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Signs of the Times: Federal Move Saves Minnesotans Millions
In rescinding dozens of W. Bush-era federal regulations mandating replacement of street and highway signs, the Obama administration has saved Minnesota communities $55 million to $76 million, according to Minnesota U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
The Federal Highway Administration "listened to the concerns of communities across Minnesota and decided to elminate these unreasonable deadlines, giving them more control over their budgets and their road signs," Franken told the Star Tribune.
The relaxed rules will allow state and local governments to replace traffic signs when they wear out instead of by specific deadlines prescribed by the FHWA in January 2008. Upgraded federal standards for reflectivity, size and type face, meant to enhance readability and safety, will apply at that point. In addition, communities may keep historic street-name signs in historic districts indefinitely.
While 46 different deadlines were shelved, a dozen deemed critical to public safety were retained. They include requirements for "One Way" signs at divided highway intersections and "Stop" and "Yield" signs at railroad crossings without automatic gates or flashing lights.
"Officials at the state and local levels are in the best position to make decisions related to sign replacement and other issues related to traffic management," said FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez. "These changes will give them the flexibility they need to make the best use of taxpayer dollars."
It's good to see Washington backing away from costly, unnecessary mandates on lower levels of government, especially when public budgets remain tight as a drum.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Local Government Roads & Highways Road Safety Transportation Funding
Coal’s Changing Landscape
Last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued two rulings (the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards) that require new and existing coal- and oil-fired power plants to reduce ozone, particulate matter and other toxic emissions.
These new regulations, combined with extremely low natural gas prices, have caused coal plants throughout the country to install significant emission-reduction upgrades, and have forced some of the oldest and dirtiest plants to shut down altogether. Expect to see these upgrades and potential shutdowns among the 10 major coal-fired power plants that supply energy to Minnesota customers.
Minnesota Power has been retrofitting the coal-fired units in its Boswell Energy Center (Northeast Minnesota’s largest energy generation station) over the past six years to reduce emissions, but recently announced a doubling of those efforts to its largest unit. Xcel Energy is currently in what it calls “a deep dive” to analyze its future energy generation needs, including the role played by the Sherburne County Generating Station, by far the state’s largest coal plant. In late December of last year, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved significant upgrades at Otter Tail Power’s Big Stone plant across the South Dakota border (which serves about 60,000 Minnesota customers) to mitigate harmful emissions.
But in the same decision the MPUC did not approve similar upgrades to Otter Tail Power’s two coal units at the Hoot Lake Power Plant near Fergus Falls, MN. While the major units getting upgrades were built in the 1970s or later, these smaller units were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, are some of the oldest coal-fired units in the state, and may succumb to the same fate that old coal plants throughout the country are currently facing.
With low natural gas prices and expensive retrofits pending, some of the country’s older and smaller (and consequentially dirtier) plants are simply no longer economically viable to operate. One example is the expedited closing of two coal plants outside Chicago this September. As Otter Tail Power analyzes its future energy generation and financial needs, the two Hoot Lake coal units may close up shop as well. Coincidentally, Minnesota's Department of Commerce recently concluded that Minnesota Power should close down 3 of its coal-fired units by 2016 and 2 more by 2020 due to economic concerns for consumers and industries.
Although we do not experience the direct impacts of coal mining here in Minnesota, we do feel the environmental and health impacts of burning one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on earth. Forward-thinking efforts by officials at the state and federal levels are helping move Minnesota toward a healthier and greener energy portfolio.
Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Energy Environment Sustainability
The Affordable Care Act and Medical Bankruptcy
When the Affordable Care Act was passed it set out to accomplish many reforms, and one of them was reducing medical bankruptcies. President Obama said, when discussing the Affordable Care Act, that people, with and without insurance, “have gone bankrupt because of health care.” And the President is right! Medical bankruptcy is a serious problem: approximately 54% of all personal bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses. But will the Affordable Care Act be successful at reducing medical bankruptcies?
