The Elephant in the room

The Perpetual Challenge of Modern Government

"This challenge requires that government finally master a delicate balancing act between opportunity and security -- between growth and fairness. To grow, a democratic capitalist economy requires strong economic incentives for investment, including low taxes and minimum regulation. To be fair, it must provide some goods and services to those who cannot provide for themselves, which will inevitably take resources away from growth. Enacting too much social spending is a cruel policy, not a humane one, because it weakens the system's capacity to serve everyone. . . It is fashionable to say that communism and socialism have been discredited. But they will not be completely discredited until government overcomes its tendency to ignore the simple fact that too much social spending saps an economy's ability to produce the funds necessary to finance the social programs."

Richard Nixon, Beyond Peace, 1994.

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The Elephant in the Room.

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the Republican elephant. While the elephant I'm talking about involves politics, this is not a political topic, but something that is happening in our own communities.

The elephant that is sitting in the room that we seem to be ignoring is that serious financial stress and a large hunger gap are infiltrating middle-class Minnesota and America. I've referred previously to the newly poor and the anxious middle class as a voting class. I have not, however, discussed this ballooning event as it is occurring in our own neighborhoods and right in front of our eyes. We have all been hearing the news for a while about extending benefits for the growing number of unemployed, food insecurity and overall increased poverty. Hunger is often associated with inner cities and third world countries, making it difficult to admit that it is prevalent in our own backyard.

A run of recent encounters triggered me to turn and point at the elephant in our own community living room to help us accept responsibility for addressing this challenge. First, the findings released from the annual Hormel Foods survey on hunger. This study found that 24% of US adults reported eating less this year so that kids had enough to eat. More profound from a community perspective, 38% indicated that they would be uncomfortable asking for food donations. People are much more likely to admit that they lost their job than admitting that they need food assistance.

Next, a recent conversation disclosed that in my local community, the waiting list for the homeless shelter and the overall grocery bill for the food shelves continues to increase at a record pace. Remember, these are the people that are asking for help. With no effort, I quickly recalled multiple family members, friends or clients that have have been laid off, had hours cut or are just simply struggling to figure out how to get by. I imagine anyone reading this can do the same. Finally, the demand for low-income legal assistance has more than doubled this year. I fear that perhaps we are just seeing the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

At the state level, we have a shortfall of 125 million meals per year and the twin cities is reporting over 100% increased demand in their food shelves. At the national level, the United States Department of Agriculture recently released its 2008 Household Food Security Report. 14.6% of US households are categorized as "food insecure", the highest number since the report began in 1995. This nation-wide hunger gap is described as "historic", yet only covers the 2008 time frame, the early stages of the current economic downturn. At the world level, our population continues with its exponential growth, with a threatened repeat of increased prices that caused food riots and governments to collapse.

While we do have a very effective delivery system in place, we must recognize that this societal challenge will not only strain, but may cause the delivery system to break down. Not only state and county government (the primary oars for safety net delivery); but also our local churches, non-profits and school districts are already feeling the pinch. Another recent report by Share our Strength, discloses that one in four children in America face hunger challenges, many in middle-class communities. Schools are described as "a critical safety net" against hunger among students.

These stories and reports are likely a whisper of what is yet to come.

Our solution to this challenge during a prolonged recovery on main street should not rely on crossing our collective fingers and waiting for the hyper-political wheels of Washington D.C. or St. Paul. Instead, we must lead at a local level to do what we do best -- adapt and work together as a community, state and country. We must challenge all organizations, governments and school districts to dramatically rethink how they fill (and pay for) this role. Difficult decisions need to be made as to who is entitled to help, and more importantly, how much help.

The answer is not to add new government programs, but to leverage, prioritize and strengthen the one's we already have. As leadership communities, we can set examples for other communities to follow. We should be part of the solution, not join the chorus of professional victims.

To meet this challenge, there must be a re-focusing of resources on basic institutional roles. To begin, a clear distinction must be drawn between the safety-net intended to keep people from falling into true poverty, and the entitlement mentality that clearly permeates current policy decisions. We must demand that these delivery institutions prioritize to keep the bottom from falling out and help people weather the storm and quickly return to self-reliance.

When working with clients, I often try to put their life challenges in perspective. Too often lately, I've found myself saying these words, "Remember, it may get worse before it gets better." Reality, with light at the end of the tunnel. Together, we should face the reality that it may get worse before it gets better -- that's the elephant in the room.

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It's Still the Economy

Political propaganda aside, the economy is very fragile right now. Two extreme political views (government is the answer v. tax-cuts) are driving the dialogue already looking towards the next election. An editorial explaining this counter-productive process appears in today's Financial Times and is a good read.

There continues to be a huge middle ground of common-sense that is not being explored. Until common-sense prevails, main street will struggle.

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Anatomy of a State Political Convention

I recently attended the 2009 Minnesota Republican Convention. According to news reports, some 1,200 people attended as voting delegates at this non-election year event. As I've done frequently for the last 20 years, I attended as a delegate and participated in this grass roots political process.

For those unfamiliar with this process, here is a primer: In the spring of an even year (election year), each political party holds is precinct caucuses. This event, generally dubbed as the beginning of the election process in Minnesota, ends with the election of delegates and alternates to the convention of "BPOU" (Basic Political Operating Unit) -- in Greater Minnesota by County. During an election year, delegates and alternates are elected to during the BPOU or County Convention to both the State and District Convention (1st Congressional District for me). These delegates are then empowered to be the official voice of the State Party and Congressional District for two years (the even election year; and the odd non-election year).

A candidate seeking the party endorsement, must receive it (by vote of the delegates) at the appropriate District or State Convention.

This past weekend was the off-year State Republican Convention. An off-year is a building year, as the next election is more than a year away. Yet, these conventions are important as the building blocks for the success or failure of the party in the next election. In addition, this year was surrounded by the buzz created by a straw poll of the delegates of their first and second choice for receiving the Republican Party endorsement to run for Governor in 2010.

I decided that my determining factor in who I would support in the straw poll was how well I thought they would perform in a "purple district." A purple district (like Albert Lea) is one that is not consistently Republican (Red) or Democrat (Blue). I wanted to support a candidate that would attract independent voters and provide a boost to local Republican candidates.

I questioned the top five candidates and posted their responses on my new found friend twitter (you can view the results of these interviews to the left of my blog). In the end, I supported Marty Siefert as my first choice and David Hann as my second.

