Keep paying sales taxes at the present rate
As expected, the first issue to be considered by the North Dakota Legislature was taxes. The Republicans want to cut income taxes while the Democrats want to reduce property taxes. Both parties are wrong.
Cutting the income tax helps only those with incomes; cutting the property taxes helps only those with property. Nobody is championing the poor people who will keep paying sales taxes at the present rate.
Have gun; will legislate
Pointing to the Canadian incident in which legislators were shot, legislators introduced a bill permitting all public officials — they included — to carry guns.
More children have been killed with guns than have legislators so perhaps we should arm the children. (The NRA would support that.) Or at least provide them with bulletproof vests. If everybody is going to have a gun, that is the least we could do for kids.
If Heidi comes home
An anti-Heidi bill was introduced on the basis of a rumor that Sen. Heitkamp was coming back to run for governor. The bill assumes that she would win, in which case she would appoint her replacement. To prevent such an appointment, the bill would require an election for a new senator.
The last time North Dakota saw such speculative maneuvering was in 1959 when the Legislature replaced the at-large election of two Congress members with two separate districts so they could beat then-Rep. Quentin Burdick in the Republican east district come 1960.