The answer is: sorta. The ACA does impose maximum caps on out-of-pocket expenses: $5,950 for individuals, $11,900 for families. And those efforts will not be in vain; the average medically bankrupt family owes nearly $18,000 and will benefit from the cap. But its not that simple. The ACA’s commitment to maintaining a competitive market for insurance drives companies to use consumer-choice type insurance plans that have high deductibles in order to keep costs low. Furthermore, the 80/20 rule, which require insurance companies to spend at least 80% of premiums on medical services and not overhead, will force them to cut back on managed-care plans.
These consumer-choice plans will leave many families pushing up against these caps. Ryan Sugden, in the Journal of Law and Policy, points out: “When the ‘double whammy’ of an illness hits—rising medical costs meeting reduced income—even the Affordable Care Act‘s out-of-pocket cap will be insufficient to protect against a budgetary crunch all too familiar to many low- and middle-income families.”
That is not to say that the ACA will have no effect on medical bankruptcies. For many people insurance works well and for many having access to insurance is sufficient. But, as long as health care stays market-oriented approach there will be winner and losers, and bankruptcy is a natural part of that cycle. Essentially the ACA will likely reduce the total number of medical bankruptcies, but it will further reinforce a system that makes some inevitable. We are faced with a choice; between accepting some bankruptcy as inevitable or pursuing a more substantial reform project that forces us to leave behind much of the current system.
In the short-term, the ball is in Minnesota’s court. According to rules issued by HHS, states will be responsible for determining whether or not the ACA-mandated exchanges will be “active purchasers” or an “open marketplace.” Exchanges that are active purchasers will be able to extract concessions from insurers while an open marketplace allows all insurance plans that meet the ACA’s requirements to be sold on the exchange. By being aggressive and establishing an active purchasing exchange that can negotiate for low deductibles and larger benefits, Minnesota can control costs and prevent some medical bankruptcies.
Posted in Health Care | Related Topics: Health Insurance Health Care Reform Personal Finance
Can’t Stop Counting Bad Policies
I really thought the Huffington Post was trying to steal market share from the Onion the other day. Scrolling through my news feed, I saw the headline: “House Votes to Cut Census Survey Done Since Thomas Jefferson.”
While the “Since Thomas Jefferson” part was a little nuanced, it turns out the U.S. House had voted to eliminate two major surveys vital for understanding our nation’s demographics—the American Community Survey (ACS) and Economic Census. Both are priceless tools for millions of U.S. businesses.
A Minnesota 2020 staffer’s digging (thanks Rachel) found a U.S. Census-produced video highlighting Target Corporation singing the Census’s praises. The video includes several company leaders explaining how Census numbers, including the ACS, used in conjunction with sales and other internal data help the company make critical stocking decisions in their 1,700 nationwide stores.
“Census data is the only source of information that can give us neighborhood level data in an urban center,” says Joan Naymark, who was then Target’s marketing, analytics, and planning director.
In the video, Target managers explain how urban stores tend to require much smaller packaging and smaller home furnishings for people living in more compact homes and taking public transit. ACS data, they say, has been critical to understand urbanization trends, allowing them to place apparel that appeals to a younger customer base.
“No one else but the Census Bureau has the resources and ability to collect the information at this level of accuracy for all places in the U.S.” Naymark went on to say how the ACS is a real bonus because of its annual updates.
Target is Minnesota’s second largest corporation, with nearly 70 billion in annual sales, and one of the state’s 19 Fortune 500 companies. If conservatives are so pro-business, why would they want to do away with such a valuable business tool?
Think about it. The Census is a vital piece of our nation’s information infrastructure, just as vital to businesses as roads, bridges, airports, and a high-integrity judiciary.
This is the kind of limited government, anti-intellectual, anti-tax path modern conservatism has set us on. It’s the wrong direction. Here's one more example.
Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Business Growth Federal Government
Let’s Talk About Race
Bringing up race in discussions of education (outside the observation of white/black or white/Latino achievement gaps) is often a recipe for derailed conversations, high emotions, and lack of meaningful progress. Whether destructive stereotypes about how much certain racial or ethnic groups “value” education or the perpetuation of myths about racial intelligence, attempts to lay blame for the achievement gap on people of color are just flat out wrong. So what's the real deal?
(Obviously a 400-word blog post cannot begin to grapple with every facet of race and education, but I'd like to lay out some broad strokes and get some feedback to drive further investigation and elaboration.)
Arguments, including some that have cropped up in comments here, that label teachers or the entire education system as racist certainly draw attention, and often contain good points, tend not to foster the necessary conversations, either. Fundamentally, the responsibility for strictly racial differences in outcomes lies primarily with our social institutions—including education, but also law enforcement, the court system, etc.
Now, I've argued that “the achievement gap” in a general sense is largely about income, not race, and I hold to that. The intersection of class and race is complicated, and I continue to believe that the bulk of achievement differences that we see are the result of the material and psychological effects of poverty rather than race.
However, I also believe that a smaller share of most racial achievement gaps is actually about race. This is not the result of evil teachers consciously choosing to give white students higher grades. Sometimes it's the exact opposite—giving students of color insincere positive grades and feedback – out of a desire to appear unbiased.
As an upper middle class white teacher whose students were mostly people of color from low-income backgrounds, I was familiar with the subtle pressure to make allowances on account of the outside difficulties a student faced. I tried to resist that pressure whenever possible, but probably succumbed more times than I'm aware of. That the differences in treatment came from a place of sympathy rather than hatred doesn't mitigate their potential to hurt rather than help, and it's from this place that the “No excuses” schools (including, yes, Harvest Prep) bring real strength to the discussion.
We do no one any favors by pretending these problems don't exist. Engaging on this is a long, difficult process, but it's a process we as progressives must drive and experience.
Posted in Education | Related Topics: K-12 education Achievement Gap Minority Issues Poverty
Complete Streets: Not Just a Metropolitan Fad
It's a bedrock American principle that public facilities should be accessible to all the people, even if we haven't always honored it. Despite years of Americans with Disabilities Act reforms, some government buildings still block out wheelchairs. And streets and roads, full of a wild mix of human-, animal- and fossil fuel-powered transport a century ago, gradually were monopolized by motor vehicles.
Only recently has a principled campaign to reopen public rights-of-way to non-drivers begun to take hold. It's called Complete Streets, now a policy of the state of Minnesota and many local governments. Some of this movement is centered in the Twin Cities area, but most of our state's official Complete Streets policies have been adopted by governments outside the metro—places like exurban Big Lake and rural Pipestone, Dilworth, Clay and Ottertail counties. The Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition has the full list.
One of the first cities in Minnesota to take this step was Albert Lea, back in September 2009, eight months before the state did so. In a recent guest column in the Albert Lea Tribune, City Council Member Ellen Kehr recounts this history, calling it "a step in the right direction toward making Albert Lea and all Minnesota roads safer and more accessible to users of all ages and abilities, whether traveling by car, on foot or bike."
"Why complete streeets?" she added. "They provide accessibility to seniors, children and people with disabilities. They have a proven record of promoting community connectedness and bringing vibrancy, efficiency and economic stimulus to the areas they serve. Building on our economic value and quality of life, complete streets can lower transportation costs for families and enhance our environment."
Albert Lea's Front Street bicycle lanes were among the first in Greater Minnesota, Kehr said. "We can be proud to say that Albert Lea has been a leader in the area of both passing public policy and implementing the complete streets design," she concluded.
May is National Bike Month, an occasion for two-wheel events across America. In Albert Lea, the festivities include a Family Bike Rodeo, Bike to Work Day, adult and child triathlons and "Albert Lea Open Streets: A Day of Play."
