Readers write for Sunday, July 4

Mark Dayton says we should tax the wealthy more in the name of fairness and that state government spends its revenues on us, the people of Minnesota, and on services that benefit us ("Read my lips: Tax the rich," June 27).

Fairness is in the pocketbook of the beholder. A person who can spend $12 million on his own U.S. Senate campaign will have a different opinion of fairness than one who earns $150,000 a year and is now described as wealthy.

Is it fair that the wealthy who Dayton says should pay more taxes are the very people who use government services the least, including education, fire and police?

JIM COPELAND, WAYZATA

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Charlie Weaver apparently sees one other way the rich are different than the rest of us ("But then who'll hire? Who'll give?"): Instead of paying their fair share of taxes, he believes they should have the ability to decide where their extra piles of cash should go -- the opera? Cancer research? Their alma mater? I would like these decisions as well, but taxes are paid to cover public needs. No one makes a special donation to keep the roads drivable, but we all are seeing the need for more-expensive repairs.

Programming for our kids in school, policing our communities, and so many necessary goods and services don't see the beneficence of the rich. As stated so well by the mayor of Wadena in Lori Sturdevant's June 27 column ("Wadena was ready to react, thanks to LGA"), we don't know when any of us will need the various arms of the government -- but we are rapidly approaching the time when we'll be finding out too late.

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Talk about the need for a third way! Compare and contrast Dayton's and Weaver's opinions on state income taxes: Tax the rich. Don't tax the rich. (What, Charlie, tax the poor?) "Simple solutions," as Dayton quotes Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, are "almost always wrong." And then he presents just another simple solution.

How about a slightly more complex solution? Raise taxes just slightly on the lowest third of income earners at the national rate of inflation, the middle third at twice the rate of inflation, and the highest third at three times the rate of inflation. Readjust these rates every three or four years. Lower property taxes at half the rate of inflation each year until they're a reasonable percentage of the real value of the property, say 1.5 percent or so for business and rental, and 1 percent for homestead. Have a flat, statewide (no special assessments) sales tax of 8 percent (excluding food and clothing -- essentials for the poor), and eliminate income taxes for households earning less than $20,000 a year, adjusting the income cutoff upward about every five years, based on inflation.

GUY STRAUSS, MINNEAPOLIS

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To reduce the state deficit, return the tax rate on incomes over $150,000 to what it was back in 1999 (when the state had a surplus). To reduce the federal deficit, institute a 1 percent tax on financial transactions.

TIMOTHY BARDELL, ST. LOUIS PARK

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Mr. Dayton, rich people are not stupid or lazy; they will leave and have left this state because of high taxes. A small-business owner I know moved to Las Vegas. He told me he'd had enough of our cold winters and high taxes. It is foolish to think rich people will happily hand over more of their money. If I were rich, I wouldn't do it.

SUSAN ANTONSEN, DELANO

Why not note that in spite of the Legislature's mindless hostility to slots, the track soldiers on in a field of 17 casinos around the state? How about telling us something about the marvelous athletes who created a Minnesota legacy of racing: Princess Elaine, Come Summer, the beloved gray mare Hoist Her Flag? Why leave out the great stories of Minnesota's horse breeders and owners, who continue to deal with financial and emotional ups and downs to keep the dream of producing champions alive? Why not say something about the 72 percent of Minnesotans who support a racino and want to see racing succeed in our state? Maybe you could find a few lines of space in the Star Tribune Sports section a few times a year to give us some in-depth coverage of our own racetrack?

LYN COWAN, EAGAN

Despite a small drop in the last two years, the total compensation of many Minnesota CEOs, including base pay, bonuses and stock options, is still absurdly high ("Double dip," June 27). The median "bonus" of $222,750 exceeds what the vast majority of Minnesotans earn as salary. The employer's tax deduction for any employee's total compensation should be capped at $1 million, as suggested recently in the Financial Times. Thus employers could pay more, but the taxpayer would not have to subsidize the tax deduction and shareholders could consider what really constitutes fair pay.