Before writing a tax into the Constitution

Last update: February 2, 2008 - 4:32 PM

The Civic Caucus, a Minnesota e-group of senior policy wonks, has taken a salutary tack on the proposed constitutional amendment raising the sales tax for outdoors and arts funding. Their position isn't a flat "don't." It's "don't do it without first trying to accomplish the same thing by statute."

Funding clean water, parks and trails, and the rest ought to be done by the Legislature and governor, not the voters, the Civic Caucus says. Constitutionally dedicated taxes are out of the Legislature's reach, and not adaptable to the state's changing needs.

Advocates for the dedication claim that there's no other way to obtain the funding boost -- that the Legislature and governor won't agree to raise taxes for that purpose. "Such a claim might have some validity, provided a good faith effort to enact legislation had been voted down," the caucus' statement said.

More likely, it would be vetoed. But that would not be an exercise in futility. Rather, it would be a demonstration that the legislative impediment that advocates decry is real, and that a constitutional amendment is truly a necessity, if outdoors and arts funding is to be increased anytime soon.

Improving with age

Baby boomers, it's said, have transformed every institution they've encountered. What will they do with senior citizens' centers? A harbinger might be Vitalize!, a new senior-specific fitness-and-activity center in Chisago City. It's being touted by Ecumen, the nonprofit aging services provider, as a cutting-edge facility for the coming wave of retirees. Think of it as a wellness center without much spandex, or a senior center without much bingo.

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