To Address Racial Equity, Most of Us Need To Pay Higher Taxes

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When it comes to addressing racial equity issues in education, health care, and housing, racism is a barrier.  But I would argue that fiscal conservatism is an even bigger barrier. 

In Minnesota’s policymaking debates about racial equity, this is the unacknowledged “elephant in the room.” It is what makes all of the hopeful dialogue about addressing racial equity feel hollow to me.

DFL Governor Tim Walz, Speaker Melissa Hortman, and many others deserve a lot of credit for leading on police reform.  Despite the failure to pass police reforms during the recent special session, I suspect they’ll eventually enact some police reforms. This is in large part because police reform is relatively inexpensive. 

But beyond police reform, I’m pessimistic when it comes to DFLers being willing to address other major forms of systemic racism in society, such as in health care, housing and education. 

That’s because most DFLers and all Republicans seem completely unwilling to make the case for higher taxes.

Elected officials need to get courageous and make the case that privileged white people like me need to pay higher taxes in order to build a more equitable state.  I’m not naive about this. I’ve worked in and around politics for thirty five years, so I know tax-raising is excruciatingly painful for politicians, particularly in an election year. But if we truly care about making racial justice progress in this agonizing “educable moment,” there truly is no other way.

To cite just one example, Minnesota has long had some of the worst achievement gaps in the nation, gaps that open as early as age one.  The roots of k-12 achievement gaps are early education opportunity gaps. Year after year, about 35,000 low-income Minnesota children can’t access the high quality early learning and care programs that they need to get prepared for school. Those 35,000 left-behind low-income kids are the children who are most likely to fall into achievement gaps in the school years and other types of disparities throughout their lifetimes. The lack of new revenue is why our 35,000 most vulnerable children continue to be left behind every year.

Similar tales can be told about many other issues, such as health care and housing. We know what to do in those areas as well, but we don’t do it, because the changes would necessitate requiring Minnesotans to pay higher taxes.

I understand why politicians are afraid of being branded tax raisers.  But the inescapable truth is that lawmakers’ long standing insistence on perpetuating the fiscal status quo is perpetuating systemic racism.  

So we need to start talking honestly about the fiscal side of these racial justice issues too. Until we do, progressive leaders’ lofty rhetoric about racial justice gains is just idle chatter.

12 thoughts on “To Address Racial Equity, Most of Us Need To Pay Higher Taxes”

  1. But…..but….but….
    We are already such a high tax state, if we increase taxes, everyone will move to South Dakota!
    (softball for you, Joe!)
    Oh, and Jobs!

    • Ha! You know how to jerk my chain.

      As a proud native son of South Dakota–one of the early race-to-the-bottom states — I would note that you get what you pay for in this world, whether we’re talking about services, amenities, or racial equity investments. Those things impact the most important metrics of all, quality-of-life and happiness. (See Mississippi and third world nations.)

  3. Absolutely true and brave to say.
    Reminds me of:
    “We’ll both raise your taxes. He won’t tell you; I just did.”

    Landslide

  4. But as Jesse says, “Keep Hope Alive.” Some systemic change may come. Kids in school down here are talking about a curriculum that includes wealth inequality. Commies!!!! But I think some overcoming will happen. You’ve put your finger on the hardest thing after opening people’s minds — opening our wallets.
    Great thinking and writing as always.

    • Agreet that there is a lot of hopeful attitudinal stuff in the air. We just have to put our money where our mouths are now. Hope you’re well!

  5. Back in the day – four years ago – when Republicans professed to care about deficits, your proposal would have been a pretty middle-of-the-road idea objectionable only to the no-taxes crazies.

    My modest proposal for police reform: incent Minneapolis police to live in the city they work in by offering a salary differential for residents. If we want to get fancy, offer a sliding scale so you get a bigger bump for living in a high-crime area or in the precinct you work out of. Offer existing officers a one-time payment to defray the costs of moving.

    Raise taxes to pay for it.

    Also raise taxes to hire additional officer AND to build a force of first responders who can lift some of the load off cops. Every mental health event, every drunk sleeping in his car, every domestic dispute does not need a person with a gun to respond to it.

    • Makes good sense to me. I like your approach for incentivizing living in the city, which may also cause some cops who are most hostile to city life to leave the MPD.

      But I do also hope lawmakers go well beyond police reform to other forms of systemic racism. Early Learning Scholarships for all kids 0-5 would have a huge impact on expanding opportunities for the most vulnerable kids of color, but just won’t happen if the revenue picture is kept flat (which will be a deficit in the current economic downturn).

  6. Austin I was saying the same thing watching the demonstrations and looting and hearing the police excoriated. Let’s get great people to be cops, let’s pay them well and train them well and yes of course either require they live in the city and everybody gets good pay, or your idea of a bonus for living in the city. Lifting away the other responsibilities you mention would leave them to do good work that makes sense for them. Like teachers and social workers, they should be making what executives make. Let’s put our money where our mouth is indeed.

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