March 14-15, 2011
Mar 14 06:36 Laura Brod vs. Javier Morillo-Alicea: A Mismatch Mar 14 09:20 Beltrami County, Prior Lake Leading Innovation Movement Mar 14 12:11 Unfunded Liabilility Reform: Anti-Worker vs. Pro-Taxpayer? Mar 14 17:24 Winkler, Seide Deny Pension Ticking Time Bomb Mar 15 07:27 My McCotter Interview Mar 15 10:09 Klobuchar Repeats Gas Station Photo Op, Still Doesn't Offer Solution Mar 15 13:57 City Council Open Session Mar 15 20:19 Crappy Information In, Worthless Conclusions Out
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Laura Brod vs. Javier Morillo-Alicea: A Mismatch
Yesterday morning, retired Rep. Laura Brod and SEIU Local 26 president Javier Morillo-Alicea debated the Fleebagger 14. It wasn't a fair fight.
Morillo's high point came when he said that workers had already agreed to Gov. Walker's concessions. To him, this was proof that this was all about union-busting. It was a nice attempt at bait and switch.
Yes, there is the issue of solving a short-term deficit. If that was the only consideration, the concessions would've been enough. Morillo knows, though, that that isn't the only consideration.
Rep. Brod highlighted that by noting that there's a long-term problem called unfunded liabilities. A decade from now, those unfunded liabilities would've become a ticking time bomb. That's why pension reform was such a high priority for Gov. Walker.
The thing that Morillo-Alicea didn't say was most telling. He didn't say that PEUs were willing to drop the early retirement provisions or the lavish pensions many unions are currently scheduled to receive. That's the ticking time bomb that I refered to earlier.
The early retirement provisions are particularly onerous because it makes retire and rehire possible. Too often, retire and rehire allows a PEU employee to start collecting their pension when they retire when they're 55, then get hired as a government consultant.
If people get hired as a consultant after retiring, they should forfeit a portion of their pension equal to the amount of money they're paid for consulting. There should be no double-dipping.
Why should taxpayers be paying these people twice when they're 55?
Morillo-Alicea knows that the unions could've renegotiated the pensions and health care contributions during their next negotiations. Then the ticking time bomb of unfunded liabilities would've started ticking again.
Thanks to Rep. Brod, people now know this. To be fair, though, Morillo-Alicea was fighting from a weak position. On the other hand, Morillo-Alicea resorted to the DFL's time-tested trick of talking over their debating partner.
That might work sometimes but it didn't this time. Plus it comes across as being terribly obnoxious. When I see that tactic, I know that the debate is over, that the shouter has run out of valid arguments to make.
SIDENOTE: It's been my observation that the DFL doesn't have many skilled debaters. Mike Hatch is one of their best, if not their best. After that, the talent pool drops of pretty sharply. The GOP have a bunch of great debaters, with Rep. Brod being one of the best. Greg Peppin is good, as are current legislators like David Hann, Pat Garofalo, Mike Beard, Claire Robling, Dave Thompson, King Banaian and Steve Gottwalt.
Posted Monday, March 14, 2011 6:36 AM
Comment 1 by Rex Newman at 14-Mar-11 09:28 AM
Javier was just flat out lying this encounter. I think that's an effective technique in short segments like this, too little to both refute and get your own message out. Denise Cardinal demonstrated another technique on Almanac this week, say something so clueless that no comeback would make any sense either.
Beltrami County, Prior Lake Leading Innovation Movement
I just started reading this article and figured it must be a misprint. Here's what caught my attention:
When Prior Lake Mayor Mike Myser discovered last month that his city had a $2 million surplus , "it was a huge surprise," he said.
Then Myser, at a City Council meeting last month, made an almost equally surprising suggestion, that the city give the money back to taxpayers in the form of rebate checks.
"I simply said, 'Why couldn't we consider giving the money back?'" he said last week.
This can't be right. We know it's wrong because DFL politicians from R.T. Rybak to Mike Hatch to Rep. Thissen to Gov. Dayton have told us that skyrocketing property taxes were the fault of those mean-spirited Republicans who hold fast to the 'no new taxes' pledge.
Why, if only those evil Republicans would just agree to raising taxes on "the rich", all their problems would be solved instantly.
