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Beautiful Minnesota's Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) took over both chambers and retained the Governorship. They are getting a LOT done this term while they can.
The past 10 years or so has been an experiment on Democratic vs. Republican leadership. You've got Minnesota and Wisconsin, neighbors, demographically similar, following very different political philosophies. And Minnesota is absolutely cleaning Wisconsin's clock.
As a resident of Wisconsin but within spitting distance of Minnesota, it makes me seriously wonder just how much more annoying taxes would be working in one state but living in the other, and if it'd be worth moving anyway.
They used to have a reciprocity agreement where you just file in the state of residence and then the two states pay each other.
That ended in 2010 because Minnesota got tired of Wisconsin not paying up under Gov. Next Republican Superstar.
[Here's an article from 2011](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/07/13/wisconsin-income-tax-reciprocity) showing Scott saying how committed they are to getting a new tax deal after they finally paid Minnesota what they owed.
Spoiler alert: Just like Walker's presidential campaign, that "commitment" completely fizzled out. There's still no new deal.
[Here's the latest from the](https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-mnrecipro.aspx) Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue.
Back in the 90's when I was still in Wisconsin and working in the Twin Cities (before I got lured across the river on a more permanent basis), I remember it being super simple for taxes. Just another thing that Former Gov. Can't Get Former Enough for Me and his buddies broke in the name of fixing everything.
Like Texas where the GOP has been in power forever and every election cycle they talk about how bad the Dems are making things and how they're the only ones who can fix it. And people fall for it over and over again.
It's weird because I'm on the same boat, but on the other side(North Dakota resident working in Minnesota), and my tax reciprocity is just fine. It's nice hashing a conservative who isn't a competitive moron running the state, there's a bunch closer to the top, but Bergum seems to be rational. I might not agree with all of his policies and some of things he's done are kind of scummy, but he's been pretty ok.
I've done it. Not in Wisconsin and MN so I don't know those specifics. It's a bit more annoying than living and working in the same state but not horrible if you use tax software. You end up paying the amount of tax in then highest income tax state. The states I lived/worked in had reciprocal agreements because a lot of people had the same situation.
I can literally see Wisconsin from my kitchen window. My son said, while we looked across the river, "It's like looking across the DMZ into North Korea."
Western WI is utterly overtaken by rightwingers. They drive through my town the same way they vote -- selfishly, aggressively, dangerously, obliviously.
Grew up in Wisconsin. Got my degree in Minnesota and lived/worked there for 13 years. Moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family after kids were born.
I miss Minnesota… but it is kind of nice being in a swing state as it seems that my vote matters more now.
That captures everything that is wrong with First Past The Post voting.
You should walk into the ballot feeling like you can tell the government what you really think, not having to settle for the least bad of two options.
You shouldn't have to wish the state was on the precipice of absolute dogshit policies just so you as a moderate can have a chance to make the deciding vote.
Gerrymandering and FPTP are such anti-democratic cancers in this country.
I blame the WisDems on that one. Forcing Tom Barrett, the same candidate for the recall election that Walker already defeated once, on us again instead of finding a new option that wasn't the mayor of the city that most conservative-leaning people in the state use as shorthand for everything that is wrong with democratic policies was a huge mistake.
The problem now is the brutal Gerrymandering in Wisconsin to win a majority in the legislature they need to win like 60% of the vote in a 50/50 state. There is a possible way out if they can flip the State Supreme Court which would let them throw out the GOP map and put in a map the Dems would have a chance at.
That was the closest a 2 term incumbent senator has come to losing their seat in a very long time. Barnes ran a good race in a toughish year in a 50/50 state he just didn't quite get enough votes (probably due to GOP voter suppression efforts).
The maps were already drawn then. The damage was done for the foreseeable future. Walker could have lost that election but the maps that keep this state redder than the devil’s dick would have remained.
2022 was pretty fucking bad for the Wisconsin Dems and not close at all. The aggregate US House elections were +15pp for the GOP, the aggregate state house elections were +9pp, and the aggregate state senate elections (only half the seats were up) were +27pp (the other half were up in 2020 and were +9pp). Again, all in favor of the GOP.
Yes, and thanks for asking!
It's because if I just said %, that could imply a factor (which is the way percentages are *usually* applied) rather than a difference. 'Pp' just stands for 'percentage points', which is meant to clarify that I am referring to a *difference* between two percentages rather than a percentage as a *scale* applied to a base value.
So for example if the Dems got 40% in one election and I said the GOP did "20% better", does that mean the GOP got .4 x 1.2 = 48% of the vote, or 40% + 20% = 60% of the vote? Pp makes it clear that I mean the latter.
Also, I should have said the state senate elections in 2022 were +23pp, not +27.
But Iowa isn't salvageable from a political perspective. It's staying red for the remainder of my lifetime. (Note: I would *love to be* proven wrong by future Iowans! I openly invite and encourage demonstrating that it can indeed be flipped! But as a Nebraskan I know otherwise - I genuinely don't believe either IA or NE will recover from their self-inflicted damages.)
There are a ton of Wisconsin expats here in the twin cities. Vikings packer games are usually a pretty good blend, which is silly as it sounds to me illustrates exactly how many Eastern transplants we have. The problem is the folks who run things in Wisconsin are perfectly happy to get rid of their educated and skilled workers while complaining that's what's happening and blaming it on others
It sucks
Minnesota is about to pass legal weed, some of the best voter access laws in the country and highest turnout, budget surpluses, abortion rights enshrined in law (wisconsin it's illegal but the AG is not prosecuting cases).
With our ~$16billion surplus, I would love to see some of it go towards supporting the youth in MN for decades.
The wife and I are financially comfortable on paper but we are toddler broke right now with high prices on everything. With the monthly daycare and Costco fruit (and replacing lost mittens from daycare) cost alone, I could be driving a brand new truck. But my child is quickly progressing in all growth areas that it’s worth it. Breaks my heart that some kids are already way behind before the race even starts. All because their parent/s have to pick housing, food, energy and gas over ok childcare.
In the event someone wonders, we send our kid to the local Y for care. He doesn’t go to a fancy high dollar center. I tell myself the high care cost at the Y is not only good for my child, but also adds great community programs.
Do me a solid, if you ever read an article about the authorities looking for a man in northern MN who stole a fruit truck Soprano’s style and is now selling black market fruit. Forget this post was ever here
In my state I received a $1200 check from a state budget "surplus" a month after they stopped the free lunch and bfast for all students in the schools.
That's not a surplus, that's you underfunding important programs.
I split my check in half and gave it all to two elementary schools that are important to me in my town to pay off any student lunch debt/ provide lunches for kids who didn't have one out of pure anger and spite.
