Cost of living and violent crime still on Minnesotans’ minds
By: Senator Rich Draheim
Almost everywhere I go I still hear about two issues more than anything else: the soaring cost of living and rising crime rates.
Inflation is still at 40-year highs. Gas is coming down a little bit, finally, but they are still significantly higher than they have been in the last few years.
And now young families have another stressor to deal with: higher prices for back-to-school shopping. In Minnesota, parents are expected to spend $700 per child on back-to-school supplies – 6% above the national average. Everything – from backpacks to computers and tablets to clothes – is going to put a bigger dent in household budgets this year.
Republicans remain committed to addressing the rising cost of daily life and inflation by putting more money into your pocket. Last session, Senate Republicans approved a historic tax cut bill – the biggest in state history, in fact. It would have made your paychecks bigger every single pay period so it would be easier to handle the bigger gas, energy, and grocery bills we are seeing these days.
We even convinced House Democrats to agree with the two largest parts of our tax cut bill: a total elimination of the tax on Social Security benefits and a real reduction of the lowest income tax rate, which every income taxpayer pays. Despite the agreement, House Democrats held it hostage and refused to pass it at the end of session because they wanted bigger spending bills in other areas.
When the legislature reconvenes in January, I pledge to continue working on a bill that will return the state’s historic budget surplus to you, where it belongs.
Violent crime soars in Minnesota
A new report from Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension paints a crystal clear picture of just how bad crime rates – especially violent crime – have gotten under Gov. Tim Walz.
The report, called the 2021 Uniform Crime Report, is a summary of data submitted by local police departments across the state. Here is what it found:
- Minnesota saw a 21.6% increase in violent crime in 2021, including a 16 percent increase in Greater Minnesota. Violent crime in the seven-county metro area rose by almost 24%.
- Murders were up 8.65%.
- Aggravated assaults were up 33.7%.
- Rapes also increased and nearly half of the victims were minors.
- Vehicle thefts were up 8.5%. There were 14,829 vehicles stolen in 2021 – the highest total in 20 years. There were also 779 carjackings, but this is the first year carjacking data has been collected. (Carjacking data is separate from vehicle thefts.)
- Police officer assaults were up 35%.
- Officer-involved shootings declined.
This is not acceptable, and it’s largely attributable to this new dismissive attitude we have toward police. The ‘defund the police’ movement and the effort by Gov. Walz and others to prioritize the criminal instead of the victim have led us to this point.
Republican priorities in public safety are clear and direct: we support putting more good, talented police officers on the street. We support tougher sentences for criminals, especially repeat offenders. And we support holding judges and prosecutors accountable for their decisions to let offenders off easily. It’s an approach that places victims, justice, and safe communities above all.
Contact me
If you have any questions about any of these issues or any other issue the legislature is working on, please don’t hesitate to contact me any time. My email is Sen.Rich.Draheim@Senate.mn, and my phone number is 651-296-5558. It is a privilege to serve you!
Rich