It's time for R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman to examine the Prior Lake blueprint or the Beltrami County blueprint outlined in this article . Here's a glimpse into the Beltrami County blueprint:
Four years ago, county officials found themselves in a predicament familiar to state lawmakers: a growing demand for services and not enough funding to provide them. But with the county's relatively small tax capacity already stretched thin, they decided raising new revenues wasn't an option.
Instead, they began a transformation into what County Administrator Tony Murphy calls "outcome-based government." Rather than focus on funding services and programs, county officials began to ask how they can achieve the desired end results. The difference might sound slight, but it requires a dramatic rethinking of how services are provided.
"You have to go back and kind of ask the fundamental question again: What is it that we're really trying to accomplish here?" Murphy said.
Murphy discovered that many county employees believed that their primary customers were not county residents, but rather state regulators. Their goals were not to ensure that county services produced good results, but rather to spend as much money and serve as many people as possible.
They began to change all that. Murphy and his colleagues began developing quantifiable goals they could use to measure their success. They began forcing different departments to coordinate with each other and combine their efforts. For the first time, they asked questions like, "How can we help families on welfare find a way out of poverty?" and "How can we make sure people who go through chemical dependency treatment stay sober?"
With a new orientation, it's fair to ask what results have they experienced. Here's the results:
The results speak for themselves. Four years into their experiment, Murphy said they're providing more effective services with 13 percent fewer employees; they've also cut property taxes and replenished their budget reserves .
If I were a sarcastic man, I'd call the Beltrami County blueprint the 'anti-Rybak/Thissen/Dayton blueprint. (It's a good thing that I'm not that type of sarcastic person, isn't it?)
Still, there needs to be a bigger mindset change. They need the state to give them the flexibility they need to innovate:
The county's move to outcome-based government is still in its infancy, according to Murphy. Other counties are undertaking similar efforts, but they're all running up against a big obstacle: the state. Since most of what counties do is carry out state-mandated services, Murphy said state statutes and rules don't allow counties flexibility to innovate and try new approaches.
"We've got to get some new ideas into the pike, and the only way to do that is to take off some of the shackles, remove some of the barriers to innovation," he said, adding that his and other counties are developing a list of proposed legislative changes that they will submit to lawmakers.
Simply put, it's imperative that the state let cities and counties innovate. That's why Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch is putting a high priority on unfunded mandate reform. She gets it that community leaders know what's best for their communities. She gets it that community leaders are more accountable because their decisions might well affect their neighbor or their friend from church.
I remember reading an article ages ago about how stunned Sen. George McGovern was at the effect government regulations had when he started up a small business. He replied (I'm paraphrasing here) "If I would've known the problems our regulations cause, I wouldn't have required so many regulations."
It's apparent that local leaders like Tony Murphy and Mike Myser understand the types of changes that need to be made so they can thrive in the 21st Century.
Earlier this am, I spoke with the Lady Logician . When the Logician family still lived in Prior Lake, she was part of a task force tasked with the responsibility of restructuring local government. They focused on restructuring how government operated and on changing city government's entire focus.
Based on the $2,000,000 surplus that they've got, I'd say that the restructuring went exceptionally well.
Conservatives talk alot about government getting out of business's way and rightfully so. These articles, though, prove that there's a need for state government to get out of local governments' way, too. Unfunded and underfunded mandates hamstring local officials. They limit their flexibility and the opportunity to innovate.
It's time that the R.T. Rybaks, Mark Daytons and Paul Thissens learn from the Mike Mysers, Tony Murphys and Dave Kleis's. They've done things differently. They've rejected the status quo. It's important, too, to give Sen. Koch credit for listening to local leaders in making mandate reform a high priority.
These local governments' innovations provide us with a blueprint for the future. Seizing the moment has the potential of changing governments' trajectories and their reach into John Q. Public's wallets. The sooner we let local governments innovate according to local needs, the sooner Minnesota will become a prosperous state again.
Posted Monday, March 14, 2011 9:20 AM
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Unfunded Liabilility Reform: Anti-Worker vs. Pro-Taxpayer?
Ryan Winkler has once again told the Twittersphere know where he stands on the issue of protecting government workers vs. protecting taxpayers :
@mprnews keep repeating story of GOP senators and their public employee pension bill as though yet another anti-worker bill is news.