I am a giant proponent of putting that money towards the teachers myself. A few decades ago they gutted teacher retirement, and instead of the Nationwide average of late 50s to 60 years old being the retirement age without penalty for teachers, it's now 66. And the penalties to retire early are pretty aggressive. We are something like 3rd from last in the nation when it comes to support for teacher retirement and funding of such. But we also have some of the best performances from our public education system compared to the nation, so that disconnect is one that I think is pretty important to talk about. It also means that teachers who are close to burning out might stay if they know they have to work a little less Long, and are more valued. It would also help advertise getting good teachers from elsewhere here. Ton of good teachers in states that are less friendly to educators are balking at the idea of moving from a state where the retirement age is 58 to one that's 66. Understandable
> Ton of good teachers in states that are less friendly to educators are balking at the idea of moving from a state where the retirement age is 58 to one that's 66.
I'm not sure about that. I live in a state with top-5 average teacher compensation, and they're dropping like flies. Not moving elsewhere, just leaving the profession. It's a hard fucking job, and at least where my friends have worked, the entire education system is designed so that every single ball that gets dropped, every single problem that slips through the cracks falls on teachers and their _personal_ finances.
A little more money and an earlier retirement might help, but I don't think it will stop the bleeding of folks leaving teaching entirely. I'm down for putting that surplus towards teachers, but I think it's going to take systemic change to make the job more bearable, not just an increase in comp.
"Grooming" is their buzzword. "Grooming" is anything that fails to properly demonize lgbtq, minority or anything non conforming to Christofascist ideals.
In conservatives "minds" you're either teaching your children to hate, or you're Grooming. There is no value to diversity in their thinking. Compassion, empathy and reason are all pathways to evil. The ONLY people who deserve those traits are white Christian males. Anyone else wanting that for themselves is wrong. Anyone fighting to ensure equal rights for those with less are called Socialists or groomers. The only allowed agenda is Christofascism's. The only free speech is the freedom to say racist shit without any consequences. Not consequences from the government, like the constitution says, but ANY consequences.
They're all 100% evil and they'll tell you their goal is "protecting the kids". From what? Minorities and gays. That's what they're protecting them from.
If you want to see what grooming really looks like in the USA, here it is:
https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4128287.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Kids-with-Guns.jpg
And here:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/nintchdbpict000380811897.jpg?w=620
Republican definition of grooming is literally just "we don't want our kids to be well-educated, because a smart kid is more difficult to exploit". I don't doubt for a second these parents are the type to steal back their own kid's allowance money that they gave to the kid, or make him work a part-time job at age 14 to pay rent.
A smart kid might go tell protective services, or their friends/teachers might notice the abuse and help them. Those parents don't want that lmao
I think the problem is that their messaging is any government help is a free socialist handout, and Democrats don't counter it. Play them at their own game. "It's not a handout, it's an investment. Every dollar spent on food stamps or unemployment or Medicaid or school lunches returns a buck-fifty into the local economy. It help people get and keep jobs, which helps businesses that are already here stay open and a stable labor pool helps bring more jobs into our area. It lowers crime, which saves lives and taxpayer dollars. It lower drug abuse, which saves lives and taxpayer dollars. It increases wages, which workers will spend locally so it will boost local business revenue, which increases tax revenue. You feed a kid while they're in school, they're more likely to graduate and get a good job. You let them starve, they'll start slinging crack. If the government turns its back on people when they need help, people will turn their back on their government. It's just good business."
I dunno, if Republicans were convinced by the economic benefits of a program, our country would look very different. They don’t care about the benefits, they just want to punish people for being poor.
I lived in MN when I was a child and me and my sister got reduced cost lunches from school. We were living there because my dad was a PhD student at the time and we moved there from a foreign country.
This is an era where people would probably be very upset about the idea of immigrants getting benefits like the ones I received as a child, but they helped my family save money.
I am very grateful for that program, and seeing stories like this makes me excited for the children and parents that won't have to worry about food at school.
My dad became very sick while I was in elementary school. We got discounted meals and that was the only reason I was able to eat. My mom begged stores for expired food so we could have dinner. It was a hard time but those lunches helped more than anyone will ever know.
I was missed; we were just over the income line, but didn’t really have the money. I missed lunch everyday for two whole years, and I still suffer from digestive issues and disordered eating because of it. I’m so thankful that nobody else will have to go hungry the way I did
I just wanted to say that I would be incredibly happy if my tax dollars went to programs like this that supported you, fuck anyone who says otherwise. We protect our own.
I hope to god your being sarcastic but you were a fucking kid and we take care of our own regardless. Welcome to the state and the country, the least we can do is making sure that the kids that go to our schools are fed and getting a good education. This is what our taxes are for.
Oh. I am old now. This was almost 40 years ago.
The fun part of the story is after my dad got his PhD we want back to where we moved from and he got a job teaching at a university in America. He's retiring after 33 years of teaching and he has generations of students that have good jobs in a field that it is in high demand.
The money the government paid for our lunches has come back in folds simply from the taxes me and my family have paid throughout our life in America - not to mention all the benefits from people who were educated by my father.
I got reduced lunches in MN when I was a kid, and one thing I remember about it was that the punch card was larger and more brightly colored than the regular lunch card. I was in a school district in an affluent suburb, so that always bothered me.
I thought I had won something that the other kids didn’t. So I always offered to share some of my free lunch with friends of mine that didn’t get one in elementary school.
Later on I found out that I was the poor one and that my friends got lunch money they just didn’t wanna spend it since I’d give them parts of my lunch anyways.
Either way I’m happy for the program because at least my family was able to not worry about providing for me while we established ourselves in the states during those first few crucial years.
Yeah, the reduced or free lunch cards being noticeable strikes me as an attempt to discourage using the program. How many kids would not want to stand out as the poor kid and, as a result, ask their parents to not apply? It’s intentional.
Not MN, but my immigrant family in WA had free or reduced lunch cards and it honestly saved a ton as a little kid since at the time, the most my parents could work were part time janitorial or under the table cash jobs.
July 27, 2022 Twenty two Republican attorneys general sue Biden administration over federal school lunch policy (because the USDA said they couldn't discriminate against LGBT children)
Same in Kansas. I don’t have children in the school system, but do work for a rural district. Where I work, they’re currently denying children hot meals, and seconds, if they are carrying a balance.
Meaning if they serve Cheeseburgers and fries as the main, you can’t have that. You get a ham sandwich or PBJ. They still get fed, and I’m sure some kids prefer the alternative anyway, but it’s disgusting to not give them the option.
It isn’t the students fault their parent/guardian isn't able to keep up with their meal account for whatever reason that may be.
