Speed Gibson

Needed: Smart Growth for Transit

You've heard about the Metropolitan Council's "MUSA line" that supposedly limits how far out sanitary sewer service will extend in the Twin Cities, specifically the 7 county area.  MUSA actually stands for "Metropolitan Urban Service Area" which applies to more than sewers, like major highways.  Many cities and legislators view this as 1960's Urban Planning, now known as Smart Growth, designed to choke off development beyond some supposed limits that are good for all of us. 

One word does not appear in the referenced document: transit. There apparently is no limit here, as evidenced by the Northstar Line that extends into Sherburne County.  All transit is good, you understand.

When I drove up 35W to pick up The Late Debate with Jack and Ben last weekend I chanced to see the 95th Avenue Park and Ride.  Unless someone knows of a bigger, better one, this is easily the Taj Mahal of such structures.  They even have an electronic sign along the freeway estimating car vs bus times.

I dropped by yesterday to see hundreds of cars there, maybe just over half of its open and ramp capacity.  They run about 26 morning runs, mostly to downtown Minneapolis, with a few to downtown St. Paul and the University of Minnesota.  The last bus leaves before 9 AM other than 4 afternoon rush hour runs.  It sits idle all weekend.  To handle that crushing load of about 150 departures per week they even paved a little private bypass lane into the I-35W entrance ramp.

And it should have never built.  We need a "Metropolitan Transit Service Area" or MTSA.  Like MUSA, it would "get the most out of existing infrastructure and create efficiencies that save taxpayer dollars."  We might disagree where this line is, like the 494/694 beltline as a starter, but it's hard to imagine this site being within it.

 If you watch the rush hour traffic on I-35W you also cannot imagine that two dozen buses over 4 hours make any difference at all as regards congestion - or the environment.  No, all that's going on here is that a few hundred commuters are saving gas and parking expenses.  Which is fine, but let a private contractor handle it if the volume warrants.  This works at the airport, where we have several private park and fly lots that shuttle passengers to the terminals.  Why not here?  It's not too late, even now.  Auction it off!

The Republican budget the Governor vetoed is a bit heavy handed as regards transit, but I see better now what they had in mind.  There is a difference between public transit that serves the working rich and mass transit that serves the working poor.  The Metropolitan Council should be funded accordingly.

 

What's The Problem?

Maybe there is a wall of separation at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  In Sunday's (6/26) Opinion section is a glowing Editorial on the record of departing University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, among the U's best they say.  But in the lead story on page one, staff writer Jenna Ross finds considerable trouble in paradise.  It seems that the U has been cost-shifting, over charging those who can ostensibly pay to subsidize those who apparently cannot pay. (Article requires subscription to view online.)

No wonder tutition has doubled in fewer than 10 years.  Before you blame the Governor or the Legislatures involved, I refer you to a Powerline post showing that the U's overall budget has doubled the past 12 years despite all that presumed austerity.

Still, I must ask: what's the problem?  Bruininks is doing what Progressives were born to do, taking from the haves, giving to the have nots.  In this case, though, the haves are students, not taxpayers per se.  And you can go another school if you want.

The problem is obvious.  The parents of the students can see the money when they write the checks or take out the loans.  No wonder even Democrats are now asking: is this fair?  Is this sustainable?  LIberalism demands that someone else like a fat cat Republican pay!

But seriously, why should the University be in the welfare business at all?  Why shouldn't all students pay the same tuition, fees, room and board, the sole exception being for residency?  If the poor need assistance, give them scholarships via a welfare office, not the U.  Of course, that should mean they're good at any Minnesota institution, not just the U.

The Star Tribune will be running follow up stories this week, like whether the University's administration is very top heavy as some charge.  I hope the Editorial Board is following this series.

 

An Hour to Kill

This week's Almanac program was particularly maddening, the focus throughout on how the DFL might win the budget stalement.  Scenario after scenario, rumor after rumor, it was a big CJ column on the small screen.  TPT has a well-earned reputation for leftward bias like all public media.  They won't admit it and I can understand that they might truly believe they're trying to be fair.  But another explanation occurred to me.

