DFL Education Foundation

Caucuses in Minnesota

It is Caucus time in Minnesota.  Regardless of political affiliation Minnesotans across the State will meet tomorrow to express preferences for candidates, pass resolutions to platforms, elect delegates, and shake hands with neighbors.  Some will stay home because, in the words of Jack Paar, "voting only encourages them."  Regardless of your choice tomorrow, party choice or abstaining, do it because it's a political statement, and not because you're overly concerned with Gibbs and Zeva.  

Check out the below information if you don't know where to go.

The Republican Party at 651-222-0022 or http://mngop.com/inner.asp?z=16

The Independence Party at 651-487-9700 or http://www.independenceminnesota.org

The Green Party at 651-288-2820 or http://www.mngreens.org/caucus2010

The DFL Party at 651-293-1200 or http://www.dflcaucuses.org/

Not going is a choice too, but do it because you don't want "to encourage them" and not because you're apathetic.

Jeremy Wieland

Conversation with Martin Sabo

Our August Stone Arch Discussion welcomed former US Congressman and Minnesota Speaker of the House Martin Sabo. This informal gathering covered many of his thoughts on what works, what doesn’t and a little history.

This pod cast is brought to you by the DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Click this link to hear the conversation.
Download martin_sabo.m4a

United States Foreign Service, the past and problematic future

The latest Stone Arch in June hosted Bill Davnie recently retired for the United States Foreign Service. His remarks bear on the past and the future of our foreign service and the role of diplomacy in a dangerous world. Click here:

This pod cast was produced by iDream.tv for the DFL Education Foundation.Download bill_davnie.mp3

Matt Entenza and Minnesota 2020

Back in February the DFL Education Foundation was proud to host former Legislator Matt Entenza to discuss a progressive future in Minnesota, and his organization, Minnesota 2020. This was a wide ranging conversation that opened with Matt’s narrative of what it is for him to live in Minnesota.

This pod cast was produced by the DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Click here for the full pod cast.

Download Entenza.m4a

Check on Your Elected Official

Have you ever wanted to check on a senator's complete voting record?  Or follow a bill from introduction through resolution?  Are you interested in what the news and the blogs are covering?

We suggest OpenCongress - a joint project of the Sunlight Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation

The Nation says: OpenCongress is an amazing new tool for activists and citizens.

Information Today says: OpenCongress brings together, for the first time in one place, all the best data on what’s really happening in Congress.

Let's Get Moving - Transportation in Minnesota (video)

See the video of our session on the challenges for transportation in Minnesota and how to address them, featuring Dave Van Hattum, from Transit for Livable Communities and Adeel Lari from the Humphrey Institute.

Adeel Lari, Director of Innovative Transportation Finance, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, recently toured Northern Europe and shared his thoughts on Europe's fuel pricing and if any European practices could be applied to Minnesota and the United States. He is a former employee of the Minnesota Department of Transportation and has worked on the I394 MnPASS project.

Dave Van Hattum, Policy and Advocacy Program Manager of Transit for Livable Communities, discussed current legislative activities and the recent constitutional amendment passage. He is a graduate of the Humphrey Institute and worked for the Downtown Mpls. Transportation Management Organization and the I-494 Corridor Commission. 

Click here to watch the video

The Guantanamo Bay Challenge: Finding the Balance between Our Nation's Security and Our Nation's Ideals

Jim Dorsey and Nicole Moen, Minneapolis lawyers who represent a Guantanamo detainee, spoke at the Stone Arch Discussion Group about who the detainees are, how they are being treated and what legal recourse is available to test the appropriateness of their continued detention.

The DFL Education Foundation pod cast was produced by LOCATION IMAGES at www.idream.tv. “Promoting Business, Education, and the Arts around the Globe.”

Download guantanamo_bay_challange.m4a

Poison pill for the minimum wage bill

After significant pressure from party moderates, Republicans allowed a minimum wage bill to come to the House floor.  It seemed a triumph for the working poor, whose $5.15 an hour wage can't even put them over the poverty line for "workers with families."  However, an aide to Senate Republican leadership said that the only way minimum wage legislation would pass is with an estate tax rollback for the super-wealthy.  The article quotes Ohio Representative Tim Ryan's (D) response:

"It's outrageous the Republican Congress can't simply help poor people without doing something for their wealthy contributors."

Since it depends on the political vagaries of Congress and is not indexed to inflation, the minimum wage stagnates over time.  Since the last increase passed in 1996, the wage has lost $1 in value to inflation, most of that in the past six years while gas prices have nearly tripled.  In fact, the minimum wage hasn't been able to support a family of three at the poverty level since 1969.  Even with the Earned Income Tax Credit, minimum wage earners are still below the poverty line.

Some folks argue that because minimum wage increases can cause unemployment increases, they should be abandoned.  But there's something almost un-American about the notion that someone can work full-time and still be in poverty.

Major potholes in MnDOT's transportation budget

As mentioned previously, Minnesota's transportation budget shows a significant shortfall, with nearly $1 billion in underfunded projects.  This shortfall has finally shown up on the bottom line, with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) sliding from a heady surplus in 2002 to a budget deficit of $60 million this year.  The budget crunch has also shown itself in postponed projects and the most recent debacle of asking contractors to front $90 million of the major Crosstown-35W bottleneck project. 

While skyrocketing construction costs (especially for materials such as steel and concrete) have eroded MnDOT's budget, there's still the significant factor of income, with the state adding no new income sources since the last gas tax increase in 1988.  A ballot question this fall will allow voters to dedicate the entire motor vehicle tax to transportation, but at the expense of the state's general fund, also recently strapped for cash.  The governor's plan was to add $2.5 billion in borrowed money to transportation construction, but offers no new spending for the increasingly sparse maintenance budget.  At some point, a good transportation system requires construction and maintenance, and both require a steady funding stream.

Disturbingly, neither Democrat nor Republican gubernatorial candidates are offering anything new on transportation.  For that, you have to look to Peter Hutchinson's "team," which hasn't shied away from a gas tax or other usage fee to balance the transportation budget.

Where's the beef?

In a bold new proposal, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed giving the top 25% of Minnesota high school students two free years at the state's public universities (University of Minnesota or MNSCU systems).  This proposal clearly borrows from the Citizens League innovative study on higher education that asserts that all of the state's students should be receiving K-14 education. 

This proposal has several significant merits:

• It offers academic-based scholarships
• It reduces the financial burden of higher education
• It provides a (slightly) means-tested benefit
• It helps retain top talent in-state

However, the proposal lacks a key detail - who will pay?  Given the governor's historical commitment to "no new taxes," some other government service will likely pay the price if the state picks up the tab.  Will it be transportation, already significantly underfunded? Health care for the poor, which has already endured several budget cutbacks?  Alternatively, this proposal also could be the ultimate unfunded mandate, requiring the U of M and MNSCU to cover the cost of thousands of top students in an era of rapid tuition increases.

The governor should be lauded for a bold education proposal, but citizens should keep a careful eye on who will be asked to pick up the tab.

JFF