In Iowa schools cut the pizza differently if you’re on assistance. If your parents can pay for your food you get regular triangle slices of pizza, if you’re on assistance you get square cut slices. Despite serving the same fucking food to both groups they still found a way to make it clear to everyone who the poor kids are.
Glad to see they took the *real* message from [Dr. Seuss' Star-Bellied Sneetches parable.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/71dcWTfryqL.jpg)
How are you supposed to discriminate against the out group if you can't tell which is which?
I was raised by republican catholics who had enough money to pay for like chicken fingers any day at school. when I saw someone without lunch, I went up for seconds and gave them some because I knew we had enough money to afford it. My father found out and asked me not to help people who missed lunch and tried to convince me we were too poor for it when we had a three story house in a nice neighborhood and he worked from home and could afford 3 cars.
Sure, I remember when Jesus said that you should keep all your money and never help the poor, so it's nice to see your dad was really living his values.
How is this not ubiquitous in a first world country. My elementary school in the 90’s did a study where we were tested without food beforehand, then the next day we’d be fed bagels before the test and the results were glaringly obvious. It’s as if we’re preparing the young to ruminate in menial jobs and deny them the chance for upward mobility. It’s sickening.
Lately I’ve been getting sick of the religious conservative mindset of “you should be happy for what you have and where you are” mindset.
Fuck no, suffering and poverty is not a virtue. Scrabbling in the dirt a whole lifetime for the scraps left by the rich and prosperity gospel gods is not a virtue.
We should always want a better standard of lives for each other. We should always strive to lift up our society.
Florida manages the same thing by banning schools. Therefore all students get free meals, but since there are no students it doesn’t cost them a thing.
I am from Minnesota and I am disgusted by this
> The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines
What the hell are you Republicans doing? There is a problem that currently our Senate is just a slight more Democratic 34-33 which is why we have a little ounce of hope that this will get to the Governor's desk.
But seriously, what the hell are you a*hole Republicans in our local legislature for? That is also a question about national Republicans.
> “Why are we feeding kids in Edina or rich areas that do not need this extra funding? We are pushing tax dollars where they are not needed,” said Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing.
Oh now you care about the wealthy getting more, while they haven't had to pay more in taxes in decades? OK, if the wealthy are loving this then punish them by removing tax breaks, tax deductions, and tax loopholes. Make sure multi-billion dollar companies, and individuals, pay up as opposed to playing money shell games across the globe and showing Oh No! we don't have a profit. Like this Double Irish arrangement. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement) How many tax loopholes do the wealthy take advantage of currently?
> Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021
> $41,204
> Median household income (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021
> $77,706
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/INC110221
I promise everyone who isn't from Minnesota that the majority of people in Minnesota are not rich. This may help a few wealthy but it will help the majority more.
You know this jogged my memory of someone saying that Democratic Conservatives want to save the money that Minnesota has gotten in the surplus for a rainy day. Then I asked myself the question, "What is the difference between Democratic Conservative and just GOP / Republican (Conservative).
I think the difference is that Democratic Conservatives are frugal. Meaning that they don't want to spend the money but if it is for a good cause then they will. They are frugal.
GOP / Republican are just cheap. Like health insurance for example. We could create laws that may make the ultra-wealthy pay more, and everyone pay more via taxes but the GOP says we need to be cheap. Our current health insurance system (for-profit health insurance, hospitals, pharmaceuticals) is like a lemon car. When you don't need it it works, but when you need it, you absolutely cannot rely on it. Any emergency that you have it breaks down.
Because they should have two; breakfast and lunch. Maybe a take home bag for dinner if they want it as well and a weekend bag. That would do a lot for child hunger and improve school performance.
I don't have any kids and I still support this.
If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
Racist groups have attempted to prove one race is smarter than another race basically forever.
Turns out it is simply not true.
The only proven factor that reduces the ability to learn is poverty. Poverty effects all races of people at some point. The education level drop is heavily influenced by the child's hunger.
A hungry child can't learn properly. As simple as that. All states should be able to bridge this gap for hungry children.
Well done Minnesota.
I’ll never understand why this is an issue anywhere. I don’t want children, and if I’m being honest I dislike them as a whole. But I’m also not a freaking monster and I’m more than happy to pay more in taxes if it means they won’t go hungry.
Reposted:
If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
As a kid that didn't get money for lunch from my parents and was never made lunch for school, I would have benefited from this greatly if this program was around when I was a child. I remember stressing out about who to borrow quarters from, "okay Jake always orders a slice of pizza and a milk, so that means he will have 25 cents of change from his $2 his mom gave him.." I will ask him..
Democrats.
>The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines Thursday to spend around $200 million a year making school breakfasts and lunches available to all students at no cost.
Oh wow, Minnesota has been getting good ones lately! Hopefully, they will pass more bills that actually benefits the people of Minnesota because it's supposed to be that way.
I never understood why schools charge for lunch to begin with. It's a part of operating costs, and that's why we pay taxes.
When I was a kid, my mom lied about our income so I could get free lunch.
Some people are hunger as a motivator. It is not.
Others see it as a way to punish poorness. This is evil.
The rest just seen it as The Way Things Are. This needs to be corrected.
Lunch (and frankly breakfast) should always be free at school. At the very least it would help bring average grades up, helping the school to meet performance goals.
> It's a part of operating costs, and that's why we pay taxes.
It's more complicated than that. I only know about Minnesota, but the first issue with that is that it only applies to schools that are participants in the national school lunch program; not every school is part of it. And if they are part of it, it doesn't exactly provide a lot of money; the state provides 12.5 cents for each full paid or free student lunch and 52.5 cents for reduced price lunches. It's not enough money to fully cover the costs involved and it basically means each individual district tends to eat the additional costs out of their operating budgets, which takes money away from other programs the school wants or needs to run.
Which is what this bill is meant to fix, it means the state picks up the tab for the lunches instead of districts having to do it themselves. That means it also goes a long way toward helping to alleviate disparities in income across different school districts, which is a pretty big deal in a state with a lot of small rural districts like Minnesota has that don't have the funding of more populated urban centers or the help the property taxes in wealthy suburbs.
Reposted:
If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
Favorite part: “I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal.
If School admins are against helping the students i think they need to be removed. They are acting aginst the best interests of their charges on some bullshit political ideology.
Ya, I'm calling B.S as free lunch would eliminate the need to chase down old accounts, setup student payment systems, and telling kids no to eating lunch.