I enjoy the opportunity to see candidates at this early point in the campaign helps to separate the real person from the campaign glitz.
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Time to Strengthen the Social Safety Net: Not extend the supply lines

I find myself talking politics a lot these days. This is common for me, but it seems that there is an across the board increased "chatter" almost comparable to an election year. There appear to be two factors driving this heightened engagement:


1. Our President's attempt orate his legislative agenda. I've previously blogged about Obama's impressive ability to open doors and initiate dialog. Through his abilities, he has injected politics (namely the health-care debate) into the popular culture of America and has been hitting the political talk show circuit and late night shows; and

2. People are genuinely scared for their families' future. More businesses are facing financial ruin, more people are being laid off and the existing support structure is being severely strained.


The anxious middle-class and the newly poor are a growing constituency that feel helplessly sandwiched between the high cost and mandates of Obamacare and the anti-welfare advocates on the far right. These extremes leave a huge middle-ground called "common-sense."


Common-sense dictates that we need to circle the wagons to make sure our existing social safety net is working properly, getting to those who need it for a hand-up and making sure that the system does not financially collapse. Adding new entitlement programs under the banner of "change" may provide good headlines, but is hollow on main street.

Government should protect the social safety net supply line, not string it out so thin that it collapses.
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Tribute to Norman Borlaug

A legend passed away this past weekend. Norman Borlaug had many titles:

Father of the Green Revolution
The man who saved more lives than any man in history
Greatest American of the 20th Century;
Greatest Human Being, RIP
The man who fed the world;
Nobel laureate

In today's pop culture world, this level of media accolades is unheard of, but refreshing.

I had the opportunity to meet Borlaug once at a World Food Prize event -- a program he started to recognize individuals who promote food availability in the world.

One of Borlaug's greatest quotes:

...most Western environmentalists "have never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for 50 years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists in wealthy nations were trying to deny them these things."

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Better Message, Better Candidates, Better Results: Searching for Safety Net Republicans

Why do we continue surrendering the high ground to the Democrats? They express constant moral outrage over any attempt to control the ever growing appetite for government spending -- the Federal deficit is now projected to exceed a staggering $9 trillion. Their open mockery inaccurately attempts to justify entitlement spending under the cover of the social safety net.

The inconvenient fact that is being ignored is the moral line that they are crossing by advocating unsustainable spending that is on track to bankrupt every level of government. Such actions threaten to effectively destroy the social safety net, not strengthen it. The general public instinctively understands that piling another expensive program on top of the bankrupt social security and medicare programs is probably a bad idea. This realism is more likely driving the recent populist outrage than a mistrust of government.

As Republicans, we need to express the need for a sustainable safety net. Where are the "Safety Net Republicans" that can articulate the need for a hand-up, not a hand out? Republicans must express compassion for those in need and express disgust for those attempting to gain entitlements under the banner of the social safety net.

Unfortunately, we are not articulating this message, nor opening recruiting candidates who can. Running a candidate that shows an increased level of compassion during tough economic times is just good politics. After all, more people are either relying on government support or at least are worried that they may need government support in the coming years. Tough talk may satisfy ideologues looking for endorsements, but certainly does not make people feel secure and can easily be perceived as being mean-spirited.

During the fabled "Republican Revolution" ushered in by the Contract for America, general public dissatisfaction with the government was at an all-time high of 70%, compared with 57% now. Of further interest in today's new political climate, younger voters and independents are much less skeptical of government and believe that the government is run for the benefit of all people. The same is true for independents, Hispanics and minority voters. These overall trends indicate the unlikelihood of a non-presidential election repeat of the Contract for America scenario that many die hard Republicans are preaching.

Unfortunately, too much of our current Republican "message" operates under the government is bad banner. The current platform still references "requiring all able-bodied welfare recipients to work as a condition of receiving benefits..." and a strong statement that the safety net should be privatized and removed from the government domain. While these planks are laudable goals, they were written in a time of apparent endless prosperity. At that time, there was a dream that the economic growth engine alone would lead the world out of poverty. Unfortunately, prosperity alone cannot be expected to solve the worlds problems. An exclusively private social safety net is not on the current horizon.

Our party has generally supported the concept of supporting those in need and some candidates are on message. Unfortunately, in today's charged climate, Republicans feel that they need to express disgust for welfare recipients first and then reluctantly acknowledge that those that cannot help themselves MAY need some help. I support an expression of compassion first and reform second. Most recently, the party attempted to take a step in the right direction by creating its new "Health Care Coalition." Ultimately a great messaging opportunity -- yet, they still got it backwards: "The goals of the coalition are to help prevent a government takeover of the American health care system and to promote positive alternatives which put doctors and patients in charge."

Articulating what we support FIRST and what we would change SECOND is a simple, but effective way to attract voters. I support cleaner water...to be achieved in a reasonable manner. I support classrooms first .. reform second. I support immigrants pursuing the American Dream... provided they follow the law. A "Safety Net Republican" is no different. Our candidates should express compassion for those truly in need. Only then, will our leaders have the moral high ground necessary to accomplish real reform.


Exploring this new messaging should yield a new breed of candidates, sorely needed in purple swing districts. Quality candidates supporting the old ideological anti-government premise are a declining breed. I see very little "new blood" in any of the Republican camps. I frequently hear the question, "why can't we get more young people involved in the party?" They need a cause and the one being presented does not work for them.

We need more than just tough talk to win elections. We need a better message that acknowledges the concern in people's hearts. It feels good to help people and having candidates that can openly discuss that they care about people can only be a good thing. As we begin to turn the tide towards more common-sense and realism, good candidates need to get elected and then they need to lead. Safety-net Republicans, time to speak up.

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The Fall-out from "Change"

The Fall-out from "Change"

As many of you know, I am an active member in the "Agriculture Community", as a member of the American Agricultural Law Association and a student of ag policy for many years. In this capacity, I follow a number of industry and academic thinkers on industry trends and challenges. One of those thinkers is Roger McEowen, a distinguished professor from Iowa State University and Director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation.

One of Professor McEowen's recent tax updates included the following overview of the "massive" American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (this is the one that you see the signs for on the road projects). The following is his overview:

"Pushed through Congress with little debate based on claims that matters would be "catastrophic" if passage was not immediate, and without an opportunity for members of Congress to actually read the text of the legislation, the Congress passed the massive spending bill, H.R. 1 . . .

