ARTICLE
On behalf of the business and employer community, welcome back, Minnesota legislators. It has been a long seven months since the last legislature adjourned, and we are looking forward to this next session. I want to take this opportunity to offer an open invitation to engage and call upon the business community for input and advice where needed. We appreciate that legislators want to do your very best on behalf of the people of Minnesota, and we are eager to partner in the work of moving our state forward. We are more than willing to share our subject matter expertise, our own perspective on the marketplace, and the desires and dreams of our constituencies – our employees and customers. As the leader of a large, regionally-focused organization, I am learning how difficult it can be to represent a broadly diverse constituency. The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce alone includes over 1,200 members, who represent more than 350,000 employees across the region. So I understand how hard it can be to find a middle ground. How to advocate wisely. How to speak on behalf of the entire employer community –especially when their voices sometimes contradict one another. And yet we must. The employer community isn’t just made up of Fortune 500 CEO’s, although in Minnesota we are blessed with a high concentration of those companies. Employers are your neighbors and constituents, from the CEO in the corner office to the owner-operator of your favorite food truck parked on John Ireland Boulevard. We are sole proprietors, running second businesses and side hustles in the few hours we have after our day jobs are done. We are student innovators and teen entrepreneurs. We are people – not just faceless corporations. We are shaping Minnesota’s economic future, and we genuinely want to help you help us. As you begin this session, we ask you to remember two things. First, that employers need room to make market-driven decisions whenever possible. Second, given that this is a budget year fraught with competing priorities and limited resources, the best driver of increased revenue isn’t increased tax rates - it’s an increase in the tax base itself. Give us the room we need to grow that base. Our success will make your jobs easier. Minnesota will have more business, more jobs, more opportunity, and thus more funding for the programs rightly driven by the public sector. Together we represent the many faces of the communities you serve. And, despite the stereotype, our support comes to you from both sides of the aisle. So, at 12:01 on Tuesday, we look forward to hitting the reset button, to working together in good faith, to find consensus on challenges we all want to tackle. And remember: whatever the problem, business can help. Because solving big problems is what we do. Again, welcome back to the work, to the table, and to the partnership. B Kyle President/CEO Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Find the opinion article here: https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/09/b-kyle-welcome-back-minnesota-legislators-we-ask-you-to-remember-two-things-about-employers/