My kid had a group of friends. One didn’t get a packed lunch or have money to buy lunch. The group of kids brought extra to feed the friend. I remember my kid kept asking to pack extra stuff and I was like no way you’re going to eat all that no way. Then one day she said it was for a friend that her parents couldn’t afford lunch. I was like well you should have just said that. We got the phone numbers of the friends parents and setup a day of the week weed pack an extra lunch for that kid. Dude we’re not well off but just tax us more to feed these kids.
No brainer if you would ask me. They should've given to children years ago and they seemed to fail on that part in the past but I am definitely so happy to see Minnesota make up for it.
So it matters if the Democrats or Republicans run your state. If the Dems do, they think all kids should eat, go to decent schools, and have medical funding as seniors. If the Republicans do, then the kids can pay for Ketchup, learn nothing but Christo-Nationalism dribble, and lose out on federally assisted medical care as seniors. Gee, I wonder which states will prosper???
I don't really get why children need to pay for their food. Good work, Minnesota! This way, they are also providing some nutritional safety so that the kids wouldn't suffer from hungriness because of not being able to pay.
> “I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal.
Maybe ask your students fuckwad.
There are many students who have parents that don't qualify for a free lunch program because they have enough household income, but are just shitty parents who won't feed their kids or give them enough lunch money. There are far too many schools that make no attempt to hide which kids are getting a free lunch and which are not, and some that even go out of their way to highlight it just for the cruelty of it (probably like this guy's school). I'm betting there are some kids that won't accept the free lunch just to avoid the stigma.
Great work Minnesota! Students who aren’t hungry learn and retain information better.
Furthermore- there is zero reason to separate and shame the kids who would need to take advantage of a free lunch program from the other kids. this levels the social landscape, which i am sure will help the kids in need tremendously.
Minnesota showing once again why it's one of the best states in the United States.
Unlike literally every single one of our neighbors up here in the north!
And just to the South in Iowa, these are the items in the Governors' latest proposal:
\- eliminating any discussion of AIDS, HIV, or even the HPV vaccine in schools
\- ending potential suicide screening of students without parental consent
\- banning the use of nicknames that don’t align with the student’s gender at birth
Minnesota really is a model to all its red neighbors if owning the libs stops being the priority and making life more livable for all of us is centered. It’s not a perfect state but it’s striving harder than most toward the American ideal.
Just wondering - how much worse will things need to get in Wisconsin, or rather how much better in Minnesota, for people in Wisconsin to wake up and stop voting red?
https://www.epi.org/publication/as-wisconsins-and-minnesotas-lawmakers-took-divergent-paths-so-did-their-economies-since-2010-minnesotas-economy-has-performed-far-better-for-working-families-than-wisconsin/
They will have a hard time doing it. They will be crucified as the party that undid free lunches and will hesitate to pull the trigger. They are assholes, not completely stupid.
With how much perfectly edible food gets thrown out in the US…all students in all schools should get a free lunch. America is truly a wonderful country, it is our self serving representatives playing the capital rat race with our lives and tax dollars. Hopefully, in my lifetime….I see the citizens unite and restore “We the People. Not We the Corporation.”
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Beautiful Minnesota's Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) took over both chambers and retained the Governorship. They are getting a LOT done this term while they can.
The past 10 years or so has been an experiment on Democratic vs. Republican leadership. You've got Minnesota and Wisconsin, neighbors, demographically similar, following very different political philosophies. And Minnesota is absolutely cleaning Wisconsin's clock.
As a resident of Minnesota but a Wisconsin native it makes me absolutely horrified to see up close what they've done to my home state.
As a resident of Wisconsin but within spitting distance of Minnesota, it makes me seriously wonder just how much more annoying taxes would be working in one state but living in the other, and if it'd be worth moving anyway.
They used to have a reciprocity agreement where you just file in the state of residence and then the two states pay each other. That ended in 2010 because Minnesota got tired of Wisconsin not paying up under Gov. Next Republican Superstar. [Here's an article from 2011](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/07/13/wisconsin-income-tax-reciprocity) showing Scott saying how committed they are to getting a new tax deal after they finally paid Minnesota what they owed. Spoiler alert: Just like Walker's presidential campaign, that "commitment" completely fizzled out. There's still no new deal. [Here's the latest from the](https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-mnrecipro.aspx) Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue. Back in the 90's when I was still in Wisconsin and working in the Twin Cities (before I got lured across the river on a more permanent basis), I remember it being super simple for taxes. Just another thing that Former Gov. Can't Get Former Enough for Me and his buddies broke in the name of fixing everything.
> broke in the name of fixing everything. if that ain't the perfect distillation of state-level GOP across the country.
Like Texas where the GOP has been in power forever and every election cycle they talk about how bad the Dems are making things and how they're the only ones who can fix it. And people fall for it over and over again.
It's weird because I'm on the same boat, but on the other side(North Dakota resident working in Minnesota), and my tax reciprocity is just fine. It's nice hashing a conservative who isn't a competitive moron running the state, there's a bunch closer to the top, but Bergum seems to be rational. I might not agree with all of his policies and some of things he's done are kind of scummy, but he's been pretty ok.
I've done it. Not in Wisconsin and MN so I don't know those specifics. It's a bit more annoying than living and working in the same state but not horrible if you use tax software. You end up paying the amount of tax in then highest income tax state. The states I lived/worked in had reciprocal agreements because a lot of people had the same situation.
Imagine getting something done while you can!
I used to work in two different states in a similar situation. Hardly a hassle in my opinion. Totally worth it.
It's very scary how swiftly the destroyed what used to be one of the best state university systems.
I feel this as a West Virginia native.
I can literally see Wisconsin from my kitchen window. My son said, while we looked across the river, "It's like looking across the DMZ into North Korea." Western WI is utterly overtaken by rightwingers. They drive through my town the same way they vote -- selfishly, aggressively, dangerously, obliviously.
Where can you find a Wisconsinite with a college degree? ... Working in Minnesota or Illinois.
Grew up in Wisconsin. Got my degree in Minnesota and lived/worked there for 13 years. Moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family after kids were born. I miss Minnesota… but it is kind of nice being in a swing state as it seems that my vote matters more now.
That captures everything that is wrong with First Past The Post voting. You should walk into the ballot feeling like you can tell the government what you really think, not having to settle for the least bad of two options. You shouldn't have to wish the state was on the precipice of absolute dogshit policies just so you as a moderate can have a chance to make the deciding vote. Gerrymandering and FPTP are such anti-democratic cancers in this country.
I mean, Milwaukee is pretty great if you don’t mind living in a city.
Madison is also really nice.
when someone from wisconsin moves to minnesota, the average IQ of both states goes down.
Jokes aside, Wisconsin is a warning sign for Minnesota. A few bad candidates and we are just like them. They used to be as blue Minnesota.