The Act contains 575 pages of tax provisions. Many of the provisions are individual credits that will likely have little-to-no immediate stimulative effect and targeted tax benefits that appear to be so narrow as the be largely ineffective economically at the present time. That is why it is inaccurate to call the Act a "stimulus" bill. In addition, the non-tax portion of the Act contains massive amounts of spending for social programs largely unrelated to the economy. To facilitate the massive spending contained in the Act (it is the largest spending bill in U.S. history), the Act raises the U.S. debt limit to over $12 trillion."

This one caught my attention!
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Discrimination Against White Firefighters!

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a group of White firefighters in Conn. were discriminated against when their testing results for promotions were set-aside after it was discovered that no black firefighters were among the finalists.

While not presented as a major change in the law, this ruling is drawing attention as the lower court ruling that was overturned involved Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

I expect a lot of media attention on this issue, attempting to paint the current Supreme Court as "too conservative."
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Finding Reform in St. Paul: behind every door and around every corner

The word "reform" is an often overused term in politics. A google search of "reform in politics" turns up over 48 million hits. Sometimes the concept of reform is repackaged into another term, say "change in politics" at 190 million google hits; 62.5 million for "Obama Change in politics."

While I mostly disagree with Obama's change or reform attempts, I cannot criticize him for his aggressive search for a new way of doing things. I like to say that there is reform behind every door and around every corner. Right now, the Obama presidency is seeing an unprecedented ability to open doors and get around corners that never were before thought possible. Ultimately, history will determine whether or not he is using his pulpit to force open the right doors.

In contrast, as an observer this past legislative session, I saw very little progress in finding real reform in St. Paul. Instead, the leadership of the majority party perfected the role of closing doors, dispensing political rhetoric and finger pointing. Education and health-care are the two opportunities for reform that I have blogged about previously.
http://tiltingagainst.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html
http://tiltingagainst.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html


Given that these two areas account for almost 70% of the budget, reform in other areas becomes irrelevant from a numbers perspective. The attached link shows a great pie chart of the State's budget. http://budgetforum.senate.mn/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/slide93.gif

The Democrats' door slamming episode ended with few new ideas even making it out of committee or being quickly killed on the floor. Even attempts to close loopholes on outright fraud and abuse of the welfare system were thwarted. To the D's anguish, they unintentionally left the door open a crack for Governor Pawlenty to utilize the unallotment process.


No one claims that unallotment is the preferred method of obtaining reform. Reform using a blunt object is always more messy than the scalpel. Yet, the Democrats posturing at the Capital left all the doors locked and the hallways blocked.


The legislative master that he is, Pawlenty remains a step ahead of his opposition. Many of his unallotment cuts are deferred until 2011, meaning that the legislature has next year to actually make reforms. If the Democratic leadership in the legislature cannot get their act together and implement "change", then the bulk of the Pawlenty cuts go into effect.


In effect, the Governor has established a new end game. Normally, the first year of session sets the budget for two years and government shut down occurs on July 1 in an impasse. This time around, Pawlenty avoided a shut down and set the rules for what will happen next July 1st if Democrats cannot perform. As much as they will posture, Democrats will not be able to avoid responsibility for a meltdown and the "No Reform" label can be placed on their candidates foreheads.


A well reasoned, disciplined approach from the minority should be able to capture this opportunity and broker reform opportunities while the Governor watches from the national campaign trail. Governor Pawlenty has handed House and Senate Republicans a set of keys that will open many doors that are normally unavailable for a party with minority status.


I hope that our caucuses can use the keys that have been handed to them to promote real reform, not just old worn-out agendas.

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A reminder of God's power and mercy

I was in Austin, Minnesota last night for the Cedar River Watershed District meeting. These monthly meetings are held at the Hormel Nature Center. Well, this location happened to be in the path of last night's tornado that hit Austin. http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/jun/17/tornado-touches-down-corning-austin/

We heard the sirens and then the news came that a twister was hitting the NW side of Austin and heading our way. We watched the clouds begin to rotate and the debris starting picking up. Small "fingers" of twisters snuck out of the side of the massive cloud and then we could see the large rotating cloud heading our way.

Our group of about 15 went to the bathrooms and utility rooms as there was no basement. The men's room has a small window that we could see out. All I could see was trees being flattened or completely sideways. The interpretive center is about 20 feet away and we lost site of it when all we could see was downed trees and roots sticking out of the ground. We were waiting for the "train sound" that everyone describes when a tornado hits. Lucky for us, we never heard that sound.

Outside, the photo below is what we saw. These were the trees that we could see out of the bathroom window.

The roof of the interpretive center was torn-off as shown below.

The photo at the very top shows the path of the destruction after it hit the interpretive center, only 20 feet from our bathroom shelter. We then started to get the terrible news about other parts of town and homes that had been hit. After the chainsaws arrived, I was thankful to be heading back home to my family. Last night, I certainly said extra prayers of thanks.

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A tale of three parks!

Camping season is here!! My family enjoyed the pre-summer ritual of cleaning out the camper, taking inventory and preparing for another season. It doesn't take long to remember why we enjoy this so much: no distractions, yard-work or house work and quality time with family and friends.

For some reason, I've been intrigued by my visits to the various parks we've visited. Likely, the fact that I spend a lot of time there chasing my 4-year old (5 years old today) and 7-year old around has a lot to do with it. My observation has been that a good park has a life of its own. I'm not talking about a water park or the monstrosities that often appear in today's super sized world, just a the good old fashioned jungle gym ("JG"). These parks take on the life of who's there. A lonely teenager swinging alone, a slew of kids laughing, or fighting. At night, perhaps some beers from the neighbors cooler (last year, we were the "neighbors" whose cooler of beer disappeared in the night -- more about that later).

This year, it seems that whenever I arrive at a park with the kids, its just us and the JG. Nice, I think, just the kids and I and some good bonding. Let's play a friendly game of tag! Literally, within moments, the kids are pouring out of every nook and cranny in the area. It was almost as if they have been hiding in the bushes all day waiting for some unsuspecting mom or dad to show up. Suddenly, you become the center of their "you're it" world.

Even the older kids (over 10), who initially act too mature to stoop down to boring old tag, seem to come around when there is an adult figure on the JG. The first park I observed this was in South Dakota. We started a game of dodge ball tag. Hit them with the ball, without them catching it, and their it. I think we played for ten seconds before everyone wanted in. The traditional animosity between the age groups quickly evaporated. For a good forty-five minutes, the park was crazy-fun. Dinner time arrived and I announced that we had to leave. As quickly as they arrived, the throngs of kids were gone. It happened so quickly, I wondered if I had imagined it.