First, I think this is the MPR article that Rep. Winkler is referring to. (If it isn't, feel free to correct me in the comments.)
Next, here's the draconian cuts that Sen. Parry and Sen. Hoffman will be calling for:
Parry is one of the authors of the bill. It calls for the state, as well as cities, counties and school districts, to cut pension contributions by 3 percent across the board.
In the private sector, this isn't considered a dramatic cut in the employer contribution. To hamsters like Rep. Winkler and Elliot Seide, it's pure evil:
"This is a unilateral pay cut," said AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide. He said he hopes DFL Gov. Mark Dayton will block such changes. Seide also said Minnesota isn't ready to follow Wisconsin's lead.
"I think this is precisely the plan laid out by Gov. Walker and the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is run by right-wing extremist billionaires and other cheap labor conservatives, to divide public workers against private workers and to drive down the wages and benefits of all workers," Seide said.
ALEC is "run by right-wing extremist billionaires and other cheap labor conservatives, to divide public workers against private workers and to drive down the wages"? I'm thankful that Mr. Seide has such an objective, impartial perspective on things.
As for him saying that he "hopes Gov. Dayton will block such changes", that didn't need to be said. Considering how much he owes to Big Labor for running the most corrupt campaign in Minnesota history, there's no chance that Gov. Dayton won't veto this legislation. He's their puppet, they're his puppeteer.
Rep. Winkler couldn't just make one smartalecky tweet and let it go. He had to add this statement to the mix:
We are not Wisconsin but Minnesota Republicans are desperately trying to bring that controversy across the border.
The facts clearly show that Minnesota's pension system is responsible, reasonable, and on strong financial footing. Minnesota workers contribute about 1.6% of state and local government spending compared to 3% in other states. The state contributes a 50% pension match for up to 5% of pay. In the private sector, the average match is about 6% of pay. And unlike Wisconsin, the Legislature and Governor already control pension terms. That's why in preparation for our budget gap last year we increased employee contributions and limited future benefit increases.
I don't doubt the statistics in Rep. Winkler's statement. That said, I'm questioning their relevancy. I'll stipulate that they aren't totally irrelevant.
I'm just questioning whether there's a large unfunded mandate for state employee pensions facing Minnesota's taxpayers. I'm also questioning whether defined benefit pensions should exist. I know that there's alot of defined contribution plans in the private sector but I don't think there's much in the way of defined benefit plans.
I just spoke with King Banaian's office about the size of the unfunded liability on state pensions for the next 30 years. I was told that the unfunded liability for that period is approximately $12,675,000,000.
It's important to understand that that isn't the amount owed in pensions. That's the amount owed in pensions that's in the form of IOUs.
This is the statement issued by Sen. Parry and Sen. Hoffman:
In an effort to bring employee pension participation more in line with the private sector, Senator Mike Parry (R-Waseca) and Senator Gretchen Hoffman (R-Vergas) introduced a pension shift bill Monday. The bill asks that government employees provide 3 percent more and government employers spend 3 percent less towards pensions.
'The path we are on now is simply unsustainable. The pension shift empowers government employees to have greater involvement in their own retirement. It relieves local government obligations to pensions and frees up funds for things like local property tax relief,' said Senator Gretchen Hoffman. 'It also reduces the taxpayer's liability to pay for government employee pensions. Our main goal with this bill is to bring government up to speed with the private sector.'
All state and local government employees are included in the shift except public safety employees like firefighters and police. Legislators and their staff, like all other government employees, are participating in this shift.
'This bill names legislators first. We need to live within our means and this bill will save the state's General Fund approximately $50 million in the first biennium. This 3 percentage point shift from employer to employee allows government employers greater flexibility in budgeting,' added Senator Mike Parry.
Senators Dave Thompson (R-Lakeville), Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes), and Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) are co-authors on the bill which will have its first reading on the Senate floor Monday.
As with all their legislation, the GOP legislature starts with them paying their fair share. If they're asking others to sacrifice, they're sacrificing, too.
What is incomprehensible is how Rep. Winkler thinks that this legislation is an attempt to pick a fight with the PEUs. The unfunded liability figures show that we're heading for a trainwreck if we continue with the status quo. It's also apparent that this isn't about collective bargaining rights, that it's about pension reform.