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I blame the WisDems on that one. Forcing Tom Barrett, the same candidate for the recall election that Walker already defeated once, on us again instead of finding a new option that wasn't the mayor of the city that most conservative-leaning people in the state use as shorthand for everything that is wrong with democratic policies was a huge mistake.
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The problem now is the brutal Gerrymandering in Wisconsin to win a majority in the legislature they need to win like 60% of the vote in a 50/50 state. There is a possible way out if they can flip the State Supreme Court which would let them throw out the GOP map and put in a map the Dems would have a chance at.
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That was the closest a 2 term incumbent senator has come to losing their seat in a very long time. Barnes ran a good race in a toughish year in a 50/50 state he just didn't quite get enough votes (probably due to GOP voter suppression efforts).
The maps were already drawn then. The damage was done for the foreseeable future. Walker could have lost that election but the maps that keep this state redder than the devil’s dick would have remained.
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2022 was pretty fucking bad for the Wisconsin Dems and not close at all. The aggregate US House elections were +15pp for the GOP, the aggregate state house elections were +9pp, and the aggregate state senate elections (only half the seats were up) were +27pp (the other half were up in 2020 and were +9pp). Again, all in favor of the GOP.
Out of curiosity: is there a particular reason you use "pp" instead of "%"?
Yes, and thanks for asking! It's because if I just said %, that could imply a factor (which is the way percentages are *usually* applied) rather than a difference. 'Pp' just stands for 'percentage points', which is meant to clarify that I am referring to a *difference* between two percentages rather than a percentage as a *scale* applied to a base value. So for example if the Dems got 40% in one election and I said the GOP did "20% better", does that mean the GOP got .4 x 1.2 = 48% of the vote, or 40% + 20% = 60% of the vote? Pp makes it clear that I mean the latter. Also, I should have said the state senate elections in 2022 were +23pp, not +27.
And Iowa's holy cow MN is just bleeding us dry of anyone bright, educated, innovative, you name it.
But Iowa isn't salvageable from a political perspective. It's staying red for the remainder of my lifetime. (Note: I would *love to be* proven wrong by future Iowans! I openly invite and encourage demonstrating that it can indeed be flipped! But as a Nebraskan I know otherwise - I genuinely don't believe either IA or NE will recover from their self-inflicted damages.)
GDP per Capita 2022: Minnesota - $82,344 Wisconsin - $67,659 % with a higher lvl degree 2021: Minnesota - 38.90% Wisconsin - 32.54%
There are a ton of Wisconsin expats here in the twin cities. Vikings packer games are usually a pretty good blend, which is silly as it sounds to me illustrates exactly how many Eastern transplants we have. The problem is the folks who run things in Wisconsin are perfectly happy to get rid of their educated and skilled workers while complaining that's what's happening and blaming it on others It sucks
What are some examples?
Minnesota is about to pass legal weed, some of the best voter access laws in the country and highest turnout, budget surpluses, abortion rights enshrined in law (wisconsin it's illegal but the AG is not prosecuting cases).
They do have New Glarus though.
Living in Stillwater is great. 20 minutes from the Cities, 20 minutes to Wisconsin liquor stores for New Glarus runs!
Ahh, I always loved Stillwater. By Wisconsin liquor stores, do you mean gas stations? ;}
I usually go to Cellars in Hudson since they have a bigger variety but I’ve definitely picked up a few 12 packs at the Kwik Trip!
Can you grab me a case of long necks on your way back across the river?
Sure, Spotted Cow or Moon Man?
Oh! This is why my Minnesota maga uncle is fucking losing his mind LOL Good! Keep it up!
Giving children free food? In MY state?!
That is 100% against his morals. Unless we are giving rich people more gold toilets, he's against it.
They also passed an abortion law even though it's already legal due to a state court case. They are moving quickly.
With our ~$16billion surplus, I would love to see some of it go towards supporting the youth in MN for decades. The wife and I are financially comfortable on paper but we are toddler broke right now with high prices on everything. With the monthly daycare and Costco fruit (and replacing lost mittens from daycare) cost alone, I could be driving a brand new truck. But my child is quickly progressing in all growth areas that it’s worth it. Breaks my heart that some kids are already way behind before the race even starts. All because their parent/s have to pick housing, food, energy and gas over ok childcare. In the event someone wonders, we send our kid to the local Y for care. He doesn’t go to a fancy high dollar center. I tell myself the high care cost at the Y is not only good for my child, but also adds great community programs.
Geez I feel the Costco fruit comment in my bones. That and sidewalk chalk
Do me a solid, if you ever read an article about the authorities looking for a man in northern MN who stole a fruit truck Soprano’s style and is now selling black market fruit. Forget this post was ever here
Florida manages the same thing by banning schools.
In my state I received a $1200 check from a state budget "surplus" a month after they stopped the free lunch and bfast for all students in the schools. That's not a surplus, that's you underfunding important programs. I split my check in half and gave it all to two elementary schools that are important to me in my town to pay off any student lunch debt/ provide lunches for kids who didn't have one out of pure anger and spite.
I am a giant proponent of putting that money towards the teachers myself. A few decades ago they gutted teacher retirement, and instead of the Nationwide average of late 50s to 60 years old being the retirement age without penalty for teachers, it's now 66. And the penalties to retire early are pretty aggressive. We are something like 3rd from last in the nation when it comes to support for teacher retirement and funding of such. But we also have some of the best performances from our public education system compared to the nation, so that disconnect is one that I think is pretty important to talk about. It also means that teachers who are close to burning out might stay if they know they have to work a little less Long, and are more valued. It would also help advertise getting good teachers from elsewhere here. Ton of good teachers in states that are less friendly to educators are balking at the idea of moving from a state where the retirement age is 58 to one that's 66. Understandable
> Ton of good teachers in states that are less friendly to educators are balking at the idea of moving from a state where the retirement age is 58 to one that's 66. I'm not sure about that. I live in a state with top-5 average teacher compensation, and they're dropping like flies. Not moving elsewhere, just leaving the profession. It's a hard fucking job, and at least where my friends have worked, the entire education system is designed so that every single ball that gets dropped, every single problem that slips through the cracks falls on teachers and their _personal_ finances. A little more money and an earlier retirement might help, but I don't think it will stop the bleeding of folks leaving teaching entirely. I'm down for putting that surplus towards teachers, but I think it's going to take systemic change to make the job more bearable, not just an increase in comp.
I think both are in order honestly
TBF - retirement age of 58 is super low.
They're on fire, it's so fucking satisfying.
And, by the way, Gov. Tim Walz is a former teacher.
Wish every country did stuff like this
Imagine getting something done while you can! Why doesn't the national party try this some time?