Next, we visited a campground in the Canby area. Their JG was an antique Rainbow Play set. Built like a tank. Again, tag with the kids on an empty JG turned into a ten-kid free for all. Melissa, a three-year old, was at first afraid to play. She was clearly afraid of the older kids and I finally was able to "catch" her and she was it. She then proceeded to chase me around the JG at least three times. The older kids were trying to let her catch them, but I finally realized that I was her only target. "Watch-out" all the kids shriek when it's my turn. This time, I tried to slowly disappear to the side and let the games go on. Fun to watch, but the proverbial dinner bell again ended the fun. I felt 10 again for a moment and could almost hear my mom yelling, "kids, time for dinner." Of course, I was the one yelling

Finally, last weekend, we went to our "home" campground and set-up shop across from the park. I asked the kids, to help me describe this park to someone. They immediately answered, "space rocket ship." Not what I expected, but soon I was the alien who had to recruit an army of my evil friends to attack the space ship and overrun the "good guys" and take over the ship. In the end, my army was defeated as we did not know that the good guys had a self-destruct button that blew up the ship as soon as we were all on board. I WILL remember that one next time.

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2009 Legislative Review: The Continued Search for Balance

Politics, like life, consists of an on-going quest to find balance. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. Recently, Albert Lea began its newest quest to find long-term balance through the “Blue Zone” vitality project. This exciting project consists of community members committing to making a series of small positive changes that will have a huge impact on their lives.

In this spirit, I am encouraged to see Republicans making a series of positive changes which will clearly have a positive impact on the success of our community and our state. Locally, we are fortunate to have local businessman and community philanthropist, Al Arends leading us on a quest to find common-sense. It is refreshing to see so many new faces from all age groups engaged in the exchange of ideas.

At the state level, Republicans have made a series of small changes, beginning with their approach to education funding. Led by Governor Pawlenty, Republicans have staked out an aggressive and positive position supporting increased funding to our K-12 classrooms. While the Governor pushed hard this year for higher classroom funding levels, in the end he signed the majority’s education bill. Also, I had the privilege this year of participating in a positive, bi-partisan discussion on clean water and habitat enhancement through the use of the new dedicated sales tax revenue. Continued Republican leadership in this area can have only positive results.

In contrast, the same can be said for the DFL making a series of small negative decisions that had a huge impact on this year’s session. When the Governor initially announced his legislative package, the DFL quickly went on a “gotchya” offensive around the state. The DFL missed an opportunity to find solutions to Minnesota’s challenges and instead just identified a series of problems. Their attempt to simply build political support for their patch-work agenda probably prevented the DFL from finding their balance.

Next, the DFL went after a number of Pawlenty projects in an apparent attempt to create negotiating chips for the final end-game. Of local interest, the Governor’s Q-comp program and the JOBZ program were in the cross-hairs.

Finally, the House and Senate passed what I termed “misplaced” tax bills. On their first attempt, the House passed a tax bill that would have ended popular deductions like mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable contributions, education expenses and child-care. This political disaster did not make it out of conference committee until less than one hour prior to the end of session. Earlier, the House and the Senate leadership patched together an alternative $1 billion tax bill that was quickly vetoed by the Governor. In the end, the DFL did not even get all of their own to support this alternative tax bill. Locally, Representative Poppe (DFL Austin) voted no on the attempt to override the Governor’s veto.

Probably the biggest remaining challenge is to find a way to provide quality and affordable health care in a manner that does not bankrupt state coffers. As in Albert Lea’s Blue Zone project, a series of small steps can have a huge impact. Hopefully, the DFL and the Governor can begin to work together to make the reforms necessary to accomplish this outcome and in the end find balance.

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Finding Balance

It's time to balance the books.

Yesterday, the house and the senate sent a series of spending bills to the Governor. Unfortunately, their spending package is $3 billion in excess of their revenue. "A $3 billion hole" as described by the Pioneer Press. http://www.twincities.com/ci_12364582

Shortly after receiving the bills, the Governor expressed his frustration in a letter to legislative leaders. Click here to read his letter. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2009/05/DFL_spending_bills_letter.pdf

As explained by the Governor, the one tax bill the DFL was able to muster sent $1 billion in additional revenue. Although this bill was vetoed by the Governor, even it was still $2 billion short of their spending spree. The ball remains in the DFL court to find responsible revenue enhancements that support their spending -- or find areas to cut.

The Governor has proposed additional revenue enhancements totally $1billion -- many of which were supported by either the house or the Senate. His proposal was flatly rejected by the DFL majority. As twittered by Speaker Kelliher, "It is not a responsible plan."

What would be irresponsible would be for the Governor to sign spending bills that are not paid for. Again, reasonable education and human services bills and a responsible tax bill have not been presented by the DFL majority. Until they are, balance will remain elusive.
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Taxes split traditional alliances

Neighbors in their districts and on the house floor, Representatives Jeanne Poppe and Robin Brown often agree on and vote the same on issues. This session, however, has proven more difficult. Robin Brown offered an amendment on the house floor to save the state-promised JOBZ benefits to businesses in her district. Poppe, however, voted against Brown's amendment and the amendment failed by a vote of 68 to 65.

Shortly thereafter, the house voted on the omnibus tax bill and Brown pulled the yes lever and Poppe the no. According to Poppe, the $1.5 billion tax proposal did not propose a solution and was too big. http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=16&a=398703

In contrast, Brown indicated that she voted for the tax bill because of the local benefits and because it created a better, "balance of taxes for all people." http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/may/06/albert-leans-gather-show-support-jobz-program/

It is apparent that this year's legislative session will continue to challenge traditional alliances. As detailed in a previous post, this year's real battle will come to spending in the state's two largest areas: welfare reform and education. http://tiltingagainst.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html Behind the headlines, these two areas will continue to dominate the politics of this year's session.

