionaires to 100 percent, this increased revenue would only fund the government for four months. In addition, raising the tax rate does not result in higher revenues. Higher tax rates cause taxpayers to change their behaviors and revenues subsequently fall. Since the 1960s revenues have remained at 18 to 20 percent of gross domestic product regardless of the tax rate.

According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 75 percent of small businesses are organized in such a way that they pay taxes on their business income based on their individual income tax rates. Increasing the tax rate for those earning over $250,000 will also increase taxes on small businesses.

Small business owners use the "income" they report on their individual tax returns to run their businesses. Often the only options they have to pay for tax increases are to cut salaries or benefits or to curtail plans for growth including hiring more employees. Raising taxes on small businesses kills jobs, increases unemployment and weakens our economy.

As Kurt Bills said, “Amy Klobuchar is busy trying to raise taxes on small businesses as the economy is grinding to a halt.”

“This election comes down to a very simple choice: are we going to put government first, or jobs. Klobuchar has made it clear that protecting big government is her priority.”

Kurt Bills is an economics teacher at Rosemount High School and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives . He teaches his first hour advanced placement economics class every morning before going to the Capitol when the legislature is in session or going out on the campaign trail. He is married with four children ages 5 to 15 and owns and operates a small business with his wife, Cindy. He is a citizen legislator, not a career politician.

Please join me in voting for Kurt Bills on Nov. 6 so that he can bring ECON 101 to Washington.

Anne M. Anderson

Wanamingo

Tags: opinion, letters, election