I suspect that Rep. Winkler's statement is essentially about revving up the DFL's union base and increasing campaign contributions.
UPDATE: This report offers a nice summary of the various pension plans. I'm told, however, that it's based on a ROI of 8 percent. I haven't verified that yet but if that's accurate, then the unfunded liability of those pension funds is considerably higher. Nobody is getting an 8 percent return on their investments these days.
Posted Monday, March 14, 2011 1:38 PM
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Winkler, Seide Deny Pension Ticking Time Bomb
Rep. Winkler had a busy Twitter morning thus far. This tweet tells the world that they'll fight to the death to protect a defined benefit pension for their union friends:
No DFLers will vote to override a Dayton veto of anti-labor bills. We'll stand strong.
This tweet suggests that the Strib is helping the GOP spread pension myths:
STrib has some major work to do dialing back the pension myths it's been perpetuating. It did a nice job setting up Parry's bill.
Here's an important part of the Strib article :
But the proposal by Hoffman, part of the freshman class of Republicans in the Minnesota Senate, touched off an immediate, emotional response from state labor leaders and DFL legislators.
'We do not have a pension crisis,' said Eliot Seide, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 5. 'This is, simply put, an attack on public workers.' Seide said at least a dozen legislative bills had been introduced at the State Capitol this year aimed at cutting public employee benefits.
'At last, do these people have no shame at all?' he asked.
I just accessed this website . According to the summary, the "Unfunded Accrued Liability" for all the plans is $12,659,000,000. At this point, the liability is approximately $61,000,000,000, with approximately $49,000,000,000 in assets in the funds.
By the way, that means we have 80 percent of the pension funds in assets. I'm certain that being 20 percent short of covering the pensions constitutes a crisis.
I haven't verified this but I was told that these figures are based on a ROI of 8 percent. At this point, that's pure speculation. However, if it's true, the unfunded liability will be significantly higher than $12,659,000,000.
Another friend sent me the link to this report from the Civic Caucus. Here's the first relevant portion of the Civic Caucus report:
As of June 30, 2009, the unfunded accrued liability for all state-local pension funds in Minnesota totaled $24.3 billion, according to LCPR, which is the difference between an accrued liability of $65.6 billion and current assets of $41.3 billion. Expressed another way, Minnesota's funding ratio (assets as a percentage of liabilities) was 63.0 percent.
Here's the other important part of the report:
LCPR actuaries also calculate unfunded accrued liability using an alternative approach, which reflects ups and downs in the investment markets. Adjusting for those ups and downs, an actuarial value of assets in Minnesota pension plans was placed at $50.2 billion as of June 30, 2009, which would have the effect of shrinking the unfunded accrued liability by about $9 billion. Using actuarial value of assets increases Minnesota's funding ratio to 76.6 percent.
However, others contend that the figure of $65.6 billion for "accrued liability" is understated. For example, state law requires actuaries to estimate an 8.5 percent annual return on pension investments. That number might sound high today, but LCPR cites data that illustrate annual return exceeded 8.5 percent for many years. According to one estimate, reported by the Minnesota Taxpayers Association (MTA), accrued liability would increase by about $1 billion if an 8.0 percent annual return were used. If a rate of 5 percent or 6 percent (a typical government bond rate) were chosen, unfunded liabilities would rise by about 30 percent, according to the MTA.
The Civic Caucus report includes ROI information, which is important in calculating the size of the unfunded liability.
An 8.5 percent return might've been the norm for many years but it isn't the norm now. Ask yourself how happy you'd be if your 401(k) increased by 8.5% last year. If your 401(k) increased by 8.5% last year, call me. We need to talk.
If the ROI for Minnesota's pension funds actually comes in closer to 5%, that means that $24,300,000,000 jumps to $31,600,000,000. Over a 30 year period, that means the legislature would have to find an additional $1,000,000,000 to cover the pension deficit.
That's what's called a structural deficit.
That means there really is an unfunded liability problem, which means Mr. Seide isn't telling the rank-and-file the whole truth. Neither is Rep. Winkler. Based on what Mr. Seide said, he's right that we don't currently have a pension crisis. If Seide is saying that there isn't a ticking time bomb awaiting us, then he's flat-out lying.
The difference between Mr. Seide and myself is that I won't ask whether Seide or AFSCME has no shame. I know they don't.
I don't take Rep. Winkler's shots at Sen. Parry's and Sen. Hoffman's legislation seriously. The LCPR numbers indicate that there's a major problem awaiting us in the very near future. Rep. Winkler can posture all he wants as a champion of 'working families' but the actuarial numbers paint a picture of legislative neglect.
If Rep. Winkler isn't telling his most enthusiastic supporters what's really happening, then he isn't being a great public servant.
Posted Monday, March 14, 2011 5:24 PM
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My McCotter Interview
Last night, I interviewed Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, (R-Mich.) Congressman McCotter has recently written a book called Seize Freedom: American Truths and Renewal in a Chaotic Age.
First off, I'd like to thank Congressman McCotter for granting me this interview. I've been a fan of his for several years, partially because of his keen intellect, partially because of his great love of freedom.
Before I talk about the interview, though, I'd like to make this observation: As impressive as Congressman McCotter is on TV interviews or during floor debates on C-SPAN, he's more impressive in person. This is the third time I've had the privilege of interviewing him. Each time, his wisdom has been impressive.
One of the things we talked about was the great capabilities that social media gives us. Congressman McCotter said that "it would be a mistake for people to think that technology is all that's required" to change life for the better.
Congressman McCotter was quick to emphasize the importance of people taking ownership of their society, their state, their nation. Without their involvement, their passion, this current movement will lose its legs.
It's important to note, though, that he was just as quick to say he thought "social media is making it easier to sustain the current momentum", saying that young people don't know how much easier it is today than 20 years ago.
I reminded Congressman McCotter of the first interview I did with him during the O'Care debate. I said that I remembered talking to him about how employers were holding off with their hiring decisions because they didn't know the cost O'Care would impose on them. He remembers adding to that it wasn't just the uncertainty. He said then that it would be just as bad if entrepreneurs found out the cost and that it was prohibitive.
When I asked him about the current (self-imposed) gas crisis, Congressman McCotter said that the Republican plan was based on three things: robust domestic energy production, common sense conservation and letting free markets determine which alternatives should survive and which ones should be allowed to fail.
He also said that Democrats were so wedded to their ideology that they think we should just go cold turkey and switch to green technologies. He said that he supports "an all-of-the-above energy policy" as opposed to a 'green-or-bust' philosophy.
Whenever 2 conservatives talk about liberty in the context of foreign policy, one must include Ronald Reagan in the conversation. After I mentioned how President Reagan made a habit of talking to Soviet dissidents during his speeches, Congressman McCotter said that the power of Reagan's words were proven by Natan Scharansky.
When I said that Reagan was a handler's worst nightmare, Congressman McCotter said that's because he knew where he wanted to take the country and because he knew they were with him. Congressman McCotter also said that Reagan understood and appreciated America's greatness, that we've always been a nation of leaders.
Congressman McCotter is one of the great leaders in the House. His wisdom, his total wonkishness and his thirst for staying in touch with life outside the Beltway are great traits for a leader. If he isn't on your radar screen, he needs to be.
I strongly encourage everyone to read Sieze Freedom. I haven't gotten my copy of it yet but I've read several excerpts, which I thought were exceptional.
Posted Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:27 AM
Comment 1 by Rex Newman at 15-Mar-11 12:17 PM
McCotter is a frequent guest on Fox News Red Eye, never disappoints with both intellect and delightfully dry, deadpan humor.
Klobuchar Repeats Gas Station Photo Op, Still Doesn't Offer Solution
Sen. Amy Klobuchar sensed the need to be on the side of the little guy so she issued this statement essentially saying that she sees that gas prices are going up and she's offering a bandaid 'solution' to the problem:
Minneapolis, MN - At a busy gas station, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that she is asking the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to respond to high gas prices by acting immediately to limit excessive price speculation in the oil markets.
Klobuchar serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In a letter sent today, Klobuchar urged Commission Chairman Gary Gensler to move forward with rules to restrict the size of speculative investments in oil and other commodities.
She noted that, in response to record high gas prices in 2008, Congress included provisions in the Wall Street reform legislation authorizing the Commission to rein in excessive speculation by hedge funds, investment banks and other financial entities.
However, the Commission has not yet adopted rules, called 'position limits,' to restrict purely speculative contracts in oil futures. These rules would reduce price volatility by helping to ensure that supply-and-demand market factors, rather than financial manipulation by non-oil traders, determine gas prices for consumers.
'When we saw oil prices rise to record levels in 2008, I said we needed a cop on the beat to protect American families and businesses from artificially high gas prices created by excessive speculation,' said Klobuchar. 'Now is the time to make sure the cop is on the job, vigilant and armed with the authority to enforce fair rules in the marketplace.'
According to MinnesotaGasPrices.com, the average price for a gallon of gas in Minnesota is currently $3.54 and as high as $3.89. The average price has jumped 50 cents since the beginning of the year and nearly one dollar since last summer. With the peak summer driving season still months away, experts forecast that gas prices will continue to climb.
Klobuchar said it is estimated that every penny per gallon increase in gas or diesel prices translates into an extra $1 billion in annual costs for American consumers.
'High gas prices affect consumers at the pump, and they increase costs for farmers and businesses, large and small,' said Klobuchar. 'For airlines like Delta and Sun Country, the high fuel prices hurt them, too.'
Klobuchar is a leader in Congress on forward-looking policies for energy security and independence. Last week, she and Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) introduced comprehensive energy legislation, the Securing America's Future with Energy and Sustainable Technologies (SAFEST) Act. The legislation would establish strong renewable energy and energy-efficiency standards, along with incentives for developing biofuels, biofuels infrastructure and advanced vehicle technologies.
Joining Klobuchar at today's news conference were Bob Krogman of the Minnesota Petroleum Marketers Association and Steve Williams of 'Bobby & Steve's Auto World.'
What's sad is that this isn't the first time Sen. Klobuchar has used a gas station photo op. Here's an oldie but goodie :
May 23: Brainerd Dispatch Reports Amy Klobuchar Will Hold Photo-Op At Brainerd Gas Station. "U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar will talk to Brainerd residents at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the West Brainerd Auto gas station about their concerns about rising gas prices." ("Klobuchar To Listen To Concerns About Gas Prices," Brainerd Dispatch, May 23, 2006 )
What a coincidence. Michael reminds us that this wasn't an original idea:
May 20: The Washington Post Reports National Democrat Leaders Are "Requesting That All House And Senate Democrats Stage Events Back Home Over The Memorial Day Recess To Signal The Start Of The Summer Driving Season."
"Seeking to gain advantage on a potent election-year issue, Democrats are promoting ambitious ideas to lower gasoline prices, targeting key voting blocs such as farmers and autoworkers. Party leaders are requesting that all House and Senate Democrats stage events back home over the Memorial Day recess to signal the start of the summer driving season.
Their marching orders even include instructions for how to select locations, recruit participants and set up camera shots." (Shailagh Murray, "Democrats To Focus On Fuel; Leaders Tell Rank And File To Spotlight High Gas Prices," The Washington Post, May 20, 2006)
It's been almost 5 years since that PR stunt. Sen. Klobuchar still hasn't proposed a solution to the problem of high gas prices. In fact, no Democrat has. That's because Democrats are opposed to robust domestic oil production. Again, the Democrats' environmentalist allies oppose robust domestic oil production.
When did Sen. Klobuchar become "a leader in Congress on forward-looking policies for energy security and independence"? She's famous for proposing legislation that extends subsidies on failed alternatives like ethanol. That's forward-looking?
It's the same crap that Democrats have been proposing since the 1980s. The last I looked, the 80s have been over for quite awhile. Perhaps Sen. Klobuchar and Gov. Dayton can return to the present together. They both seem stuck in the 70s and 80s.
Thanks to President Obama's policies, policies that Sen. Klobuchar has enthusiastically supported, gas prices have risen from a national average of $1.83 a gallon when he was inaugurated to the relatively current national average of $3.50 a gallon.
In her time in office, Sen. Klobuchar hasn't proposed legislation that would actually increase domestic oil and natural gas production. Instead, she's sided with her militant environmentalist allies in proposing what Democrats always propose.