Also, watch closely the working relationship between Speaker of the House Margaret Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. They have substantially different governing styles and time will tell if they will be able to keep the DFL train on the track.
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Tax Bill "Do-Over"

On Wednesday, a group of local residents held a rally at the Courthouse lawn in Albert Lea. The purpose of the rally was to request that Governor Pawlenty veto the then-current tax package that had been passed by the House and Senate.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/may/07/rally-dont-cut-jobz/

Of major concern, was the ripping back of JOBZ tax benefits that had been promised to local employers. For example, Albert Lea Select Foods held up their end of the JOBZ bargain having now created over 400 jobs, having initially promised 50. The tax package would have ended most of the State-promised benefits mid-stream. Not only would this policy threaten existing jobs, but would also send a terrible message to other businesses looking to locate in the State. http://www.kimt.com/content/localnews/story/Businesses-Ask-for-State-Do-Over/MX8rDKaReUOkPngY73skAw.cspx

The tax package also contained a new 4th tier tax bracket and elminated commonly used tax deductions like mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable contributions, education and child care expenses.

Late last night, the House and Senate did re-do their tax bill. It was initially passed with actual blanks in the bill. http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/44534987.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU. It was later sent to Conference Committee and is now awaiting further action on the floor of the house and senate. Attached is the house research summary. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/bs/86/HF0885.html

Stay tuned.

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Time to put Pork on the menu!

It may be a merely symbolic measure, but please join me in eating some good pork chops this weekend. Like most of you, I have family, friends, neighbors and clients that rely on the livestock industry for their livelihood. The latest news on the flu outbreak, and the unfortunate use of term "Swine Flu" seriously threatens one of Greater Minnesota's strongest economic engines and job providers.

There is no relationship between eating pork and contracting the flu. http://www.freep.com/article/20090429/FEATURES08/90429018. As this article further reports, there have been no confirmed reports of pigs contracting the virus. If you have visited a hog operation recently, you will be impressed with their bio-security measures. They certainly do not want this strain infecting their hog herds and have a strong system in place to minimize this risk.

Today officials are also reporting that this strain probably did not even originate on a farm. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124105320874371313.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Join the Obama Administration and others in correcting the name of this outbreak to: "H1N1 Flu".
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/28/officials-offer-new-swine-flu/

http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/44013467.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUgOahccyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU



Finally, join me in getting out the grill and enjoying some pork this weekend. For my vegetarian friends, buy a pork chop for your neighbor.

Tax Bill Deserves Pawlenty Veto

Saturday evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives barely pulled together enough votes to pass their misguided tax bill. One of the most contentious measures involved the DFL proposal to rip back mid-stream the JOBZ tax benefit proposals that formed the basis for many businesses deciding to locate and expand in Greater Minnesota.

An amendment by our own Representative Robin Brown, attempted to save the JOBZ provisions, but failed by a vote of 65 to 68. http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/2009/apr25/3037/bits-and-pieces-house-omnibus-tax-bill-debate

It appears that the final bill passed by the same margin -- 68 to 65, with Brown switching her vote to APPROVE the final bill which included elimination of the JOBZ tax stream. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/journals/2009-10/J0425041.htm#4096

Not only does this bad bill rip money right out of the coffers of our local employers, it also taxes other incentives that companies receive for doing business in Minnesota, eliminates other popular tax benefits and substantially increases the cost of doing business in Minnesota through broad reaching tax increases.

This bill is VERY BAD for Albert Lea, bad for Greater Minnesota and bad for all of Minnesota.

The DFL has created a bill that is a political animal and a greedy revenue grab that deserves the wrath of the Governor's veto pen.

Tilting Against Windmills!

At first, my family was skeptical when I explained to them that I was starting a "blog." To them the term sounded almost sinister and like something out of a Star Trek movie. Now, they seem to have acquiesced to my new-found hobby.

My initial inspiration came from reading Don Quixote. His attempts to challenge the prevailing wisdom of the time was often misunderstood, yet bizarrely on-point. As articulated by the original Q himself,

"Anyone publishing a book exposes himself to enormous risk, because it's absolutely impossible to write one in such a way that it satisfies and pleases all those who read it."

This blog is my attempt to look at issues from a different perspective. Thus, Challenging your view of..... [fill in the blank].

Thanks for tolerating my awkward attempt at modern civic engagement.

Q.

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THAT’S JUST THE WAY IT IS: MOSQUITO LORE IN ALBERT LEA.

The current budget debate in the City of Albert Lea is an interesting chapter in the local lore relating to our unofficial state bird, the beloved mosquito. I had the honor of participating in the last chapter of this saga nearly seven years ago. I remember the occasion well since it coincided with the birth of our first child in July of 2001. That year, the term “unbearable” does not even begin to describe how bad the mosquitoes were in Albert Lea. As first time (protective) parents, the severity of the mosquitoes left an impression. I faintly remember that the situation was bad in prior years, but in 2001 it affected us profoundly.

As we prepared for our first child, we sprayed the yard and purchased mosquito netting to cover the car seat and stroller just so we could carry our child from the car. We lived on the southwest side of town and I remember literally running to my mailbox and back just to pick up the mail in the afternoon. Our backyard was un-usable after early spring.

That summer, we would apply large quantities of repellant and attempt to “go for a walk.” I remember running home after a block or two because we were overcome with the swarms of neighbors that came out to greet us. Unfortunately, our human neighbors were not quite as accessible. Needless to say, our quality of life in Albert Lea was suffering.

How does this relate to today? Well, I am hearing echoes of what I encountered seven years ago. At that time, I approached the city and inquired as to why they were not spaying for mosquitoes. The answer I received was that the city had disposed of their mosquito spraying equipment and that spraying simply did not work. I still have the newspaper article where the City gave the following response to the infestation:

“Years ago (the city) used to spray for mosquitoes but it’s really not
effective. You kill one and a hundred come to his funeral. [The City official added that] he is sure the pests affect how the parks are used, but there is not much that can be done besides using mosquito repellent. That’s just the way it is, he said.”

Anyone who knows me is aware that I was raised in a family that simply does not accept statements such as, “that’s just the way it is.” Instead, I did what any expecting dad would do in the same situation. I started a petition drive and initiated a grass roots call for the city to control its mosquito population. My “Anti-Mosquito Petition” read as follows:

“To protect the quality of life in Albert Lea, including but not limited to: being able to mow your yard, being able to walk in your yard, being able to walk
down the street, being outdoors for more than 30 seconds, the ability to do anything outside, the ability to attract business to Albert Lea, the protection of tourism and business in the city, the protection of property values and in general, the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, we the undersigned demand that all reasonable efforts be taken to control the mosquito population in Albert Lea.”