We usually think of alternative transportation as a big-city phenomenon. But regional centers such as Albert Lea, population 18,000 and relatively unsprawled, may actually provide more fertile ground for nonmotorized mobility.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Minnesota Cities City Management Complete Streets Bicycles
The Lunker
Its name was the Lunker. Over the years the legendary muskie had been seen only once, maybe twice, as it lurked near the rocks and under the dock at the family cabin on the far west end of Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota. Every year it was talked about, and every summer it was on the minds of swimmers as their minnow-size toes entered the fresh blue water.
For the fishing opener this past weekend, my wife’s family and I made the trek up to the cabin outside Cook, MN. Some of us fished for walleye and northerns, others read and enjoyed the sights, smells and sounds of the northwoods in mid-May. The small cabin had been built in the early 1940s and functionally accommodated about 4. This year there were 8 of us.
It wasn’t a successful weekend from a fishing perspective, the fishing expedition catching only a few perch off the dock and a couple bullheads and crappies out on the boat. But early Sunday afternoon, as my wife and I were cooking a quick brunch of pancakes and bacon before we all headed back to the Twin Cities, we heard a commotion down at the dock and brief yells of “…Lunker!” rose up from the lake.
Not only had the fish been sighted, it had been caught. A ten-pound line cast off the dock with nothing more than a leech intended for walleye had snagged the legendary muskie, but it took three people and a canoe to land the beast. Everyone, including the kids from the neighboring dock who ran over to catch the action, was smiling, shouting, laughing and gaping wide-eyed at the nearly 4-foot, 30-pound muskie. After proper documentation with the lucky fishermen, the Lunker was released and we all watched the scarred and weathered fish disappear back into the depths of Lake Vermillion.
Needless to say the event was recounted numerous times that afternoon, and it will no doubt become a family story told every year around opening weekend. In particular, though, I will remember the year the Lunker was caught every time I buy a Minnesota fishing license.
These licenses help preserve, protect and manage our fishing and wildlife resources here in Minnesota through the DNR’s Game and Fish Fund. This year the legislature signed a bill that increased the cost of fishing licenses from $17 to $22 and hunting licenses from $26 to $30, the first increase in over 10 years. Thanks to this bill the depleted Game and Fish Fund will be renewed, our fish and wildlife resources will continue to be protected, and fishing stories like the Lunker will be lived again and again.
Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Environment Lakes & Rivers State Parks
Wisconsin: Where government really is the problem
Hey Wisconsin, how’s that all cuts, union busting public policy strategy working out for ya?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ late April report shows Wisconsin was the only state to have lost a “statistically significant” number of jobs from March 2011 through March this year, where employment fell by 23,900 jobs.
Here in Minnesota, we gained 29,600 jobs, a modest 1.1 percent increase. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) said Minnesota has now recovered 88,000 jobs, or 58 percent of the jobs lost during the Great Recession.
Milwaukee and Madison news accounts reported that government agencies shed the overwhelming majority of jobs, cutting 17,800 public sector positions. You have to imagine that lost purchasing power in local communities had a significant ripple effect on the 6,100 private jobs lost.
In this case, conservative public policy provided some truth to their old saying, “government is the problem.”
Such economic losses are likely to play a pivotal role in Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election against former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett next month. After all, Walker insisted his draconian policies against unions and public services would increase job growth and private sector employment.
Maybe this was Walker’s economic development strategy all along. Enrage the general public and fire up the conservative base to trigger a special election that will pour millions in out-of-state money into Wisconsin. He already has a $13 million war chest.
Don't be fooled Minnesotans. Wisconsin's outcomes should reinforce the progressive approach. Make strategic cuts to weather the financial storm but continue investing in education, health care and infrastructure, while empowering workers and building community.
Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Job Growth Midwestern States Conservative Policy
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Loans, Filibusters, and Governing Like Adults
While the conservative-dominated U.S. House of Representatives has been playing supervillain, asking us to pick between health care money and the current student loan interest rate, the Senate has been a little more complicated. While progressives (or at least people claiming the mantle of progressivism) technically control the Senate, the conservative minority has been abusing the filibuster rule to block more reasonable approaches. Thankfully, Minnesota's senators are both committed to the fight.