Since Sen. Klobuchar doesn't understand or appreciate how markets work, she apparently hasn't figured out that the way to end speculation is by significantly increasing production of whatever speculators are profiting off of. The minute there's a surplus, speculators' jobs get infinitely more difficult.
Rather than proceeding with her doomed SAFEST Act legislation, Sen. Klobuchar should become a co-sponsor of the American Energy Act, a true all-of-the-above 21st Century energy plan. She won't co-sponsor the AEA, though, because her environmentalist allies would be mightily upset with her.
Sen. Klobuchar isn't a centrist. She occasionally plays one in photo ops, though. I'll admit that Sen. Klobuchar is skilled at staging photo ops. Skillfully staged photo ops aren't a high priority for Minnesota families. We don't need skillfully staged photo ops. We need time-tested energy solutions.
That's something we won't get from Sen. Klobuchar.
Posted Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:09 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Quigley at 15-Mar-11 10:49 AM
Is she next going to stand in front of a grain bin filled with corn and say that there needs to be less speculation in the grain market as corn, beans, wheat, etc. has doubled in price in less than a year?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 15-Mar-11 11:43 AM
How can you question Sen. Klobuchar's intellectual integrity? Of course she won't. It's likely that the Democratic definition of intellectual integrity isn't what you think it means.
Comment 2 by IndyJones at 15-Mar-11 04:06 PM
Speculation is only possible when supplies are barely meeting demand. Perhaps the better solution is to increase supply by drilling rather than restricting supplies. Maybe Klobuchar went long the futures market?
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 15-Mar-11 04:18 PM
I'm betting that Sen. Klobuchar is long on political moxie & short on policy wonkishness.
City Council Open Session
Jeremy Hahn spoke at last night's session during the open forum time. Here's a transcript of Mr. Hahn's statement:
Hahn: I am a student at St. Cloud State. I'm the vice president of the St. Cloud State Aero Club and I'm an aviation student. I would like to speak on behalf of the Aviation Department and try and clarify some things that have been overlooked for the closure of the department.
First, I'd like to speak on the department. The aviation department is one of two 4-year bachelor programs in the state and is the only one accredited by the ABBI and with Congress trying to institute a 1,500 hour rule for pilot training, you need 1,500 hours to qualify for commercial airlines employment. The ABBI accreditation allows for students graduating from the program to be exempt from that. Closing the program would hurt central Minnesota's and Minnesota's ability to answer the demand for airline pilots in the industry.
As for enrollment at the Aviation Department, the Aviation industry parallels the economy. With the downfall of the economy, in fact the Congress raised the retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65. That was in December, 2007. There will be a demand increase in 2012 for pilots and without the St. Cloud State program, we will not be able to provide pilots for the industry.
As I spoke, I am a member of the Aero Club and it has been presented that the Aviation Department cannot afford to upgrade and operate a fleet of aircraft. The Aero Club is a nonprofit, incorporated association that owns its own aircraft and we receive no funding from the University and we have a contract with Wright Arrow, which is the flight training facility at the Airport. They also own their own aircraft and students from St. Cloud University do their training in these aircraft, which are not owned by the Aviation Department.
Therefore, no liability for upgrading the fleet is assumed by the department. It is for the Aero Club and Right Arrow to provide. ABBI does not require aircraft to have new avionics packages. However, the department did acquire this past year new equipment that will provide updated training for graduates.
After Hahn spoke, a Japanese aviation student spoke. I won't attempt to spell his name because I'm certain I'm butcher it. The first point he made after saying he's lived in St. Cloud the past 4 years is because St. Cloud State's Aviation program is very affordable. He expressed concern "not only about the program and the economy but also the effect it will have on diversity." He said that "hopefully, in the future, this city will be more global."
I found these students' arguments to be compelling. The fact that the Arrow Club and Wright Arrow maintain their own fleet of aircraft is compelling by itself. The federal government's implementation of regulations that hamper pilot training right just prior to a foreseeable pilot shortage is bad policy. Keeping St. Cloud State's Aviation Department open would supply pilots quickly at a time when there's a shortage.
The fact that St. Cloud State's Aviation Department's prices are more affordable than others tells me that this is a department that's being run right.
After these students' presentations, Mayor Kleis spoke of the Aviation Department's importance, saying that it's an issue of economic development and important to St. Cloud's economic viability.