As you can probably imagine, the petition went over quite well and people decided that they did not have to accept the situation -- “just the way it is.” Prior to even finalizing and presenting the popular petition to the city, they acted. http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2001/jun/29/city-sprays-for-mosquitoes/ The city remembered that they still had the old mosquito spraying equipment and discovered that a company from southern Minnesota could be hired to effectively spray to control the infestation. In response to community demand, the city began spraying for mosquitoes in 2001. Guess what the citizens of Albert Lea have been quietly doing for the past seven years? Mowing their yards; walking in their yards; walking down the street and going outside for more than 30 seconds at a time!

I do not accept the statement that spraying does not work.

What I do accept is that the city has some tough budget decisions to make and perhaps mosquito spraying is a service that will be cut. So far, though, it appears that they have tried to only grab the low hanging fruit. Mosquito spraying is being presented as having questionable value and discretionary. The city can then argue that if citizens want this type of “extra”, they need to pay for them through fees or more likely as justification for a huge tax increase next year.

The initial work of the city and the budget advisory committee is commendable – more information is always better. Unfortunately, this is only the very beginning of the process, not the end. The tough question remains: how to provide long-term, affordable “core” local government services.

The statement that mosquito spraying is equal to one city employee is telling to the natural mentality of the city entering this process – protecting their turf. http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/mar/07/should-city-spray-mosquitoes/. Reportedly, 80% of the city budget is personnel driven. How many mosquito-type discussions can occur without addressing the elephant in the room? Government and businesses across the country are already implementing personnel cuts and restructuring which services are provided and how.

City officials must accept responsibility for their decisions. If they choose to cut mosquito spraying-type services, they must accept responsibility for the replacement of neighborhood block parties with neighborhood swarms of uninvited guests. They cannot displace their responsibility by blaming the state or others for their woes. Accepting the status quo for 80% of the budget is a decision to raise taxes next year – no amount of repellant can protect city officials from that bite.

A ticket to anywhere!

Yesterday, I had lunch with my 4 year old daughter at her day-care. It’s spring break, so this is a different location from her normal pre-school. I sat in the small chairs with the kids and every child in the room had a story to tell. As we were eating corn dogs, baked beans and mandarin oranges, the boy to my right (Daniel) told me about his house, his dog, his grandparents and pretty much every other detail that he could think of. Not wanting to ignore my daughter, nor the other kids at the table, I tried to carry on only two conversations at a time. Daniel, however, was persistent and wanted to tell me that he liked my tie, my ring and my white collared shirt. Each time, he would politely tap my arm to get my attention. I would ask him to wait, finish my conversation with another child and then return to his inquisition.

At the end of the meal, I shook his hand and thanked him for letting me join him for lunch. As I did so, I noticed the ketchup and bean stained finger prints on the sleeve of my shirt. That certainly made me smile and left me a nice reminder the rest of the day of my enjoyable meal.

After the meal, I stood in line with the children while they took turns washing up and preparing for nap time, which my daughter is staunchly opposed to. While negotiating my escape back to work with my daughter, another child (Fawn) was vying for my attention. She also wanted to tell me about her family and her stuffed horse (not pony) that she cuddled with during nap time.

This morning, I again dropped off my daughter at her “new” day-care and as I was leaving was approached by Fawn. She had a small slip of paper in her hand. She quietly handed it to me and said it was my “ticket.” I said thank-you and she elaborated that I could, “go anywhere you want to with it.” All it had on it was the number 11.

In my structured adult mind, I initially assumed that I was the 11th person to get a ticket. From a four year old’s perspective, however, I wonder if all of the tickets probably had the same writing on them designating some secret four-year old code. Either way, I’ve been resisting my adult mindset of viewing this ticket as a plane-ticket or ability to go some place exotic and far-away. Instead, I’ve decided to keep the ticket in my coat pocket and whenever I need to get away, I’ll pull out the ticket and think of the refreshing meal I had with the four-year olds. Better yet, I may just go back for lunch with my new friends . . . only next time I won’t wear a white shirt.

LEGAL AID: QUIETLY GIVING A HAND-UP TO THOSE IN NEED

I recently had the opportunity to testify at the local town-hall meeting of the legislature. The purpose of my testimony was to encourage continued funding for Civil Legal Services to support the important work that is done to provide access to the Justice System. I am a private attorney, having lived and worked in the Albert Lea area for over 13 years. My practice focuses primarily on business related issues, together with work in agricultural law, real estate and family law. Since moving to Albert Lea, I have taken an active interest in finding ways to make our community prosper in a positive way.

One of the quiet ways that our community accomplishes this goal is to provide citizens access to a fair and equal forum to resolve their disputes. We are fortunate in Minnesota to have a first class Justice System.

For many years, I have served on the board of directors of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (“SMRLS”) – one of the six regional Civil Legal Services providers in Minnesota. SMRLS provides affordable and understandable Civil Legal Services to all citizens, regardless of income.

During my tenure on the board, I have observed the inner workings of the SMRLS organization through the last budget crisis in 2002, the partial recovery budget of 2006 and now this terrible economic downturn. Let me share a few of my observations on how SMRLS has dealt with each of these challenges:

• SMRLS participates in an on-going process called “Future’s Planning.” This process is our constant attempt to find efficient ways to provide services to those in need. We strive to leverage our dollars during good times. This allows us to better respond during funding down turns.

• During the last budget deficit, SMRLS completely reorganized itself by centralizing its hot-line intake process and technology. We focused our resources on being one law-firm, rather than a series of offices around the state. This change helped to keep all rural offices open while absorbing staff reductions and has actually increased the number of persons who have been able to access SMRLS and enables SMRLS to provide more seamless services.

• During the last increased budget, we set-aside reserves and focused on preserving our best and brightest talent. A large majority of any Civil Legal Services provider’s budget consists of staff. Although legal aid attorneys are some of the lowest paid in the Justice System, we are able to attract a talented, compassionate and team oriented group of employees. They are the front-line in helping those in need navigate the legal process. This talent pool is especially important in hard times when we need to stretch our dollars further.

• SMRLS constantly searches for outside funds to leverage State and Federal Dollars. We accomplish this through aggressive grant writing and the successful Campaign for Legal Aid.

Those who know me know that I am a fiscally conservative Republican and that I believe in providing a hand-up, not a hand-out. I know of no other organization that epitomizes this motto better.

I am also now participating in the SMRLS Retrenchment Process (“Futures” planning during a downturn). As an organization, we recognize that an economic downturn of this magnitude results in more people that need help. Our challenge is to provide services to more people, while at the same time receiving less money.

