Wednesday, February 19, 2014

False advertising

This is how progressives win in Minnesota; they play fast and loose with who they are and what they really want.  From an AP piece in the StarTrib-
A large coalition of transportation, business and labor interests called Tuesday for a new 5 percent sales tax on fuel in Minnesota to help raise money for roads and transit projects.
The group, which calls itself Move MN, laid out a $750-million-a-year spending plan at a legislative hearing. It includes two major sources of revenue: $360 million annually for roads from the 5 percent sales tax on wholesale fuel, and another $335 million for transit projects from a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase in the seven counties that make up the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Got that? Transportation and business interests, along with labor.   That sounds like a broad based group, ideologically speaking.  Except when you read the fine print.  From the website for Move MN, here is the list of Coalition Partners.  Business in yellow, unions in blue, and community coalitions in red.


Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition
Minneapolis Urban League
Minnesota AFL-CIO
Minnesota Association of Townships
Minnesota Cancer Alliance
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Minnesota Community Foundation
Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
Minnesota County Engineers Association
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Inter-County Association (MICA)
Minnesota Public Health Association
Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA)
Minnesota Rural Counties Caucus
Minnesota State Building Trades
Minnesota Transportation Alliance
Minnesota Utility Contractors Association
Minnesota Young Professionals Environmental Group
Minnesota Youth Environmental Network
Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition
MN Best, Inc.
Myles Lorentz, Inc.
National MS Society Upper Midwest Chapter
Native American Community Development Institute
Neighborhood Development Center
New American Academy
Nice Ride MN
North Central Bus Sales
North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
OPEIU Local 12
Otter Tail County
Parsons Brinckerhoff
PCiRoads, LLC
Portland Cement Association
Project for Pride in Living
Public Works for Public Good
Quality Bicycle Products
R & G Construction
Rani Engineering Inc.
Regional Health Equity Council, Region V
River Valley Action
Rochester Sand and Gravel
SEH, Inc.
Self Advocates Minnesota
Sheet Metal Workers Local Union #10
Sierra Club North Star Chapter
Small Business Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council
SRF Consulting Group
Stantec Consulting
St. Cloud Area Planning Organization
St. Paul Bicycle Coalition
St. Paul Building & Construction Trades Council
St. Paul Riverfront Corporation
Suburban Transit Association
Summit Academy
Teamsters Joint Council 32
Tiller Corporation
TKDA
Transit for Livable Communities
Trillum Services, Inc
The Trust for Public Land
Twin Cities LISC
UFCW Local 1189
U.S. Highway 14 Partnership
United Transportation Union
Urban Land Institute Minnesota
Urban Land Institute Minnesota Young Leaders Group
Walker Engineering, Inc.
Wenck Associates
Wendel Companies
Western Minnesota-Red River Valley Area Labor Council
Widseth Smith Nolting
WSB & Associates
Young Professionals in Transportation - Minneapolis Chapter
AARP Minnesota
The Ackerberg Group
Advocating Change Together (ACT)
Aeon
African Career, Education & Resource, Inc. (ACER)
AFSCME Minnesota Council 5
Aggregate Industries
Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
Alliance for Sustainability
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005
American Council of Engineering Companies
American Engineering Testing, Inc.
American Heart Association Minnesota Chapter
American Institute of Architects Minnesota
Arc Greater Twin Cities
Architectural Alliance + 20 Below
Asian Economic Development Association
Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
Association of Minnesota Counties
Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation
Barr Engineering Co.
Bearence Management
Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
Bituminous Roadways, Inc.
Bloomington Bicycle Alliance
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
BlueGreen Alliance
Bolton & Menk
Braun Intertec Corporation
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis
car2go Minneapolis
Cemstone Products Co.
CentraCare Health
Central Corridor Funders Collaborative
Central Specialties, Inc.
City Employees' Union Local #363
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
Communications Workers of America MN State Council
Conservation Minnesota
The Cornerstone Group
Cretex Concrete Products, Inc.
Cycles for Change
Fresh Energy
Geyer Signal of St. Cloud, Inc.
Greater MN Advisory Panel
Growth & Justice
Hardrives, Inc.
Hasslen Construction Company, Inc.
HDR Engineering, Inc.
Highway 169 North Task Force
Highway 55 Corridor Coalition
Highway 23 Task Force
HNTB
Hope Community Inc.
Housing Preservation Project
HR Green
I-494 Corridor Commission
IBEW Local 292
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49
ISAIAH
Jewish Community Action
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
KLJ Engineering
Laborers District Council of MN and ND
Laborers Employers Cooperation and Education Trust
Laborers Local 405
Laborers Local 563
Laborers Local 1091
Laborers Local 1097
Lao Assistance Center
League of Minnesota Cities
LHB, Inc.
Mankato/North Mankato Area Planning Organization
Mathiowetz Construction Company
McLeod County
Metro Cities
Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers
Metropolitan Economic Development Association
Meyer Borgman Johnson


Nearly every business listed above (not all are actual businesses, but we'll count them for argument's sake) is directly tied to road or light rail construction, or bus manufacturing.  Concrete companies, bituminous companies, engineering companies, and bus sales companies.

Metro area businesses are not asking for a tax increase for transportation--companies that would directly profit from a big increase in transportation spending are asking for a tax increase.  Don't be fooled by a slick marketing campaign that makes it sound like mom and pop businesses in the metro are asking for more taxes.

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