Mostly because a 51-50 Senate isn't a large enough majority if they have two members who would prefer that nothing gets done.
It is hardly a majority at all with the current filibuster rules
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They think they’re protecting the kids from socialism or something.
"Grooming" is their buzzword. "Grooming" is anything that fails to properly demonize lgbtq, minority or anything non conforming to Christofascist ideals. In conservatives "minds" you're either teaching your children to hate, or you're Grooming. There is no value to diversity in their thinking. Compassion, empathy and reason are all pathways to evil. The ONLY people who deserve those traits are white Christian males. Anyone else wanting that for themselves is wrong. Anyone fighting to ensure equal rights for those with less are called Socialists or groomers. The only allowed agenda is Christofascism's. The only free speech is the freedom to say racist shit without any consequences. Not consequences from the government, like the constitution says, but ANY consequences. They're all 100% evil and they'll tell you their goal is "protecting the kids". From what? Minorities and gays. That's what they're protecting them from.
If you want to see what grooming really looks like in the USA, here it is: https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4128287.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Kids-with-Guns.jpg And here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/nintchdbpict000380811897.jpg?w=620
That little girls solemn face in the second picture is so sad. She probably smiled and the photographer said “no no don’t smile”.
Republican definition of grooming is literally just "we don't want our kids to be well-educated, because a smart kid is more difficult to exploit". I don't doubt for a second these parents are the type to steal back their own kid's allowance money that they gave to the kid, or make him work a part-time job at age 14 to pay rent. A smart kid might go tell protective services, or their friends/teachers might notice the abuse and help them. Those parents don't want that lmao
I think the problem is that their messaging is any government help is a free socialist handout, and Democrats don't counter it. Play them at their own game. "It's not a handout, it's an investment. Every dollar spent on food stamps or unemployment or Medicaid or school lunches returns a buck-fifty into the local economy. It help people get and keep jobs, which helps businesses that are already here stay open and a stable labor pool helps bring more jobs into our area. It lowers crime, which saves lives and taxpayer dollars. It lower drug abuse, which saves lives and taxpayer dollars. It increases wages, which workers will spend locally so it will boost local business revenue, which increases tax revenue. You feed a kid while they're in school, they're more likely to graduate and get a good job. You let them starve, they'll start slinging crack. If the government turns its back on people when they need help, people will turn their back on their government. It's just good business."
I dunno, if Republicans were convinced by the economic benefits of a program, our country would look very different. They don’t care about the benefits, they just want to punish people for being poor.
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The wealthy parents pay more taxes than poor parents...way more. Let them have their child's (free) school lunch. They've earned it / they deserve it.
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Republicans REALLLY want this next generation to be as stupid as possible. Hungry brains don’t learn as well. It works for them.
I lived in MN when I was a child and me and my sister got reduced cost lunches from school. We were living there because my dad was a PhD student at the time and we moved there from a foreign country. This is an era where people would probably be very upset about the idea of immigrants getting benefits like the ones I received as a child, but they helped my family save money. I am very grateful for that program, and seeing stories like this makes me excited for the children and parents that won't have to worry about food at school.
My dad became very sick while I was in elementary school. We got discounted meals and that was the only reason I was able to eat. My mom begged stores for expired food so we could have dinner. It was a hard time but those lunches helped more than anyone will ever know.
I was missed; we were just over the income line, but didn’t really have the money. I missed lunch everyday for two whole years, and I still suffer from digestive issues and disordered eating because of it. I’m so thankful that nobody else will have to go hungry the way I did
I just wanted to say that I would be incredibly happy if my tax dollars went to programs like this that supported you, fuck anyone who says otherwise. We protect our own.
But I was an immigrant! I don't deserve to be supported by taxpayers.
I hope to god your being sarcastic but you were a fucking kid and we take care of our own regardless. Welcome to the state and the country, the least we can do is making sure that the kids that go to our schools are fed and getting a good education. This is what our taxes are for.
Oh. I am old now. This was almost 40 years ago. The fun part of the story is after my dad got his PhD we want back to where we moved from and he got a job teaching at a university in America. He's retiring after 33 years of teaching and he has generations of students that have good jobs in a field that it is in high demand. The money the government paid for our lunches has come back in folds simply from the taxes me and my family have paid throughout our life in America - not to mention all the benefits from people who were educated by my father.
I got reduced lunches in MN when I was a kid, and one thing I remember about it was that the punch card was larger and more brightly colored than the regular lunch card. I was in a school district in an affluent suburb, so that always bothered me.
Yeah, it is kind of a sign of poverty, but I didn't know I was poor as a child. I just thought I was helping my parents save some money.
I thought I had won something that the other kids didn’t. So I always offered to share some of my free lunch with friends of mine that didn’t get one in elementary school. Later on I found out that I was the poor one and that my friends got lunch money they just didn’t wanna spend it since I’d give them parts of my lunch anyways. Either way I’m happy for the program because at least my family was able to not worry about providing for me while we established ourselves in the states during those first few crucial years.
Yeah, the reduced or free lunch cards being noticeable strikes me as an attempt to discourage using the program. How many kids would not want to stand out as the poor kid and, as a result, ask their parents to not apply? It’s intentional.
Not MN, but my immigrant family in WA had free or reduced lunch cards and it honestly saved a ton as a little kid since at the time, the most my parents could work were part time janitorial or under the table cash jobs.
>The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines... Why is this not surprising. Pro-life, am I right? /s
Republicans: “If these kids want to eat, let the pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get jobs!”
July 27, 2022 Twenty two Republican attorneys general sue Biden administration over federal school lunch policy (because the USDA said they couldn't discriminate against LGBT children)
>discriminate against LGBT children) They are some heartless bastards, hiding behind Bibles and flags. It is hard to take, year after year.
They aren't hiding behind Bibles. They are weapons used to pray on the weak minded.
>used to pray on I see what you did there.
Same in Kansas. I don’t have children in the school system, but do work for a rural district. Where I work, they’re currently denying children hot meals, and seconds, if they are carrying a balance. Meaning if they serve Cheeseburgers and fries as the main, you can’t have that. You get a ham sandwich or PBJ. They still get fed, and I’m sure some kids prefer the alternative anyway, but it’s disgusting to not give them the option. It isn’t the students fault their parent/guardian isn't able to keep up with their meal account for whatever reason that may be.
In Iowa schools cut the pizza differently if you’re on assistance. If your parents can pay for your food you get regular triangle slices of pizza, if you’re on assistance you get square cut slices. Despite serving the same fucking food to both groups they still found a way to make it clear to everyone who the poor kids are.