Both Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken have publicly affirmed their continued support for taking action to keep student loan rates at their current level. The rates are set to double in July if Congress fails to come to an agreement. That, unfortunately, is looking more and more likely.
The most recent attempt in the Senate was a bill that would close a tax loophole to come up with the $6 billion necessary to keep student loan rates where they are. (That rate, by the way, is the result of bipartisan activity in 2007 and was signed by George W. Bush.) Such bipartisanship is no longer part of the congressional conservative playbook. In the Senate, it sometimes seems like that playbook only has one play: obstruction.
The filibuster has become Senate conservatives' favorite tool for blocking any meaningful action. When many people hear the word “filibuster,” they might think of Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or, slightly more recently, of The West Wing episode “The Stackhouse Filibuster.” Both give a romanticized view of the filibuster, in which a lone man, dedicated to his cause, single-handedly holds the floor and stops all Senate business to make his point.
Today's filibuster is not so heroic. It is simply invoked by the conservative minority to keep almost all progressive-minded legislation from getting a vote. They have done this to an extent unprecedented in the history of the Senate, turning the filibuster from a rare expression of intense personal dedication to a craven political tool used over and over again to keep anything from getting done.
Thankfully, our progressive senators have not given up the fight. When conservatives act like children, it is up to progressives to govern like adults, and it's good to see that Senators Klobuchar and Franken aren't shirking their responsibility on this issue.
Posted in Education | Related Topics: Higher Education Federal Government
Come Back Next Season, Vikings Fans
The Vikings stadium debate brought to the capitol and public policy sphere many Minnesotans who otherwise aren’t engaged in day-to-day policy making.
In sports terminology, policy wonks might call these novices out for jumping on the bandwagon.
Hopefully the process, while grueling, contentious and time consuming, provided the general public a better picture on the complexities our elected leaders face when crafting policy. The decisions aren’t easy, and rarely do policymakers represent districts with homogenous perspectives on any issue.
These hard fought, drawn out debates expose policymakers to the myriad of policy options available. Open debates, which at times can be dry and technical (like a 6-3 football game), have helped build consensus and compromise. This process, over generations, produced outcomes catapulting Minnesota to nation-leading status in education, economic development and its abundance of strong prosperous communities.
With the clock at 00:00, I’d encourage legislative watching novices not to jump off the bandwagon. Remain engaged in our state’s policy debates long after the governor’s signature dries on the stadium bill. My pragmatic side says they won’t.
I’ll admit, for many, House and Senate debates aren’t as exciting as watching a 50-yard touchdown reception or last-second field goal. And, each of the two stadium floor debates lasted longer than any Sunday’s back-to-back noon and 3pm games. It's a commitment to stay engaged.
Just imagine if we had a fraction of the Vikings debate’s enthusiasm for health care funding, education investments, or infrastructure projects, maybe it would encourage more bi-partisan policy making.
Retreating from single-issue, single-vote attacks might also help. Twitter and Facebook were powerful tools informing citizens and fans on the debate’s details. However, such networks also fueled a do-it-or-else atmosphere on social media, mirroring a similar mentality in other community circles.
No legislator should be singled out and jeered for her or his vote on this issue. It was a tough decision with support and opposition in every legislative district.
Too often good policymakers suffer for one or two inconsistent votes. It’s a tactic that zaps independence and sacrifices smart initiatives that would move Minnesota forward.
A team typically won’t dismiss a kicker for one missed field goal, or a quarter back for one interception, even a season-ending interception. We expect a lot from players and tend to evaluate them on a full body of work.
Similarly in policy making, we put tremendous demand on otherwise ordinary citizens. Let’s give them space to establish a body of work. If we do, it's likely their compromises will produce better outcomes for students, workers, families and communities.
Posted in News & Notes | Related Topics: Minnesota Legislature Progressive Community