Consider two recent newspaper editorials, last week's Owatonna People's Press (6/18) and today's St. Paul Pioneer Press (6/26).  These are short, sweet, and devastating critiques of Governor Dayton's insistence on a shutdown.  They are 323 and 150 words respectively, easily read aloud in 2 minutes total.  There's nothing more to add, as the GOP leaders reiterated on the show.

But Almanac is an hour show.  They could hardly not talk about the impasse.  Even if limited to one segment, that's many more minutes they need to fill.  And the only way to get that fill is to fantasize, which necessarily leads to digging up all those possible ways the Republicans could lose.  Even then it was tough without relaxing a bit on the fact checking, so the hosts more or less let the speculators speculate.  After all, they could be right, that the Republican Party of Minnesota will commit suicide by raising taxes with the usual nothing in return.

This may be one reason why the Republicans always seem to have message trouble.  We don't challenge and refute all the facets of Global Warming one by one.  We simply dismiss the whole idea for lack of evidence, correctly so, and alas, concisely so.  Thus, Al Gore spends nearly an hour on Oprah appearing to have researched all these calamities in such detail.  It then made no difference when a real scientist was granted 90 seconds of equal time off stage.  It was enough time to destroy Gore's fundamental argument, but somehow our culture now has trouble with the simple and obvious.

In the 80's, we as a nation understood when Milton Friedman said that they're ain't no such thing as a free lunch.  A sentence would do then.  Now, we're all a bunch of rent seekers after listening to pages of propaganda.  Perpetual motion can't be far off, and think of all the green jobs that will create.  Let's talk about it!

 

Declaration of Independence

At the last Robbinsdale Area Schools (RAS) Board meeting (6/20), its Financial Advisory Council (FAC) made its Annual Presentation.  The last "Maintain Independence" point on the final "Suggested Next Steps" slide caught the eye of my fellow education traveler Give2Attain.  "RAS FAC Maintains Independence? he asks.  So do I.

[The] Board seems to only pick members that are unlikely to rock their boat...  By this, I mean that I know some qualified boat rockers who are repeatedly turned down.  And I really don't see any communication from the FAC to to the Citizens, so they don't seem to be helping us understand how or what the District spends on. This is probably important considering the school closures, school renovations, potential sales, potential Magnets, Funding challenges, etc.  And almost half the attendees are Board Members and Administrators, so how can they be in [any way] "independent"?

Having been part of the Strategic Planning process and the subsequent development of the FAC charter, it was a struggle to create any independence at all.  In his first proposal, the former Superintendent had overloaded it with District personnel including himself, designating one the unelected ex officio chair.  The citizen appointees would have had no power to elect the chair or set the agenda.  They could have been outvoted on any resolution by the Administration, which is to say, the Superindendent.  We were successful in changing all that in the final charter adopted. 

I note in this presentation that the current Superintendent is now listed as an FAC member, in violation of the published FAC By Laws.  We were especially careful to preclude this to avoid unneeded political direction and yes, maintain independence.

I was not at the meeting but have reviewed the presentation while listening to the audio podcast.  Personally, I think there was a bit of revisionist history and a bit too much self-congratulation.  Yes, they worked hard, meeting 11 times this past academic year, not the minimum 4.  Yes, they no doubt delivered valuable input to the Administration and Board.  But while they generally met the letter of their charge, I think they were less successful fulfilling the spirit that flowed from the original Stratetic Planning process.  In particular, to Give2Attain's point, the "consumer-oriented financial presentations" have yet to appear, their new fact sheet notwithstanding.  Cutting the annual budget to 44 pages is laudable, but it's still inside baseball, what the District needs.  We "consumers" on the outside are still trying to understand where the hundreds of thousands of dollars in each classroom are going.  FAC Chair Mark Noordsy underscored this when he defined "transparency" in the presentation.

"When I say 'transparency' what does that really mean? It means that there really isn't anybody between us and the information.  If we couldn't find it on the web site, we would ask a staff person, we'd ask the Superintendent, or we'd ask the Board Treasurer.  We would get the information we wanted.  Nobody was hiding anything.  Nobody was trying to send us down a bad path.  It was clearly let's find the best decision and let's get the best information available." [Edited for clarity.]

This is fine as far as it goes.  But again, we are spending over $ 10,000 (General Fund) per student.  In a class of 25, that's at least $ 250,000.  Salaries and benefits are about 80 percent of the General Fund, so that means payroll of $ 200,000.  If as one source says that a typical teacher costs $ 75,000 including benefits, that leaves $ 125,000, which seems incredible from a face time point of view, and from a private sector point of view.  Who and where are all these people my child seldom or never sees?  What do they do in support of my child or the teacher?  "Consumer-oriented" transparency would address this.

Another aspect of transparency is the ever increasing co-mingling of welfare into the education budget as required by law.  This takes many forms, appearing as special revenue and grants, resulting in the delivery of non-education related services, from breakfast to early childhood programs.  If this could be more transparent to us, we could talk to our Legislators more effectively about stopping the continuing erosion of actual education funding.

Answering these questions may be uncomfortable for some, which is why the FAC must maintain, dare I say, regain its independence to truly serve the District 281 community.

 

Role Reversal

The Owatonna People's Press (OPP) Editorial 6/18 noted on True North and elsewhere is remarkable in one aspect.  First, let me quote the entire piece.  It is that good.

When it comes to pointing fingers and passing blame for the budget stalemate in St. Paul, Gov. Mark Dayton has done well. In fact, it has become for him almost an art form. But the truth of the matter is that if anyone is digging in his heels and not budging in the budget negotiations, it is the governor himself.

Consider: On Thursday, GOP legislative leaders presented the governor with yet another proposal. In an effort to solve the budget crisis and avert a government shutdown, the Republicans offered to drop their call for $200 million in tax cuts if the governor would abandon his call for $1.8 billion in tax increases. What’s more, they said that if the governor agreed, the money raised from eliminating those tax cuts would be spent on Mr. Dayton’s priorities — education, the environment, transportation, Local Government Aid, and flood and disaster relief.”

The governor’s reaction? No deal.

In fact, the governor went so far as to call it a “non-proposal” and compared the Republican’s actions to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Well, if the GOP leaders are rearranging the chairs, then surely Gov. Dayton must be the iceberg itself — frozen to a proposal and not willing to change.

For all of his posturing about the Republicans being unwilling to compromise, the governor misses the point that his loyal opposition has compromised — several times, in fact. The governor started with a $38 billion budget proposal while the Republicans countered by saying they wanted to keep spending at the current level of $30 billion. In the time since those initial salvos, the GOP-controlled Legislature has presented the governor with a $34 billion budget.

Do the math. Which of the two has gone halfway to solve the budget crisis?

We doubt that the governor — who has taken a “my way or the highway” approach — will change his tune. And if he doesn’t, he will only have himself to blame.

Notice that while published as an editorial it's actually a very factual account of the situation.  It could have been published as a news article but for the more punchy prose allowed in an editorial.  You can argue it clearly sides with the Republican point of view, but there are not two equal sides to this story as this OPP piece reports.  Only the Governor can and apparently will shut down the government.

Meanwhile, most media continue to carry the DFL non-messages of needing to compromise, reach a balanced solution, and tax high earners for the sake of fairness.  To be fair, their coverage has largely been accurate, surprisingly so given how other issues like Voter Id consistently get DFL-favorable reports.  But little snippets still leak through, like "Cooler heads may yet prevail in this year's impasse." in the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently.  The only "hot head" is Governor Mark Dayton, the only one with the veto power to create this impasse.

News articles published as editorials?  Editorials woven into news articles?  No wonder so many Minnesotans are as yet confused on what is so obvious once explained as the OPP did so well.

A Flaw in the Design

The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for the orderly succession, temporary or permanent, of the President, due to vacancy or disability.  It was prompted in part by the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.  The budget impasse of 2011 perhaps should prompt us to provide the equivalent in Minnesota's Constitution.

Without naming names, what if a Governor's mental state or impeachable conduct were to result in a shutdown that could not be resolved until the official reconvening of the Legislature over six months later?

Without picking sides, let me expand further.  We scoffed last year when someone proposed that Legislative leaders should be able to call a Special Session.  We contend that serving in the Legislature should be a part time position as it once was, but are the pundits right, that it is a full time position these days?  As such, do artificial deadlines like the Constitution limits on session dates now do more harm than good?  Haste has made waste in the past, like the infamous Health Impact Fee.

