Progress is encouraging, but Minnesota must move faster to reopen
As best I can tell, there is no science behind which businesses get to stay open under Gov. Walz’s stay-home order and which can’t. If big box stores like Walmart and Lowes can stay open, why can’t mom and pop shops in Faribault, Owatonna, Waseca, Medford, or Morristown? Are they really inherently less safe than the local Walmart or Target?
We hear a lot about health modeling, and that is incredibly important. But what we have yet to see are models showing how many more businesses will be forced to close for good with each passing day of a stay-home order, or how many people will miss their rent payments or be unable to afford groceries because of it. That information is just as important as we decide our strategy.
These are not big, faceless businesses that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. These are stores owned by your neighbor or your friends from church. They are part of the fabric of our community. We have to save them.
We did receive a very, very small glimmer of good news from the governor’s office this week. On Thursday, Gov. Walz announced he will allow ALL customer-facing businesses to reopen for curbside pickup or outside delivery. To his credit, he has also slowly been adding businesses to the critical sectors list and has allowed businesses like manufacturing and industry to reopen.
These are welcome steps, and I am glad the governor is turning the dial up, as he is fond of saying. But it is not nearly enough.
There are thousands of businesses and workers who are right on the edge of survival right now. Every day that we continue this means more and more of them will close down for good. It’s just a fact.
We know we can open up safely. I will continue to encourage the governor to roll back restrictions as fast as possible, so Minnesota can get back to normal.
Since the stay-home order remains in place, Senate Republicans took even more steps this week to provide small businesses, farmers, schools, and families with assistance to help them through the crisis.
The biggest of our COVID Economic Recovery Act was the extension of a number of tax payment deadlines, so businesses can keep more cash on hand and hopefully use that money for overhead or workers.
It also fully conformed to Section 179 of the tax code, which is immensely helpful to farmers and small businesses who purchase equipment.
We also increased the income threshold for the K-12 credit, so more families with children will qualify for tax breaks.
This assistance will help shorten the recovery, but it is no substitute for getting up and running.
The other notable piece of legislation we passed this week was aimed at providing the public with better transparency regarding the use of federal coronavirus assistance. Minnesota is scheduled to receive a little more than $2 billion from the feds. The Senate Republican bill will make sure that money is spent by legislative appropriation only, so the public will know exactly what it is being used for and have plenty of time to provide their feedback. It’s a simple, easy, good-government bill.
In the coming days and weeks, it is very likely that the landscape of the virus will again change significantly. I will continue to work with Gov. Walz and my colleagues in the legislature to find every opportunity to get us back to normal. If you have any questions or feedback, I would love to hear it. Please reach out to me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn.