July 17-20, 2009
Jul 17 07:44 Joe Biden & the DFL Jul 19 16:24 Specialists Disappear Without Incentives Jul 19 22:42 Joe Biden Fails New Flyer Stimulus Test Jul 20 07:23 KOOL 108 DJ Smarter Than Gov. Kaine? Jul 20 11:09 Obama's Sinking Feeling Jul 20 23:09 Haws, Hosch Vote Against Job-Saving Tax Credits
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Joe Biden & the DFL
Joe Biden would fit right in with the DFL leadership. The DFL leadership teams of Larry Pogemiller and Tarryl Clark in the Senate and Speaker Kelliher and Tony Sertich in the House have tried to government Minnesota to prosperity. Meanwhile, President Obama and Vice President Obama have tried governmenting the United States to prosperity. The only difference is that the Obama administration's attempt to spend us out of the current recession is that it's with spending on steroids.
Yesterday, Vice President Biden told a gathering in Richmond, VA that "We have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt . That makes as much sense as the DFL raising taxes during a deep recession, then saying it's a way to create or save jobs.
After making such silly statements, why would anyone trust them with running the economy?
Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money.Vice President Biden is doing his part in trying to sell the Democrats' health care reform package. After CBO Director Elmendorf's testimony yesterday, I'm thinking that Jesus Christ is the only One who could raise that bill from the dead.
"And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable," Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. "It's totally unacceptable. And it's completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can't do it financially."
"We're going to go bankrupt as a nation," Biden said.
"Now, people when I say that look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?'" Biden said. "The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you."
By now, you're wondering how that fits with the DFL. Back in late January, Mark Brunswick gave us the answer :
DFLers are pinning much of their hope for short-term relief on a national stimulus package coming out of Washington, suggesting the money can be used to fund infrastructure and construction projects that bring immediate job opportunities.Rather than exercising a little fiscal restraint to balance the budget, the DFL chose to spend their way out of it by creating a handful of public works jobs that will disappear when the projects are finished. What a roaring success that's been. Thanks to ARRA projects, Minnesota has saved 124 jobs :
Though much of the stimulus plan was sold on the strength of road and highway investments, records released by Congress last week show that only 37 transportation and infrastructure projects were underway in Minnesota as of May 31, creating or sustaining 124 jobs.The DFL leadership will undoubtedly defend that by highlighting the fact that little of the stimulus money has been spent. I'll agree with them on that. That's where Vice President Biden re-enters the picture:
To see where the hopes and realities of the mammoth federal stimulus plan intersect, look to St. Cloud. Three months after Vice President Joe Biden stopped there to promote the $787 billion spending package by visiting a plant that's expected to supply 29 Twin Cities buses funded by stimulus cash, the deal is still moving through the federal bureaucracy.President Obama put Vice President biden in charge of monitoring ARRA spending. Thus far, the money has been stuck in DC because Vice President Biden hasn't seen fit to streamline the red tape so the money can actually be spent on projects. Perhaps that's because, according to Vice President Biden's chief economic adviser, this really wasn't about jumpstarting the economy, that it was meant more to prevent a total freefall of the economy :
"The act is intended to cushion some of the blow, not to fully offset the deepest recession since the Great Depression," said Jared Bernstein, chief economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. "It's a good thing, as the president has stressed, that this is a two-year plan," he said, adding the economy was in a "fragile" stabilization phase."Simply put, the DFL has the same credibility problem that Joe Biden has. Since the DFL retook control of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Minnesota has been losing jobs. Minnesota has gone from having a $2,163,000,000 surplus to having to close a $6,000,000,000 deficit in less than 2 years.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, rushed through a stimulus bill without reading it so we could start us on a "two-year plan" to stabilize the economy. (Nevermind the fact that President Obama said it would create 4,000,000 jobs in a short period of time.)
The DFL deserves the Obama administration. They're birds of a free-spending feather. My question is simple: What did we do to deserve such shoddy leadership?
Posted Friday, July 17, 2009 7:44 AM
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Specialists Disappear Without Incentives
The central point of former Rep. J.C. Watts' column is that students won't have an incentive to become a specialist if President Obama-endorsed health care legislation becomes law:
Under President Obama's nationalized health care program, surgical clinics and highly advanced surgical procedures will be a thing of the past. The goal of nationalizing health care is to standardize services, not to specialize in them. Rather than treating each individual as a unique medical case, everyone will be treated the same.I've said repeatedly (some might argue ad nauseum) that the Democrats' model is based more on affordability through price controls and universal coverage . I believe that the American people want increased accessability but they want the life-saving cures that our current system provides. I think that they're willing to spend a little extra if the quality is there. I'd further suggest that people won't spend extra for something that doesn't offer quality.
Many of the current system's flaws are a direct result of the Medicare/Medicaid system. This morning on FNS' Roundtable discussion, Mara Liasson talked about all the money that doctors lose because Medicare's payments don't cover the doctors', or the hospitals', costs. President Obama has spoken out for bigger cuts in Medicare. That's counterproductive.
What incentive do people have for going into med school if they know they'll lose money?
Rep. Watts makes another great point here:
Government-run health care systems also do not pay for specialized life-changing and even life-saving procedures. Medicare will not pay for any procedure it deems new, advanced or outside of the realm of 1980s care; and Medicare's policy is non-negotiable.Anyone who thinks that Medicare negotiates with pharmaceutical companies, hospitals or doctors is kidding themselves. Medicacre negotiates with a gun to the pharmaceutical companies', hospitals' or doctors' heads. I've half-kiddingly said that the Obama has changed the old government cliche which said "I'm with the federal government and I'm here to help you" to "I'm with the federal government and I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse."
That's why I rejected the notion that the government-run plan was an option. It wasn't an option. The latest thing that the Obama administration is pushing is deeper cuts in Medicare represents real savings. They're nothing of the sort. It's more accurate to say that they represent yet another minefield that threatens doctors' and hospitals' profits.
Yesterday, I asked King during his Final Word program something that I'd like my blog's readers' reactions. Has there ever been a situation where price controls have caused innovation and increased productivity? I'm betting there isn't but I'm willing to listen if there's an exception to that rule.
Posted Sunday, July 19, 2009 4:24 PM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 19-Jul-09 08:04 PM
Right now, some doctors refuse to take on new Medicare patients. People who finally retire and are FORCED into Medicare (there is no "private option")find there care suddenly dropping in quality, and discover why when they get their first statement and find that only 1/3 of the bills have been covered by Medicare. If Obama reduces Medicare payments even further, we will see more RATIONING of health care to seniors, to the point that Obamacare could be called the "kill old people" bill.
Comment 2 by eric z at 20-Jul-09 06:37 AM
Ad nauseum is perhaps the right terminology. Remember it was yours, first mention.
Beyond that J.C. Watts?
First he's a lightweight. A mediocre jock in the past, but better there than in Congress which is why he's not in Congress any longer.
I read the link.
It's nothing more than Watts' unsupported opinions. Specialities have not disappeared in Europe, have they?
Come on.
This is one of your lamest posts, Gary, it detracts from the overall argument you have been making.
A friend whose mother worked at a law firm quotes one of the more successful litigators there - you don't make any sound argument stronger by adding weak arguments to it.
Give up on J.C. Watts as an authority on anything.
---
J.Ewing, people who are without insurance and then qualify for Medicare, I believe you may find them thankful and not bitching, if you'd talk to them. Do they move in different social circles, where you don't meet or know anyone lacking coverage? I do. It's shameful and indecent in the wealthiest nation on earth to have that. No two ways about it.
Joe Biden Fails New Flyer Stimulus Test
Vice President Biden visited the New Flyer bus company for a townhall meeting to explain the impact that the stimulus would soon have on St. Cloud. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for the Stimulus Czar to cut through the red tape. We're still waiting for the money so we can start working on a few of those shovel-ready jobs the administration touted just months ago.
By now, this city an hour northwest of the Twin Cities was supposed to be a stimulus boomtown. Home to New Flyer, the largest manufacturer of hybrid buses, St. Cloud was poised to benefit from a big chunk of the $8.4 billion in public transit money tucked into the stimulus package.Last Thursday, I spoke with Mayor Kleis about the inaction on the stimulus funds. He explained that he isn't bitter about the money not getting here post haste. He's simply reacting to the reporter's question on why it hasn't arrived yet.
In March, the city drew Vice President Joe Biden and four Cabinet secretaries for a town hall at the factory. They promised that the stimulus would invest in transportation, energy and education and create a new "green" middle class and good-paying jobs -- not a year from now but this spring and summer.
So where do things stand?
Five months since the bill was signed, New Flyer has yet to report hiring anybody because of the stimulus. The city's main stimulus road project hasn't started. Nor has the upgrade of the veterans' hospital heating and cooling system, the $1.6 million project to rehabilitate foreclosed homes, the weatherization job at City Hall or the new jet bridge at St. Cloud Regional Airport.
St. Cloud's experience is like that of many American cities, still waiting for that promised influx of stimulus cash and wondering when it's going to get here. "We were hopeful that from transportation to wastewater to cops, those things would be almost immediate," Mayor Dave Kleis said, "and we haven't seen that."
Jack Kelly, one of my favorite columnsts, writes that Mayor Kleis isn't the only person waiting :
Speaking in Cincinnati to a crowd of "about 200," some of them protesters, Mr. Biden asked for patience. "Remember we're only 140 days into this deal," he said. "It's supposed to take 18 months."It's insulting that President Obama and Vice President Biden are attempting to rewrite history . Here's what President Obama said in February:
This isn't what Mr. Obama and his aides were saying in February. Back then we were told the $787 billion stimulus bill had to be rushed through Congress to keep unemployment from rising to 8 percent.
"No one in the House read that bill because the urgency was such that the president said we had to act now and if we acted now, we would stave off job loss and we'd get America back to work," recalled Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA, the GOP whip.
In February, Mr. Obama said this about the goals of his stimulus package: "I think my initial measure of success is creating or saving four million jobs." He later explained the stimulus's $787 billion would "go directly to,generating three to four million new jobs." And his Council of Economic Advisors issued an official analysis showing that the unemployment rate would top out in the third quarter of this year at just over 8%.Now he's singing a different tune :
President Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill "has worked as intended" as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy.Meanwhile, Mayor Kleis waits for Vice President Biden to stop thinking like a Washington, DC insider and start cutting through the red tape. Had Vice President Biden done that in, say, mid-February, St. Cloud's shovel-ready construction projects would be underway, New Flyer would be building additional buses and unemployment might not've skyrocketed to 9.5 percent.
"It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession," Obama, who is traveling today in Ghana, said in his weekly Saturday radio and Web address. "It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and business."
The bigger lesson in all this is that we shouldn't have expected people without executive experience to think about cutting red tape. Unfortunately, that's what happens when legislators become chief executives. Unfortunately, we didn't learn that quickly enough.
Originally posted Sunday, July 19, 2009, revised 20-Jul 10:43 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 20-Jul-09 06:24 AM
Gary, where's the money gone?
Did you get any?
I didn't.
Somebody must have.
If it went to things like keeping state and local government jobs from keeping pace with the private sector, in this depression, is that a good thing?
I can see that trimming dead wood at an agency such as DEED, those too set in their ways, too in love with their discretionary fact-finding powers, would do good.
Any thoughts you might have??
Here's my DEED poster-child - They have or have had one ULJ, Unemployment Law Judge, Margaret Manderfeld, who has also a private practice where she has consistently hald a NELA membership, with NELA being an employee-advacatorial organization where over half of a member lawyer's practice must be representing employees in litigation. It's a membership requirement. They have a members-only private brief bank, accessible to members even when acting as ULJs, and you can imagine the slant there.
Does that sound fair to you?
It does not to me.
That should for other reasons have been trimmed already, but in hard times such a part-time situation is ripe for winnowing. To my knowledge the Pawlenty people have declined to recognize such a problem, for reasons only they know.
Don't figure it's a hidden thing. It's on the web, with Manderfeld still apparently on staff as a ULJ at DEED:
http://www.mn-nela.org/member_list.asp
http://www.mn-nela.org/join_mn_nela.asp
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/eis/rpdetail/rp527_6710.html
Please have a look Gary.
Your thoughts about how this appears, and whether such situations have been propped up because the Dems nationwide as in Minnesota have a power bloc made up of the public employees union.
We're on different ends of the political spectrum, Gary, but each of us believes in fair is fair.
You might even know people who should be asked, "What's up?"
Comment 2 by eric z at 20-Jul-09 06:47 AM
Gary, here's one link, where some GOP people at state leadership levels are, without saying it directly, implying the teachers union has gotten a possibly unfair share of the stimulus allocations:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=8122651&page=3
I would like to see sound numbers either way, did the teachers get an abnormally large slice of the pie, did the bureaucrats' union members get the same, with public sector job loss way out of whack with what's going on in the private sector?
Do you know if such data exists?
If so, it might be worth a post, not anecdotes, not opinion, but old fashioned indisputable aggregate facts.
Comment 3 by J. Ewing at 20-Jul-09 08:19 AM
There is a report somewhere that of the new jobs created-- some number like 30,000 and a mere pittance compared to those lost-- 95% of them are in government service. What happened to shared sacrifice, and why are jobs being sacrificed at all?
Maybe the answer is that we elected "legislators" rather than executives, but Obama and co. were barely even legislators, certainly not good ones, and their lack of executive experience is nothing compared to their immature, idealistic and ideological worldview.
KOOL 108 DJ Smarter Than Gov. Kaine?
According to this press release by the Virginia DOT, aka VDoT, Gov. Tim Kaine will close 18 rest stops to save money. The first closing will happen on July 21:
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) begins notifying motorists July 6 of impending changes at the rest areas slated for closure later this month.I first heard of these impending closures during a Sunday afternoon roadtrip. The DJ for KOOL 108 mentioned it during the news, then asked why they couldn't privatize these rest stops and let entrepreneurs open commercial shops that sell ice cream or a restaurant or gift shop to pay for the maintenance of the rest stops.
In June, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) finalized plans to scale-back the number of rest areas VDOT maintains and operates from 42 to 23 as the agency grapples with a $2.6 billion revenue shortfall.
Electronic message signs notifying visitors that the facilities will close on July 21 are being posted at each location beginning today and VDOT has updated its Web site and 511 traveler information system to reflect the closures.
In an effort to mitigate the impacts of these facility closings on trucks, VDOT plans to implement changes to its rest area truck parking restrictions on July 21.
Crews will remove a number of no parking signs at the remaining 23 rest areas and welcome centers to provide more than 225 legal truck parking spaces. This will offset the total number of truck parking spaces lost at the closed facilities. VDOT will also remove signs that had restricted vehicles to two-hour parking limits.
Truck drivers will now be able to get their mandated 10-hours of rest in Virginia's rest areas. New truck parking rules only limit parking for an entire overnight period.
This means that trucks arriving in a rest area before sundown must leave the site prior to sunrise the following day. Those trucks arriving during the night or early morning hours must leave the site prior to sunrise the following full day.
"These are hard decisions for us to make," said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern. "It is difficult to cut back on these popular motorists' services, but we must prioritize our limited funding to emergency response and maintaining our roads and bridges. We have worked with the trucking, tourism and commuter communities to ensure that those impacted are aware of the impending changes and to address adverse impacts wherever possible."
When I heard the suggestion, I thought that Democrats wouldn't consider it because that isn't their mindset. They think of cuts first, last and always. They don't think about turning adversity into opportunity. This year, I've seen too many instances of Democrats focusing on cutting budgets rather than thinking about doing things differently.
That's what the DFL did during the 2009 session. The DFL's thinking hurt Minnesota's taxpayers. It forced Gov. Pawlenty to solve the deficit without the help of the DFL-dominated legislature.
Tim Kaine hasn't impressed me. Hopefully, Virginia voters won't screw up again this November. They've suffered through one Democrat administration too many.
Ttechnorati: Tim Kaine , Budget Cuts , Rest Stops , Privatization , Reform , Entrepreneurship , Democrats , Election 2009 , Tim Pawlenty , GOP
Posted Monday, July 20, 2009 7:23 AM
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Obama's Sinking Feeling
According to the latest Washington Post-ABCNews poll , President Obama has reason to worry about whether his plans to 'transform' the United States' health care system are fading fast:
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?It's impossible to not spot the trend. President Obama's dropping approval rating on health care reform is largely due to the fact that there are now specifics that people can read. It's no longer just a concept. It doesn't help President Obama that people just heard CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf testify that the Democrats' reform plans increase health care costs . Frankly, there's little economic news that Democrats can tout as successes. ARRA has failed thus far, causing President Obama and Vice President Biden to attempt to rewrite history . President Obama's bailouts are seen as a costly failure, too. The deficit is the biggest in history. The Democrats' deficit isn't just a little bit bigger than the Pelosi/Reid/Bush record FY2008 deficit. The Democrats' deficit for FY2009 is 4 times the size of teh FY2008 deficit.