When facing an impasse like today, the inability of the Legislature to convene can play both ways.  The Legislature can contend they're powerless unless the Governor relents.  The Governor can and usually does hold out for a priori agreement before calling a Special Session, since once called, the Legislature sets the agenda, including adjournment.  Either way, what dialog happens is not in the open where it belongs.

As long as I'm solving all the world's problems, let me add another word: unicameral.  The Great Compromise that almost every state copied to create dual chamber Legislatures, including Minnesota: is it worth the trouble?  At its best, it makes legislating more difficult, usually a good thing.  At its worst, it creates impasses of its own without the Governor's help.  Or maybe the worst is that too much legislation winds up being written in conference committees.  Or maybe that is provides too much cover on important matters, each half conveniently blaming the other?

The current situation may be resolved in time as Mike Hatch predicted on Almanac tonight (6/17).  But if it drags on, maybe still more Constitutional Amendments should be considered in 2012.

 

Late Debate Update

I posted last month about The Late Debate with Jack and Ben, broadcasting exclusively on CD6 restricted frequencies, podcasting for the rest of us.  They rate another post already, for this is the best political show going.  Better than TV's Almanac and At Issue with Tom Hauser, because it's a full two hours long.  Better than the Hinderaker-Ward Experience podcast, since it's daily (Sun-Thu), not weekly.  Better than the KTLK-FM local shows because they largely stick to local issues.  And while I'll remain a charter listener ever loyal to the NARN (Northern Alliance Radio Network, 1-4 pm Saturday on WWTC 1280) with Mitch, Ed, and now Brad, Jack and Ben rule for all these reasons and also because they have Becky's wonderfully melodic voice starting and ending each segment.  It also doesn't hurt to acknowledge my posts and beg for more as they did last week (6/6).

That all said, I am posting now because the past two shows in particular were first rate. Tuesday (6/14) we heard St. Thomas Economics Professor Dr. John Spry.  At the risk of comparing him with St. Cloud State Economics Professor King Banaian, also a NARN broadcaster (KYCR 1570 Saturday 9-11 AM) and now a House Representative (15B), Spry gave us a fresh and fascinating perspective on Minnesota's tax structure.  Wednesday, we heard from Norann Dillon who ran against Sen. Teri Bonoff (43) talk on many subjects.  All I can say is that you Plymouth and Minnetonka voters missed a great chance to significantly upgrade your representation in St. Paul last November.

Jack, Ben, Becky, and whoever else behind the glass, well done and thanks again for all you do.

 

Linda Scheid

My State Senator Linda Scheid passed away yesterday (6/15), at home, at peace we are told.  I join the many who speak well of her today and extend my best for her family and friends.  She was an attorney, a substitute teacher, a Minnesota House representative for 20 years, and in two stretches, Minnesota Senator (46) for about 15 years.

And yes, she was a Democrat.  But she was also her own Democrat.  Like, say, Sen. Ann Rest, she was not one to look up on the tote board to decide how to vote, like some others we could name.  She had a self-described libertarian streak in her, not as sold on the Nanny State concept as her party leadership.  For one act of independent thought she lost a committee chair.  I kidded her once after one such vote our way that if she lived long enough, to about 150 or so, she would become a Republican.  She would have been a most welcome addition.

 

Adult Response

Not that I go out of my way to listen to Ron Rosenbaum on the radio, but I've heard him refer to Mineapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as "the boy mayor" many times, and for good reason.  You know the type, that whine and thrash about when they don't get all the free money they want for their pet programs, threatening to lay off police instead.  We are seeing similar tantrums in St. Paul, for example by those who would blame anyone but the only person responsible for the upcoming budget shutdown.  Or those who think a record proposed State budget forces local units of government to raise property taxes.

Fortunately for this taxpayer, the District 281 schools (Robbinsdale area) are run by adults.  The budget they will formally adopt next week for the fiscal year beginning July 1 reflects a net 1.1 percent increase.  It includes over $2 million in savings, much of it identified by several internal committees convened proactively to seek out such opportunities. It's also an honest budget, including some reserves against what the Governor could have signed and continued remodeling of facilities.  Though I might have missed it, I saw or heard nothing about a property tax increase to go with it.  (Note: this isn't the place to again address the need for education reform, which only the Legislature can enact.)

