Dear Residents of the First Congressional District,
I’m Jeremy Munson, and I am running to represent you in the US Congress.
You will soon be bombarded with political mailers from multiple candidates using buzzwords and providing little to no meaningful information, or worse yet, negative attacks.
Jeremy Munson is correct … voters need “meaningful information” about the candidates … not “buzzwords” (like “a Champion of Small Business” when their donations come from corporate farms, Fortune 500 companies and “dark money” Political Action Committees.)
One of the best ways to learn “meaningful information” about a candidate is their financial disclosure …. after all, voters are entrusting our representatives to do what is in “our” best interests — not have our elected officials beholden to campaign donors or become corrupted due to their own personal financial mismanagement.
This month, as a Minnesota state representative, Jeremy Munson completed a “Statement of Economic Interest” and as a candidate for Congress, he completed a “Personal Financial Disclosure” form.
Munson lists his income as derived from his services as “self-employed business consultant” for his firm “Absolute Business Consulting, Inc.” referencing payments in excess of $5,000 from Anderson Inc of Bayport MN and AON Insurance of Bloomington MN. [Side comment … some voters may want to hear more about the scope of the work that was performed so as to ensure that the “consulting” was not vehicle to garner favor with a state representative. Was Munson hired on a competitive basis and for his particular “expertise” ? How many customers does he currently have — are these two customers providing 10%, 25% or more of the revenues generated ? ]
While many elected officials maintain a degree of separation by investing only in mutual funds, or establish a blind trust, Munson lists numerous stocks in his portfolio.
The choices of those stocks is interesting.
Considering that abortion seems to be the “Topic Du Jour”, Munson has invested in CVS Health Corporation (did you know that the “Morning After” pill (Plan B; Levonorgestrel 1.5 mg) is available at CVS drug stores for over the counter sale?) and Amazon (which is one of the companies that have offered to provide their employees transportation to states that permit abortions).
Amazon is also the company that Donald Trump riled against for getting to good a package shipping deal from USPS — similar deals are made with other companies and the Post Office has said they are not losing money on the deal, calling it a success. Incidentally, Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos who also owns the Washington Post. By the way, Amazon avoided about $5.2 billion in corporate federal income taxes in 2021. Lastly, it should be mentioned that through Amazon Music Service, Jeremy Munson is featured on the New House Republican Caucus podcasts.
Staying on the subject of companies that paid less than the GOP-enacted tax rate of 21%, besides Amazon who paid 6.1%, other Munson stocks include Microsoft at 9.7%, Verizon at 6.9% and Exxon-Mobil at 2.8%.
Hmmm … Munson has an investment in Microsoft … which is sorta interesting since Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan has endorsed Munson and has wrote that “Big Tech, including Microsoft, Inc., is out to get conservatives”. Another investment is in Block, Inc. … a company started by Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey and is involved in financial services including bitcoin … and employed 10 lobbyists who worked on crypto-focused issues last year.
Besides Exxon-Mobil being in the energy industry, Munson has invested in Enbridge …. Enbridge is a Canadian company that in 2021 paid $1,690,000 to lobby Congress for its pipeline projects. Enbridge’s PAC also contributed to past election campaigns of Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber.
And if abortion seems is the “Topic Du Jour” today, last week’s hot topic was the claims that accused Walt Disney Company of trying to “bully” Republican officials over Florida’s “don’t say gay” legislation … and yep, Munson is a Disney stockholder.
Another interesting choice is 3M Company. Considering that 3M disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) produced during the manufacturing process, resulting in the company having already settled several legal claims … and has more pending. So, to no one’s surprise, PFAS has been a subject of congressional debate. The House in a bipartisan vote approved H.R.2467 – PFAS Action Act of 2021 last July with the Minnesota Republican delegation all voting NO.
Other companies that Munson has invested in include : Berkshire Hathaway, Emerson Electric, Hyatt Hotels, Intel, VISA plus various mutual funds.
The total amount of Munson’s portfolio exceeds $270,000 (and may be as high as $1,225,000 since the values are based on ranges … i.e., $1,001 to $15,000; $15,001 to $50,000; etc.)
Munson choices are interesting considering that the next Representative for the First District will have opportunities to address tax policy (long-term capital gains and qualified dividends tax rate); the national debt (should corporations pay an alternative minimum tax and/or an excise tax on stock buybacks); repeal “tax preferences” currently enjoyed by the fossil fuels industry; cryptocurrency; requiring toxicity assessments and health advisories for certain PFAS and restricting these dangerous chemicals from getting into the environment; addressing hate, assault, and threats to equality (H R 2383); and many other issues where his investments could be in companies that would be impacted.
Candidate Munson can easily address voters concerns that Members of Congress could be putting their own financial self-interest above the public interest, by pledging to sponsor H R 336 “Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act” or the “TRUST in Congress Act”. The Bipartisan bill would require Members of Congress — as well as their spouses and dependent children — to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress. Heck, Munson could actually set up the blind trust before the May 24th primary.
Note : Qualified candidates for May 24th primary were to have submitted a Personal Financial Disclosure by April 24th … thus far of the MNGOP candidates, only Jeremy Munson and Kevin Kocina have complied … still waiting for Matt Benda, Jennifer Carnahan, Brad Finstad and Nels Pearson.
Reference :
Minnesota filing – https://cfb.mn.gov/reports-and-data/officials-financial-disclosure/official/12884/
Federal filing -https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2022/10047180.pdf
Jim Jordan letter on Microsoft
Concern of trading of cryptocurrency https://fortune.com/2022/04/26/congress-members-cryptocurrency-market-regulation-market/