Health care:
7/18/09 49% approve, 44% disapprove
6/21/09 53% approve, 39% disapprove
4/24/09 57% approve, 29% disapprove
I think we're reaching a tipping point politically. That tipping point will be triggered by the persistent drip, drip, drip of negative economic news. That tipping point will be affected by this administration's seeming disinterest in stimulating the economy.
This Wednesday night, President Obama will conduct another primetime news conference to push his health care plans, thus adding to the increasingly noticeable problem of 'Obama fatigue'. The more President Obama talks about the issues, the less inspiration he imparts to the masses.
Couple President Obama's disappearing credibility with Obama Fatigue and you have the explanation for President Obama's shrinking approval rating on the issues. Mix in the probability that President Obama's economic policies won't turn the economy around anytime soon and the potential for a Democratic disaster in 2010 becomes more plausible.
Posted Monday, July 20, 2009 11:09 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 20-Jul-09 07:36 PM
People are also starting to notice the difference between what Obama SAYS and what he actually DOES (or what Congress is doing in his name,since he /does/ nothing but make speeches). Just keep getting out the message that this plan is RATIONING, doesn't control costs, can't possibly work as advertised and costs a bloody fortune of money that we don't have.
Haws, Hosch Vote Against Job-Saving Tax Credits
Late in the session, Larry Haws and Larry Hosch, aka Tarryl's brother Larry and Tarryl's other brother Larry respectively, voted against Rep. Keith Downey's bill that would've started an angel investment tax credit in Minnesota's tax code. Now Minnesota will feel the impact of Rep. Haws' and Rep. Hosch's vote:
Another Minnesota tech startup is moving across the border, prompting renewed questions about the competitive standing of the state's business climate.During the House floor debate, Rep. Ann Lenczewski said that the Tax Committee that she chairs discussed this for over two hours. Apparently, Rep. Downey's proposal wasn't accepted. Why it wasn't accepted within minutes is startling. In fact, it's unforgivable. It's especially unforgivable because Minnesota desparately needs job creators, especially high tech jobs.
VitalMedix, a Minneapolis biotech firm, said last week that it is negotiating leases in Wisconsin and expects to move to either Hudson or New Richmond within the next 90 days.
Jeff Williams, the company's CEO and founder, said VitalMedix's relocation will enable it to benefit from Wisconsin's friendlier business climate, including its tax investment credits law that encourage financial support from so-called angel investors.
" The investment climate (in Wisconsin) for small (biotech) companies like ours is more favorable" than Minnesota's , said Williams, previously CEO-in-residence of the Venture Center at the University of Minnesota. "Right now, it is more difficult to raise money in the Twin Cities for small companies."
What makes this stink even more is the fact that Rep. Haws serves on the Bioscience and Workforce Development Policy and Oversight Division. You'd think that, if there's anything that someone serving on that committee would fight for, this would be the legislation that they'd fight for. Several DFL members of the oscience and Workforce Development Policy and Oversight Division voted for Rep. Downey's proposal, including Rep. Poppe and Rep. Obermueller. Other DFL legislators voting for Rep. Downey's proposal were Rep. Pelowski, Rep. Bunn, Rep. Dittrich, Rep. Davnie, Rep. Kalin and Rep. Swails.
Rep. Haws and Rep. Hosch, along with 69 other DFL legislators, voted to give Wisconsin a bunch of high tech, high wage jobs at a time when Minnesota desparately needs job creators. I'd like to know is why they voted against these investment tax credits. Are these DFL legislators that ideologically opposed to tax cuts that they'd rather see high paying jobs leave the state than provide tax incentives? It certainly appears that's the case, doesn't it?
Last fall, I repeatedly said that Rep. Haws prefers a public works-oriented budget. He's also a big proponent of prevailing wage legislation. Unfortunately for Minnesota, he and other DFL legislators put a higher priority on those issues than they put on intelligent 21st Century tax policy.
How often have you heard DFL activists and legislators say that the key to creating lots of high tech jobs is a good education system? Personally, if I had a sawbuck for each time former St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker told me that, I could afford a new hybrid SUV.
Apparently, VitalMedix disagrees with Mr. Ellenbecker. Tehy obviously think that access to investment capital is important in creating a vibrant, healthy company. VitalMedix's abandoning Minnesota for Wisconsin is proof that Minnesota's tax system needs a massive, un-DFL, overhaul that helps Minnesota attract and keep companies like VitalMedix.