In accomplishing this goal, our first priority is to keep our existing staff intact. SMRLS recently announced a salary and hiring freeze. We also recognize the need to utilize our reserves. Unfortunately, these steps only fill a few of the large holes in the budget. We continue to prioritize additional spending cuts to be ready to respond to the actions that legislators take in St. Paul.

I encouraged legislators to remember that the Justice System as a whole provides an important calming and public safety component. I refer to it as “Core Services, plus.” The plus being: preserving the rule of law, giving individuals a forum for their disputes and a mechanism to provide community stability in a positive way. As stated by our Board Chair, Kathy Bartz, we must “give our clients a sense of hope.”

Organizations like SMRLS are working hard to be part of the solution during these difficult times. The budget cannot be balanced through draconian cuts to the Justice System’s small budget pie. The Justice System is only 2% of the State’s budget, and Civil Legal Services is only 3% of that 2%.

I requested that legislators act quickly on Justice System funding. If cuts have to occur, minimize them to recognize the “Core Services, plus” component provided by the Justice System. Please watch this year’s legislative session closely and encourage legislator’s to support the quiet work being done by legal aid in our communities.

Addressing Budget Short-fall

The City of Albert Lea recently took the step of creating a budget advisory committee. http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/feb/23/council-approves-budget-task-force-members/

This begins the hard work of trying to understand the city budget and finding a way to prioritize the spending cuts. Information that would seem helpful in making these decisions includes:

1. An overall summary and pie chart showing all revenues and spending. The State of Minnesota has an excellent template that they are using to explain the current budget shortfall at the State level http://budgetforum.senate.mn/?page_id=23
2. Each of the profit centers or revenue streams should then be broken down by source of income and expenses,by department. Some departments have their own source of revenue and others are from the “general fund.” Again, follow the State’s template;
3. A 5 and 10 year history of the overall spending broken down by
department and category;
4. A comparison of these items to neighboring communities and similar positioned communities in Minnesota;
5. What recommendations have been made by each individual department head;
6. A summary of all pay and benefit packages for employees;
7. A summary of each union contract, including key terms and duration. Is the individual union amenable to re-opening negotiations to address the short-fall and avoid lay-offs? Many unions are reopening contracts to implement salary freezes to avoid lay-offs.

The City administration for years has touted their desire to limit their reliance on local government aid and this is a chance to make good progress on that goal. Also, City leaders should recognize the importance of planning for growth. How can changes we make now, make us more competitive locally and regional in the years to come?

Politics CAN be interesting . . . and maybe even fun!

If you are even remotely interested in long-term public policy issues, this legislative session will be one for the record books. Politics seems boring to many, but mostly it comes down to what you pay attention to. This year, the size of the “budget deficit” distracts too many people from watching the real political maneuvering. As always, the significant and interesting issues are those occurring behind the scenes. If you want to appreciate my demented view of “fun” here are three epic battles that I will be watching this year:

1. Clean Water: In November, 2008, with a 56% yes vote, Minnesota approved a constitutional amendment adding 3/8% to the State-wide sales tax for Habitat, Clean Water, Parks and Trails and the Arts. For too many years, most of these issues were limited to policy discussions, always short on money. For the first time ever, clean water has some real funding coming in. I was recently at the Capital and there was a marked difference in the rooms where the new sales tax stream of revenue was being discussed (the “Happy Rooms”) and the rest of the Capital (the “Doom and Gloom Rooms”). There are two battles worth watching in this area. The first is the so-called “hook and bullet crowd” who have fought hard for many years to obtain funding for outdoor habitat and sports related issues. For them, this issue is about using the money for the objectives that they fought so hard for. They are vocal and almost militant about their objectives. The other power play is between the agencies (DNR and Board of Soil and Water Resources) and the non-profit, locally driven projects. The bureaucrats effectively argue that they have the experience and the infrastructure in place to put the money to good use. Argued just effectively, the locally driven organizations are lean and can quickly implement “shovel ready” projects that provide job creation and immediate environmental benefits.

2. Classrooms: What funding source provides the best education for our children? The powerful teacher’s union ($850,000 in expenditures in the 2008 election and in excess of 50 registered lobbyists) argues that increasing the existing funding formula is the answer. More funding provides better opportunities for all, they argue. In contrast, others argue that focusing the funding on classroom activities and teacher performance provides more bang for the buck.

The Governor’s Q-comp program is one example of an attempt to target resources towards teacher performance. In an opening salvo in this battle, the legislative auditor’s office recently released a report reviewing this program. http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/qcomp.pdf
While the report reads like constructive criticism, many are holding up the report to suggest that Q-comp is a bad program. What appears to be the most quoted conclusion of the report, “There is not sufficient evidence to determine the impact of Q Comp on student achievement”. Likewise, there is little to correlate increased teacher pay, or increased health benefits with better education for our children. As acknowledged in the State Auditor’s report, "it is difficult to disentangle the effects of Q Comp from other initiatives."

It appears that so long as criticizing the “teacher’s union” is associated with being against kids, little classroom reform will occur. There are now more teachers that are legislators than any other profession. When lawyers ruled the roost, all jokes were fair game. I long for the day when I can tell a good-hearted teacher joke and not be labeled a “bad dad”.

3. Welfare Reform: The largest spending category and the second largest general fund expenditure in the State Budget should be hard pressed to come out unscathed in this budget cycle. http://budgetforum.senate.mn/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/slide9.gif. The reform advocates have presented many proposals that they consider low hanging fruit; outright fraud, people moving to Minnesota to take advantage of programs and those using benefit cards in other states. Ending Minnesota’s “welfare magnet” label: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/01/21/welfare_reform/

Those against any reform argue that lowering our standards will allow people to fall through the cracks. They seem to argue that a few bad apples are worth it -- provided no one in need to goes without. So far, they seem to have maintained the moral high ground and continue to roll out more programs that will likely find popular support in today’s flailing economy and high unemployment.

