 Greetings Friends & Neighbors,
From the Hertaus family, we wish each and everyone of you the most happy and blessed holiday season. This will be my last message to all of you since I decided to not seek re-election to continue serving as your State Representative in the Minnesota House of Representatives. My term officially ends on January 03, 2023. Having served these past 10 years as your Representative in St. Paul has been an honor and privilege of a lifetime.
Being the son of teenage parents, being raised in the 50's during a post World War II environment in America, I never had, nor was I accustomed to the things we now often take for granted as an ordinary way of life. As a child and like many others of the baby boom generation we did not know what the future may hold for us. During these past 60+ years since my childhood, our culture and society has been undergoing a constant evolution and change. Change is inevitable. Much of this change may today be viewed as positive, while much may be viewed quite differently. Much of this change which has greatly expanded our ability to live our lives more comfortably, independently and with great mobility has largely been driven by innovation in an economic environment which encourages risk taking and entrepreneurial enterprise with increased competition for the resulting benefit of consumers in each of our lives. Whether it was Henry Ford who pioneered the efficiency of the assembly line making automobiles affordable for the common family, or inventions directly related to the space age, consumer products like the microwave, personal computers, the internet, cell phones or GPS navigation, and the achievements are numerous, our lives are all better.
I remember my father always working in the manufacturing industry and noticing as a teenager how the progress and profitability of the company which occurred over time benefited my father in terms of salary and benefits. As a boomer entering the job market, I always thought that it was amazing that here in Minnesota, how all of us boomers entering the job market were "absorbed" into the market by finding jobs during a period of economic expansion while we became consumers ourselves. I believe that during the late 60's and 70's this was possible because Minnesota provided an educated workforce, its people had a good work ethic and Minnesota was a competitive place to start, grow or expand a business.
Today, I strongly feel that Minnesota is rapidly losing its competitive advantage among the other states in our country. With increased mobility, connectivity through technology, e-commerce and the internet, people, families and businesses are increasingly able to successfully function separated by greater distances which includes interstate commerce and travel. My hope while serving these past 10 years in the legislature was that we could reverse this trend. Unfortunately, while modest changes have been successful, the fact remains that the cost of doing business and living in Minnesota remains high and is regressive. Businesses that can provide good paying jobs are on the decline and IRS data and Moving Company transfers shows that there is a significant net out-migration of both businesses and individuals leaving Minnesota in pursuit of lower taxes, regulations and costs of living. This is especially true with retiring boomers. In Minnesota, our lowest individual income tax rate upon our lowest income earners is higher than the maximum tax rate for the highest income earners in 23 other states.
While Minnesota, for many other reasons, remains a very desirable state to live in, with more than $17 billion of surplus revenue and the surplus continues to grow each month, Minnesota can do much better. It is my sincere hope that the next legislature can finally recognize these economic realities and reverse its course to encourage the competitive environment for businesses to grow and flourish, creating more opportunities for individuals to have better jobs and better incomes into the future.
There needs to be a healthy balance between the private sector and the public sector, for which a continued and growing disproportion will not permit either. We cannot all work for the government and while we should do everything we can to grow and expand equal opportunities and access to good jobs and incomes, we cannot continue on the expensive path of attempting to ensure equal outcomes for everyone. The old saying is so true, "A rising tide raises all ships".
To that end, as I say good-bye, my New Year's wish is that the voters of this state hold the legislature and its leaders accountable in order to restore the balance necessary to move Minnesota once again to the land of opportunity that it once held.
Best wishes to all of you into the future,
 Representative Jerry Hertaus Minnesota House District 33A
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