As a member of my city's Financial Advisory Commission that helps the Brooklyn Center City Council assemble our budget each fall, I can predict, yes, we could well be raising taxes again this year.  As in prior years, that will reflect the realities of the housing bust and the recession being extended by foolish national policies, not how much Local Government Aid (LGA) we receive.  We more or less do zero base budgeting every year.  Our financials and audits speak for themselves.  How ironic that one who helped develop this fiscal discipline when she served on the Council is now a spendthrift as our House Representative at the Legislature.

I have no idea what Hennepin County will do, adult leadership repeatedly having been shown to be in short supply on its Board of Commissioners.  Whatever budget they do adopt, it will be too large and complex to support any claim of forced tax increases in response to whatever is finally adopted.

Your results may vary, but I can comfortably state that the $34 billion Republican budget won't significantly raise my property taxes.  Neither would the Governor's proposed $37+ billion budget significantly lower them.

The Voice

Perhaps you've heard actor Richard Dreyfuss's recent dramatic reading of Apple's End User License Agreement.  As comedy, this concept goes back decades, like when Orson Welles read some of the more insipid rock lyrics and Peter Sellers did a Shakespearean interpretation of The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night."

Those blessed with such talent, particularly the voice, have an advantage in presenting ideas.  Norman Rose smoothly told us in his resonant baritone to "rotate your tires" in National Lampoon's parody of Desiderata, and it sounded more Biblical than The Ten Commandments.  More recently, Charleton Heston wonderfully captured author Michael Crichton's sarcasm and amusement in reading the Forward to "Jurassic Park."

The voice isn't everything.  You need the words as well. Part of what makes Rush Limbaugh successful is his masterful delivery, whether you believe him or not.  He can do this scripted or not, even with his hearing handicap. When now Senator Al Franken tried his hand at talk radio, he would use his authoritative voice to read a prepared monologue at the start of each hour, sounding like the proverbial voice of reason, again whether you believed him or not.  But when the script ran out, his aura dissipated as he fumbled his way through the rest of hour, having little to contribute beyond sniping at President George W. Bush.  It was no accident that he wasn't allowed to work alone, Katherine Lanpher there to keep him focused.

Stem-winders, dramatic intonations - speeches - are a staple of politics.  But lately, delivery is being substituted for content, let alone actual ideas.  Exhibit one: Albert Gore, Jr., candidate for President in 2000, grand high priest of Man-Made Global Warming.  Exhibit two: John F. Kerry who ran in 2004.  Alas, even his highbrow tone couldn't save him from gaffes like "global test" and "for it before I was against it."  They're both amazingly ignorant given their station and education, but listening casually you might think they were as profound as Abraham Lincoln or Stephen Douglas.

Nobody embodies this trend, this problem more than our current President, Barack Obama. He is just as ignorant as Gore and Kerry, but has a commanding voice and delivery anywhere his TelePrompter can be plugged in.

Is this a birthright of the male gender, that pitch matters?  Perhaps, but maybe that's just numbers, that men dominate politics.  Fewer than 50 of the 134 Minnesota House members are women.  (Quiet out there!)  And maybe higher pitch accentuates shrillness, as with U.S.gv Sen. Amy Klobuchar and yes, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.  They both get elected comfortably so it's not a fatal flaw, but I would otherwise much prefer listening to Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch's calming, matter-of-fact style.

The ability to project is clearly going to matter in the 2012 Presidential election.  The Democrats have Obama barring some scandal or economic calamity.  Who do we have?  Mike Huckabee has the talent I'm talking about.  Tim Pawlenty does not.  The others are in-between.  Sarah Palin?  I'm honestly not sure, often shrill but often deadly on point which I think explains the leftist media attempts to preempt her.

Maybe the economy will decide the whole matter, by either unexpected recovery or expected stagflation.  But if it's close, we Republicans cannot afford to run another tongue-tied candidate like Bob Dole or John McCain.