Councilman Jeff Johnson, a faculty member of the Aviation Department, spoke briefly about Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's and Congressman Chip Cravaack's interest in this issue, both from a homeland security issue and from the standpoint of training young people to meet the expected pilot shortage.
Later, upon Mayor Dave Kleis's recommendation, the city council voted on a resolution that a formal letter be sent to the St. Cloud State administration stating their support for keeping the Aviation Department open as well as expressing the economic importance of the St. Cloud Airport to St. Cloud's economy.
The motion was made by Councilman Gerger and seconded by Councilman Hontos. Councilman Johnson recused himself from the vote, stating conflict-of-interest issues. The resolution passed with unanimous support save for Councilman Johnson's abstention.
Posted Tuesday, March 15, 2011 4:06 PM
Comment 1 by IndyJones at 15-Mar-11 04:00 PM
That should be the Aero Club, not the arrow club. I was a member of the Aero club at SCSC back in the 69-70 era. My brother was president of the Aero club at that time. I recently retired from Federal Express after over 20 years in aircraft maintenance. Aviation is one of the few good paying jobs left in this country and it would be a shame to fail to train the next generation to replace us. It can be a boom and bust occupation, however I was lucky to work for the same company all those years.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 15-Mar-11 04:04 PM
Thanks for the correction. I'll change it immediately.
UPDATE: Changed.
Comment 2 by Rex Newman at 15-Mar-11 08:53 PM
Gary, you just don't get it: the future is trains!
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 16-Mar-11 10:07 AM
OMG!!! Thanks for that slap upside the head...My brainwash pills must've worn off...I'm back on my meds now...it won't happen again.
Comment 3 by Logan at 21-Mar-11 12:05 AM
Just to let everyone know, I'm one of the students that spoke at city council and the student leader in this "movement" to save the SCSU aviation program. I would love to get the support from the community. If you're interested send me an email, so I can add you to the list serve. The university officials are watching our aviation list serves so I'm making my own...
Vocu0901@stcloudstate.edu
thanks!
Crappy Information In, Worthless Conclusions Out
Greg Sargent's latest post draws some strange conclusions, conclusions that the public didn't agree with on the first Tuesday of November, 2010. Here's a sampling of Sargent's conclusions:
A big majority, 64 percent, thinks the best way to reduce the federal budget deficit is through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes, while only 31 percent think the best way is through only spending cuts. The former position is the one held by most Dems, while the latter is the one held by many Republicans.
At first blush, you'd think Republicans would be utterly reviled, that they stood no chance of winning another election. The poll's internals tell us why we shouldn't put any stock in Sargent's opinions.
First, the poll only sampled adults, which is the least predictive of all polling types. Next, according to this report , the poll sample was 33% Democrats, 24% Republicans and 37% independents.
I find those numbers exceptionally strange, especially considering the fact that, in a later question, 23% identified themselves as liberal, 37% described themselves as moderate and 36% identified themselves as conservatives.
Here's another interesting take on Sargent's opinion about deficit reduction: some people want a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, others want deficit reduction by cutting spending only.
I'd argue that everyone wants spending reductions, with only a portion wanting to cut the deficit with tax increases. I'd further argue that this argues against the poll's results. How can 64% of the people think that Democrats are better at reducing the deficit considering the fact that a) 100% of the people want to cut spending and b) Democrats have proven that they're totally opposed to cutting spending by any serious amount?
The public trusts Obama over the GOP to handle the deficit by nine points, 45-36, even though Republicans are widely presumed by commentators to be the ones more deserving of the mantle of 'fiscal hawk,' as it has been arbitrarily defined.
There's a 9 point gap in sampling of Democrats (33%) and Republicans (24%). There's your 9 point gap. Further, I can't emphasize enough the fact that they're polling adults, many of whom rarely vote or pay attention to the news. They're the least predictive of all the polling types.
Sargent's opinions are based on junk polling. It isn't push-polling but it isn't predictive polling, either. If Sargent and the Democrats want to base their governing and electoral strategies on this polling data, God bless them. We'll eat their lunch again in 2012 if that's what they're relying on.
Posted Tuesday, March 15, 2011 8:19 PM
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