Did you know you can subscribe to e-mail newsletters sent out by your state representatives? To subscribe to State Rep. Mark Buesgens' e-mail newsletters, go to http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/join.asp?district=35B.

Here's what Buesgens wrote Monday to his e-mail newsletter subscribers:

Friends and neighbors,

Gov. Pawlenty released his budget proposal on Monday, and those of us who believe in fiscal responsibility were very disappointed. Not only does the proposal raise spending by almost $3 billion, it eats up all but a small part of your budget surplus, as well. Many of us who believe that money belongs to you first and government second issued a statement in support of our position. Here is a brief portion I want to share with you: "After collecting more money than it needs, the state of Minnesota owes taxpayers serious income tax relief beyond what the governor proposed today. They also deserve sales tax relief, specifically from the 'temporary' sales tax increase of 1992. That increase was meant to bail the state out of a fiscal crisis and, clearly, it is no longer necessary."

On your 2006 taxes, you will have the chance to claim a small rebate for long-distance telephone service that was taxed from 1898 to 2006.

This telephone excise tax began as a way to fund the Spanish-American War, but like our "temporary" sales tax increase, the government soon found other ways to spend the money and didn't bother to stop until last year. Let's not let that happen in Minnesota. Let's repeal the temporary sales tax like we said we would 15 years ago.

Here's a startling finding from the legislative auditor: In 2005, Minnesota handed out $5 billion in grants to nonprofits, but we have no real method in place to track them or make sure they are used properly.

If you saw the story in the newspaper about one nonprofit using charity money to visit golf resorts and go gambling, you're probably as troubled by this as I am. To fix this problem, Rep. Chris DeLaForest introduced a bill to stop making any new grants to nonprofits until there is an accountability system in place (this would not affect grants already in place). Rep. Erik Paulsen proposed a long-term solution by placing all the information in an online database for everyone to search. Open and accountable government is crucial to a functioning democracy. These are two good plans that will protect taxpayers' money.

I'd like to close this week's e-mail update with a paragraph from an article I submitted to a few area newspapers earlier this week: "The creation of our country was unique in all of history. It was the first country founded not on geography or ethnicity, rather it was founded on ideas and principles. It is absolutely critical that our elected officials govern likewise. Governing by polls and changing whims is incredibly dangerous and will lead to the tyranny of the majority.

"If an elected official is wishy-washy in core principles, then it is the duty of the electorate to hold that official accountable. If we fail to do so, we choose to ignore rather than learn from history, and we will surely get the government we deserve."

Thanks for staying in touch. I'll continue to work on your behalf for sensible government.

Sincerely,

Mark Buesgens

This from my favorite constituent e-mail of last week:

"Gas Tax, Wheel Tax and now a Mileage Tax? Why not strap a pedometer to all of the citizens and generate some real revenue?"