Elected officials who promoted the 1 percent tax and its seven projects asked us to vote “yes” for the kids. As we watch the amount of 1 percent tax dollars to be awarded to the EDA for their highend golf course which most of us cannot afford to use grow from $800,000 to $1.2 million to $1.8 million to $3.1 million, I have to ask how many 1 percent tax dollars were stolen from the kids to supply welfare for the multi-millionaires? I call it welfare because they are the ones who will profit.
Commissioners tell us it’s about the jobs. These are entry-level service jobs paying minimum wage to $9 per hour. These are the jobs the county board promotes for your kids’ future jobs as adults. It’s my guess these are not the jobs the multimillionaires or the county board would promote for their kids!
Next, the people applying for these jobs will have to compete with foreign workers and workers from the next county. We’ve watched Lutsen Resort’s wealth grow through its new staff housing building. I wonder if Mr. Harrison would tell us how much he has profited hiring foreign help and renting them lodging over hiring local.
The new jobs at the golf course will be 10 seasonal jobs at about $8-$9 per hour, at a cost of $310,000 per job. Annual wages are about $7,200 equaling 43 years to pay back the investment. Plus if things go bad the taxpayers will have to pay the wages!
Because no one has spoken up, the county board feels you approve and support this. Is this really the jobs you want for your kids’ future? If parents will not speak up then the kids should.
Personally I’m appalled that Commissioners Johnson and Sobanja approved this. They grew up in families that were well off financially in this community. There was never a need that wasn’t taken care of, and this is how they repay the community, by stealing from the kids to supply welfare for the multimillionaires!
Tod Sylvester
Grand Marais
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