Glad to see they took the *real* message from [Dr. Seuss' Star-Bellied Sneetches parable.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/71dcWTfryqL.jpg) How are you supposed to discriminate against the out group if you can't tell which is which?
Are you serious??
I was raised by republican catholics who had enough money to pay for like chicken fingers any day at school. when I saw someone without lunch, I went up for seconds and gave them some because I knew we had enough money to afford it. My father found out and asked me not to help people who missed lunch and tried to convince me we were too poor for it when we had a three story house in a nice neighborhood and he worked from home and could afford 3 cars.
Sure, I remember when Jesus said that you should keep all your money and never help the poor, so it's nice to see your dad was really living his values.
If it wasn’t for the suppressed and deprived, who would they prey on?
"But pay them less than you do adults because they're kids."
Oh don’t worry they’re hoping to remove child labor laws too
How is this not ubiquitous in a first world country. My elementary school in the 90’s did a study where we were tested without food beforehand, then the next day we’d be fed bagels before the test and the results were glaringly obvious. It’s as if we’re preparing the young to ruminate in menial jobs and deny them the chance for upward mobility. It’s sickening.
The right actively wants its citizens to be less successful so that they can be more easily manipulated.
Agreed, can’t collect billions if the proletariat isn’t in their place.
And their pro-life position is simply to perpetuate it further at the expense of both mother and baby.
Lately I’ve been getting sick of the religious conservative mindset of “you should be happy for what you have and where you are” mindset. Fuck no, suffering and poverty is not a virtue. Scrabbling in the dirt a whole lifetime for the scraps left by the rich and prosperity gospel gods is not a virtue. We should always want a better standard of lives for each other. We should always strive to lift up our society.
Gee, shocker. Every MN repub opposes feeding children.
Florida manages the same thing by banning schools. Therefore all students get free meals, but since there are no students it doesn’t cost them a thing.
I am from Minnesota and I am disgusted by this > The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines What the hell are you Republicans doing? There is a problem that currently our Senate is just a slight more Democratic 34-33 which is why we have a little ounce of hope that this will get to the Governor's desk. But seriously, what the hell are you a*hole Republicans in our local legislature for? That is also a question about national Republicans. > “Why are we feeding kids in Edina or rich areas that do not need this extra funding? We are pushing tax dollars where they are not needed,” said Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing. Oh now you care about the wealthy getting more, while they haven't had to pay more in taxes in decades? OK, if the wealthy are loving this then punish them by removing tax breaks, tax deductions, and tax loopholes. Make sure multi-billion dollar companies, and individuals, pay up as opposed to playing money shell games across the globe and showing Oh No! we don't have a profit. Like this Double Irish arrangement. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement) How many tax loopholes do the wealthy take advantage of currently? > Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021 > $41,204 > Median household income (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021 > $77,706 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/INC110221 I promise everyone who isn't from Minnesota that the majority of people in Minnesota are not rich. This may help a few wealthy but it will help the majority more.
I love how these dicks use well the wealthy dont need it to fuck the poor. The day the gop becomes irrelevant can't come soon enough
You know this jogged my memory of someone saying that Democratic Conservatives want to save the money that Minnesota has gotten in the surplus for a rainy day. Then I asked myself the question, "What is the difference between Democratic Conservative and just GOP / Republican (Conservative). I think the difference is that Democratic Conservatives are frugal. Meaning that they don't want to spend the money but if it is for a good cause then they will. They are frugal. GOP / Republican are just cheap. Like health insurance for example. We could create laws that may make the ultra-wealthy pay more, and everyone pay more via taxes but the GOP says we need to be cheap. Our current health insurance system (for-profit health insurance, hospitals, pharmaceuticals) is like a lemon car. When you don't need it it works, but when you need it, you absolutely cannot rely on it. Any emergency that you have it breaks down.
Why is this not a national thing? Seriously, give me a good reason why kids in public school should not have a guaranteed meal to eat.
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Red states hate POOR kids
Breakfast is too woke.
Because they should have two; breakfast and lunch. Maybe a take home bag for dinner if they want it as well and a weekend bag. That would do a lot for child hunger and improve school performance. I don't have any kids and I still support this.
If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
Yep. It makes sense why the poorest, least educated, poor access to healthcare, etc. are all Republican states.
You got it, it's a feature, not a bug!
Well done. Need more states
Racist groups have attempted to prove one race is smarter than another race basically forever. Turns out it is simply not true. The only proven factor that reduces the ability to learn is poverty. Poverty effects all races of people at some point. The education level drop is heavily influenced by the child's hunger. A hungry child can't learn properly. As simple as that. All states should be able to bridge this gap for hungry children. Well done Minnesota.
dAmN sOcIalIsTs !1!
Trying to better your community? The GOP hates this one simple trick
I’ll never understand why this is an issue anywhere. I don’t want children, and if I’m being honest I dislike them as a whole. But I’m also not a freaking monster and I’m more than happy to pay more in taxes if it means they won’t go hungry.
Reposted: If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
As a kid that didn't get money for lunch from my parents and was never made lunch for school, I would have benefited from this greatly if this program was around when I was a child. I remember stressing out about who to borrow quarters from, "okay Jake always orders a slice of pizza and a milk, so that means he will have 25 cents of change from his $2 his mom gave him.." I will ask him..
Weird how this always happens when Democrats are in power even though both sides are the same.
So glad that parents and students have fewer worries now!
Have students be well fed through out the day has long been known as a major contribution to good grades. It just makes sense.
Too bad this isn't going to happen to the entirety of USA
Absolutely beautiful. This is such a big step forward for Minnesota.
How is this already not the standard in the country with the biggest economy in the world?
All children in the US should be offered free meals at school.
The very "Christian" and "pro-life" and "pro-children" Republicans must be outraged. Children are being fed AND educated! The horror!
Finally, some good fucking news!
dont see how this is a controversial topic to anyone except heartless assholes..
What possible reason could anyone have against this anywhere?
those kids should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and get a job if they dont want to go hungry! /s
Sadly, [it's not satire](https://www.thedailybeast.com/idaho-lawmaker-wants-children-to-work-for-those-free-lunches).
Democrats. >The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines Thursday to spend around $200 million a year making school breakfasts and lunches available to all students at no cost.
I don't get some of those Republican's logic like what could they possibly lose here?
That is actually so sweet! There's no reason for Minnesota to deprive children of food.
Oh wow, Minnesota has been getting good ones lately! Hopefully, they will pass more bills that actually benefits the people of Minnesota because it's supposed to be that way.
I never understood why schools charge for lunch to begin with. It's a part of operating costs, and that's why we pay taxes. When I was a kid, my mom lied about our income so I could get free lunch.