I contacted Rep. Laura Brod because she's the Ranking Republican on the Tax Committee in the Minnesota House of Representatives for her reaction. Here's Rep. Brod's thoughts on VitalMedix:
"Minnesota needs to hear the wake up call that businesses like VitalMedix are sending as one after another flee our state and take innovation and good paying jobs with them. Many businesses are at the same tipping point and policymakers should be very concerned that the cost of doing business in Minnesota is simply out of whack and we are losing jobs because of it. Businesses and investors are price sensitive and have choices. For too long, there has been quite a bit of rhetorical "concern" by legislators with little action.There's no chance that Minnesota will be the center of innovation as long as the DFL takes a hostile view of innovative companies like VitalMedix. As long as the DFL keeps thinking that increasing taxes won't affect capital flight, investment capital will remain out of reach for companies like VitalMedix.
In fact, the Democrats' recent tax proposals would have set us back even further and potentially chased even more businesses out. The wake up call has been sounded and now it is our job to put forth bold reforms that encourage economic growth and opportunity. The issue of ensuring a competitive economic environment is not just a business issue-it's an issue for families as they seek to get or keep a good paying job, for college students looking for that first place of employment, and for the health of our state and local communities in general.
But there is hope for the future of Minnesota's economy as long as we commit ourselves to real tax reform and spending restraint. When state government sets the right balance regarding the level and manner of taxation, our history of innovation and investment will once again lead us to economic prosperity."
If we're serious about improving Minnesota's business climate, then eliminating the DFL majorities in the House and Senate must be our highest priority.
UPDATE: King's post explains why we need more than a great education system to keep high tech jobs in Minnesota. It's the best explanation of all the things a starting business needs to succeed that I've read to date.
Originally posted Monday, July 20, 2009, revised 21-Jul 9:54 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 21-Jul-09 06:20 AM
For a bit of a dose of reality.
http://www.vitalmedix.com/
"VitalMedix is working closely with the military to bring its DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] funded technology to the battlefield."
It looks as if the venture capital came from taxation, disbursed via DARPA.
Otherwise, Gary, it's a good story.
Comment 2 by eric z at 21-Jul-09 06:26 AM
I read a bit more on that VitaMedix website:
"VitalMedix, Inc. is a development stage company that has obtained an exclusive global license from the University of Minnesota for a proprietary new formulation called Tamiasyn. VitalMedix will incorporate Tamiasyn into a combination drug/delivery device product named O2 Rescue that will be used by first responders and medics to treat this condition."
So, of all things, the technology breakthrough came from that higher education funding; and the sole downside is that these particular bandits (probably with MBAs) bought it and are taking the payoff out of state.
They sound like a pack of conscienceless Republican ingrates to me.
Comment 3 by Frank Jaskulke at 21-Jul-09 08:09 AM
Hi,
Thanks for writing this - LifeScience Alley (where I work, but I am not writing this on their behalf) has worked on this legislation for 4 sessions now.
I'm hopeful that the VitalMedix move will be the final push to get something done next session.
Rep. Brod's comments miss the point of VitalMedix a little. She said that the cost of doing business in Minnesota is a factor in decisions like this. It is not.
Startup companies like VitalMedix are not sensitive to cost of business issues like a larger firm. They don't have revenue to be taxed on, have few employees who tend to be low turn over (so no UI issues) and don't require lots of physical space (so property taxes are not a big deal).
VitalMedix needed investment capital which is only slightly related to cost of doing business - note that California and Mass are among the top areas for high tech investment and those states make Minnesota look cheap in comparison.
Keep up the good work!
Comment 4 by Pete at 21-Jul-09 10:15 AM
This is not a red vs. blue issue anymore. It is a DFL senator that sponsored this bill and agressively got it into the tax bill at the 11th hour at the close of the session. We need a bi-partisan approach to this if we are to be sucessful in getting it finally passed.
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 21-Jul-09 10:22 AM
Pete, I couldn't agree more. Keeping high paying jobs in Minnesota shouldn't be a partisan issue. It should be a no-brainer.
Comment 5 by enorman at 16-Aug-09 08:11 PM
Until Minnesota completely reforms/overhauls it's tax system, companies leaving the state will be the rule, not the exception. The only solution the DFL has proposed is a piecemeal, give an exception to individual firms/companies to plug the leak in the dam. Minnesota needs a dam, tax, overhaul and nothing less will suffice.
