Dave Bishop: What the Taxpayers League has done to GOP

Hooray for realistic state tax policy! Hooray for transparency! In his Nov. 21 attack on Lori Sturdevant's Nov. 11 column, Michael Wigley has done our state a service. For years he has served as Captain Nemo on his subsurface Nautilus -- actually using the misleading pseudonym "Taxpayers League." As such he has led the viral attack on rational state tax policy -- even going to the extent of a 2002 power play at the state Republican convention that led to the famous "No tax increase" pledge by the gubernatorial candidate in return for a shift of support by Wigley's colleague, Brian Sullivan.

What has been the true tax policy of this small group of heavy hitters who call themselves True Conservatives instead of Republicans? To starve government services. To eliminate the effect of inflation on all funding for schools, for local government aid, and for roads and bridges. Their legislative lackeys have supported using inflation to pump up state tax income in budgets while at the same time refusing to use the same inflation standard for budgeting adjustments to state spending.

What have the Taxpayers League lobbyists told legislators to justify this schizophrenic tax policy? They have called it simply "bad tax policy" to budget for inflation in spending. Also they have marshaled the Republican members of the House of Representatives to oppose the indexing of the gas tax for inflation.

Does anyone in Minnesota not see what inflation has done to our gas tax? In 1988 (19 years ago) we raised it to 20 cents. As a Republican House member, I voted for it. Wisconsin also raised its gas tax that year to 20 cents, but added indexing to keep the purchasing power the same after adjusting for inflation. In 19 years, Wisconsin has had to add over 12 cents to its gas tax to keep up with inflation. Minnesota's gas tax of 20 cents is really now worth less than 8 cents.

No wonder we have trouble with aging and broken roadways. No wonder we have so many bridges needing repair. No wonder we have counties and cities raising property taxes to pay for roads that used to be covered by gas tax local distributions.

These are not surprises. They are the result of persistent and successful efforts by Captain Nemo to influence tax policy in the Legislature through major funding for candidates who subscribe to his starve-government tax policy.

So why are Minnesotans so afraid of taxes? Why are we a state with the retail giant, the Mall of America, and yet we are the only state in the whole Upper Midwest without a sales tax on clothing? Both Dakotas, Iowa and Wisconsin, even super-liberal Ontario, tax clothing. Yet Captain Nemo and his Taxpayers League have successfully kept Minnesota's tax policy captive, thereby losing over $400 million a year of tax revenues.

And what has been the real result of this illogical and extreme tax policy? Galloping property taxes, excess levy referendums for school costs that can't keep up with inflation. Also deteriorating roads, declining support for higher education -- in fact, a total of declining quality of our life in Minnesota.

So, thank you, Captain Nemo Wigley, for surfacing. As a lifelong Republican I have needed you to show yourself as one of the extreme conservatives who have torpedoed our Grand Old Party in Minnesota.

Dave Bishop is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from Rochester.