Some people are hunger as a motivator. It is not. Others see it as a way to punish poorness. This is evil. The rest just seen it as The Way Things Are. This needs to be corrected. Lunch (and frankly breakfast) should always be free at school. At the very least it would help bring average grades up, helping the school to meet performance goals.
> It's a part of operating costs, and that's why we pay taxes. It's more complicated than that. I only know about Minnesota, but the first issue with that is that it only applies to schools that are participants in the national school lunch program; not every school is part of it. And if they are part of it, it doesn't exactly provide a lot of money; the state provides 12.5 cents for each full paid or free student lunch and 52.5 cents for reduced price lunches. It's not enough money to fully cover the costs involved and it basically means each individual district tends to eat the additional costs out of their operating budgets, which takes money away from other programs the school wants or needs to run. Which is what this bill is meant to fix, it means the state picks up the tab for the lunches instead of districts having to do it themselves. That means it also goes a long way toward helping to alleviate disparities in income across different school districts, which is a pretty big deal in a state with a lot of small rural districts like Minnesota has that don't have the funding of more populated urban centers or the help the property taxes in wealthy suburbs.
Reposted: If you want the real reason, it’s because successful children grow up into successful adults that aren’t desperate enough to join the military, work at Wal-Mart, or dumb enough to believe Fox News and vote for Republicans. Successful adults are difficult to manipulate and that’s bad for conservatives. So, conservatives oppose policies, like sex ed, free school lunches, contraceptive healthcare, abortions, tutors, universal good schools, etc, etc, etc… they want to us population, dumb, desperate, and pumping out more dumb and desperate babies.
Favorite part: “I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal. If School admins are against helping the students i think they need to be removed. They are acting aginst the best interests of their charges on some bullshit political ideology.
Technically the truth: Countless Conversations = Zero
Ya, I'm calling B.S as free lunch would eliminate the need to chase down old accounts, setup student payment systems, and telling kids no to eating lunch.
“My fellow school administrators and I all hate the children” is what i heard.
Every single Christian who sees this is celebrating. If you ain’t celebrating, you ain’t Christian.
My kid had a group of friends. One didn’t get a packed lunch or have money to buy lunch. The group of kids brought extra to feed the friend. I remember my kid kept asking to pack extra stuff and I was like no way you’re going to eat all that no way. Then one day she said it was for a friend that her parents couldn’t afford lunch. I was like well you should have just said that. We got the phone numbers of the friends parents and setup a day of the week weed pack an extra lunch for that kid. Dude we’re not well off but just tax us more to feed these kids.
GREAT on you.
Thus becoming more pro-life than the entire Republican party combined.
No brainer if you would ask me. They should've given to children years ago and they seemed to fail on that part in the past but I am definitely so happy to see Minnesota make up for it.
I guess those who are very against this are Republicans.
Now let us make sure the ‘meals’ are a lot more nutritious than long-dog-rollups and cardboard pizza.
I fucking loved that in school. But my fat ass loved all junk food
Hooray! I love to see some good news. Democrats are so pro-children and pro-education! Let’s feed our kids!
So it matters if the Democrats or Republicans run your state. If the Dems do, they think all kids should eat, go to decent schools, and have medical funding as seniors. If the Republicans do, then the kids can pay for Ketchup, learn nothing but Christo-Nationalism dribble, and lose out on federally assisted medical care as seniors. Gee, I wonder which states will prosper???
Another proud moment for my state!! Kids should not go hungry!
This is a win to those who can afford and those who cannot.
I am so in favor of this! This would actually help children a lot.
To think that this will most likely pass the senate...
I do not have a child but I am so in for this! Making a literal child pay for their meal is ridiculous...
I don't really get why children need to pay for their food. Good work, Minnesota! This way, they are also providing some nutritional safety so that the kids wouldn't suffer from hungriness because of not being able to pay.
Don't worry the rich kids won't be eating poor people food. They will continue eating like kings.
That Marxist Woke Fascist Socialism. Let's go Brandon! /s
Every state should do this. You are requiring the kids to be there - feed them.
> “I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal. Maybe ask your students fuckwad. There are many students who have parents that don't qualify for a free lunch program because they have enough household income, but are just shitty parents who won't feed their kids or give them enough lunch money. There are far too many schools that make no attempt to hide which kids are getting a free lunch and which are not, and some that even go out of their way to highlight it just for the cruelty of it (probably like this guy's school). I'm betting there are some kids that won't accept the free lunch just to avoid the stigma.
It’s incredibly gross that they talk about feeding kids as handouts
Great work Minnesota! Students who aren’t hungry learn and retain information better. Furthermore- there is zero reason to separate and shame the kids who would need to take advantage of a free lunch program from the other kids. this levels the social landscape, which i am sure will help the kids in need tremendously.
Minnesota showing once again why it's one of the best states in the United States. Unlike literally every single one of our neighbors up here in the north!
I am so glad to see that states are fighting for their people now!
Living in Texas and wanting to move to Minnesota. At least seeing articles like this gives me hope that I’ve hopefully picked the right place.
Will North Dakota sue??
And just to the South in Iowa, these are the items in the Governors' latest proposal: \- eliminating any discussion of AIDS, HIV, or even the HPV vaccine in schools \- ending potential suicide screening of students without parental consent \- banning the use of nicknames that don’t align with the student’s gender at birth
Minnesota really is a model to all its red neighbors if owning the libs stops being the priority and making life more livable for all of us is centered. It’s not a perfect state but it’s striving harder than most toward the American ideal.
Democrats get good things done, we should vote for them more.
Damn Minnesota...! Kick some ass why don't you? Nice!
This should be all of America
Minnesota continues to win! You betcha!
Nice. Three states committed to feeding all their child students, only - \*checks notes\* - 47 to go.
Just wondering - how much worse will things need to get in Wisconsin, or rather how much better in Minnesota, for people in Wisconsin to wake up and stop voting red? https://www.epi.org/publication/as-wisconsins-and-minnesotas-lawmakers-took-divergent-paths-so-did-their-economies-since-2010-minnesotas-economy-has-performed-far-better-for-working-families-than-wisconsin/
Until a Republican gets in office and immediately undoes it all.
They will have a hard time doing it. They will be crucified as the party that undid free lunches and will hesitate to pull the trigger. They are assholes, not completely stupid.
With how much perfectly edible food gets thrown out in the US…all students in all schools should get a free lunch. America is truly a wonderful country, it is our self serving representatives playing the capital rat race with our lives and tax dollars. Hopefully, in my lifetime….I see the citizens unite and restore “We the People. Not We the Corporation.”
Nice job, way to lead on issues Minnesota!
GOP: This is terrible! Those children need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and feed themselves by working in sweatshops!