The risk is that too many good intentions may cause the entire system to go bankrupt. It is unreasonable to expect ever increasing spending to be sustainable. Somehow, we must find a way to weather the storm and allow our economy to regain its health as quickly as possible. Finding middle ground in this area is necessary for this to occur. If you have an opinion or want to follow a true grass roots discussion – look here. http://budgetforum.senate.mn/?p=157

If you have an issue of interest, find the bill or proposed legislation you are interested in. There are then some tricks to following this legislation. First, go the State House or State Senate website at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/ or http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/. There, you will find many great tools to assist you. For example, you can look up education related bills introduced in the House – 53 separate bills. You can read any of the bills, a research summary and the current status of the bill. Try this link.
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/revisor/pages/search_status/status_results.php?body=House&search=basic&session=0862009&location=House&bill=&bill_type=bill&rev_number=&keyword_type=all&keyword=&keyword_field_short=1&keyword_field_long=1&keyword_field_title=1&topic%5B%5D=1186&submit_topic=GO&titleword=

If you want to get updates on the status of your area of interest, you can subscribe to receive email updates from the committees themselves, or subscribe to email updates from key legislators on each of the committees. You will be surprised how much push and pull is occurring on each of these issues. Often, you can even watch the debates unfolding on-line. By following some of the key players and knowing their names and issues, you will also begin to recognize their names in the newspaper and can watch for in-depth coverage on issues that previously would have caused your eyes to glaze over.

If you really become a junkie, you can subscribe to the session weekly or session daily and get on-line updates. Likewise, there are countless blogs and special interest organizations that follow the details of many of these issues.

The long and short: politics can be interesting if you know how to identify and follow something that interests you. Good luck and have fun!

Something has got to give!

$4.8 Billion Budget Deficit for the State of Minnesota.

$700 billion bank bailout that may now cost $4 Trillion!
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/news/bigger.bailout.fortune/

Proposed $825 billion economic Stimulus Package.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_economy

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starting to get a little worried. Can we actually print that much money?

Right now, most policy makers are pouring through the 258 page Federal economic stimulus bill to identify the line-item that applies to them. President Obama is driving his ice-cream truck around Capital Hill looking to pass a MASSIVE bill that has no remote relation to the "Pay-go" pledge of just 3 years ago. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/04/nation/na-taxes4

The size of these dollars and the long-term implications are too large for most of us to comprehend. It is way too easy to be infatuated by the size of the cut to each of our pet programs and focus on how to preserve our turf. We probably should be talking about what is going to happen after the ice-cream sugar high wears off.

I realized the magnitude of this issue tonight when a well respected business owner explained his gold investment strategy. As he explained it, gold is the fall back when a currency collapses. In fact, recommendations now are to invest in gold coins, not bullion -- to avoid a great-depression like repeat of government confiscation.
http://www.blanchardonline.com/beru/beru.php?article=255&title=Gold_Confiscation_-_What_Do_We_Really_Think?

This business owner justified his move by citing age and paranoia. I wonder whether it may be age and wisdom?

I am certainly not an alarmist and continue to keep my money in the stock market. Yet, the fact that I cannot get my arms around the magnitude of this problem concerns me. My instincts tell me that spending large amounts of money that we do not have is a bad thing.

At some point, something has got to give. When it does, our infatuation with individual turf issues will likely feel embarrassing. I fear reality may not win the day.

Farmers Feeding the Hungry!

With all the bad news, it is nice to focus on some good news.

The bad news? According to the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization, another 40 million people were pushed into the "hunger" category in 2008. The total number of undernourished people worldwide is now estimated at 907 million.

There is, however, a silver lining that is rarely talked about: U.S. Agriculture's role in helping to feed the hungry. American agriculture continues to tap increased technology, better animal care, better genetics and overall increased efficiency.

In America, we take for granted this sustainable model of producing more food per acre with less inputs per bushel. Our friends on the farm continue to push the envelope of efficiency every day -- better business models, better financing techniques, better seeds, better conservation of the soil, better control of weather-related factors, better weed control and more efficient use of fuel and inputs.

Starting in the 1940's, Norman Borlaug initiated the first "green revolution" and proved that historic steps in technology could feed the hungry. He developed semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease resistant wheat varieties that drastically increased yields around the world. His work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and is credited with saving over a billion people from starvation.

Efforts to grow more with less continue: from the Albert Lea Seed House's creation of greater yields through organic production to the global commitment of Monsanto to double crop yields by 2030.

As a socially conscious world, we need to push and expect our agriculture sector to continue to get better at what they do. I recently received a pamphlet from America's Second Harvest, the "Nation's Food Bank Network." They challenge us, "How to make sure the land of plenty has plenty for everyone." Well said!

Too often, the trend for greater efficiency is misconstrued as "bigger" and therefore bad. American farmers have access to amazing opportunities to fill the stomachs of the hungry. We should do our part to help farmers to promote their crucial role in "Feeding the Hungry."

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: SETTING EXPECTATIONS

When an election is on the immediate horizon everyone has an opinion on what they expect from their candidates or ballot item. Letters flourish – tempers flare: and our local media is happy. After their vote hits the bottom of the ballot box, however, most citizens feel that they have fulfilled their civic obligation until the next election.

This past election, we were again bombarded with terms such as “historic election” and it became popular to have a short term interest in politics. On Election Day, numerous people commented to me, “big day today.” I responded that I thought every day was a big day for politics!

There is much more to civic engagement than a letter and a vote every other year. As a community, we need to constantly communicate our wishes and desires. Our public institutions and elected officials need to have expectations communicated to them with constant reinforcement. Upon the success or failure of the community expectation, praise or criticism may then properly be dispensed. The concept of “speaking at the ballot box” is too reactionary and quite frankly too slow. Thomas Jefferson warned us to not let our rulers keep us so busy that we didn’t have time to think and hold mismanagement to account.

The concept of “government accountability” only works if goals are established. Without proper expectations set, accountability is often morphed into a constant “gotcha” game of cat and mouse. Taking pot shots at elected officials does little to accomplish any actual results.

As an example, voters should expect that our local units of government will not repeat prior overly optimistic budget forecasts. In today’s economic climate, they should expect drastic cuts in the short-term and only minimal state funding increases in the long-term. Likewise, we should expect our city and county government to carefully leverage our tax base for more government good, not just more government.

On the flipside, good government communicates with the public what they hope to accomplish. The public should take seriously activities such as the bridge avenue corridor study, the cities’ capital improvements plan and the project list created by the Shell Rock River Watershed District. These planning activities are their attempts to establish community expectations.

Our community should set expectations of our government and not let the government tell us what our expectations should be. I sincerely believe that community driven expectations will be less, in terms of scope and costs, than if we let the government tell us what to expect.

Upon setting our expectations, we should constantly reinforce and reward them for fulfilling these goals. Officials should likewise expect and invite “feedback” (positive and negative) upon their failure to reasonably meet those expectations.