Issues that people care about
Here some issues that almost always come up in my discussions with citizens in West Bloomington and South Edina.
Jobs
We all understand that there is much more to life than economics, but we also know that there is hardly any social problem that is not made significantly worse by mass unemployment. Our state and nation currently are starting to recover from what has been called the “Great Recession”–by many measures the worst contraction of economic activity since the 1930s.
This national downturn was exacerbated by many policy failures in preceding years. At this stage Minnesota needs to focus on initiatives that will grow jobs quickly, when they are most urgently needed. We also need to make sure that whatever money is spent to boost employment will produce sensible, worthwhile improvements in our State’s infrastructure and in our science and research capabilities.
The Minnesota Constitution requires that the operating budget be balanced. This means that we are severely limited in our ability to increase employment through operating expenditures.
However we can accelerate capital investment projects–and we should do so. This will boost jobs. Not only that, but the financial cost will be small. Under prevailing market conditions, the interest rate that must be paid to finance such projects is little more than zero, even before allowing for inflation. We can save our State a great deal of interest expense by financing these outlays now. Later, when the economy is in better shape and interest rates are higher, we should be able to trim our capital expenditures.
I strongly supported the passage of a $1 billion bonding bill during the 2010 session. We urgently need to get people back to work–and it is just plain smart business sense to do this now, when the financing cost is the lowest in decades. I was disappointed that the governor vetoed almost a third of the bill’s authorizations.
Education
I was fortunate to have many educational opportunities when I was young. Now I have two boys in elementary school, and I want the best possible opportunities for them. I want the same thing for all Minnesota kids.
High-quality schools are the foundation of our economy and of our future. Accordingly we must make adequate funding of our schools one of our highest priorities. In addition to making sure that needed resources are available, we must emphasize stable funding. This means avoiding short-term gimmicks that make the State’s budget situation look better temporarily, while causing chaos in school budgets.
In recent years professional educators have learned a lot about what it takes to help kids to excel in school. One especially effective initiative is early childhood education. The fact is, kids do better when they have an early start at learning. This is especially critical for at-risk kids. Numerous economists have concluded that the “investment return” on effective early childhood education is quite high. I am proud to serve as Vice-Chair of the House Early Childhood Division. A great deal must be done to make the educational promise a reality, and I expect to work hard on this effort.
Safe and reliable transportation
People need to be able to get to their destinations quickly and safely–and we can’t have a world-class economy in Minnesota without a world-class transportation infrastructure.
For too many years Minnesota neglected its infrastructure. The tragic collapse of the I-35 bridge was merely the most visible cost of this short-sighted policy. Our goal should be to achieve a word-class transportation system by the end of the decade. This will require prudent investments in road, rail, and air facilities.
Energy and the environment
Wild gyrations in energy costs in recent years, as well as the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, have made clear that excessive reliance on fossil fuels entails great geopolitical and economic risks. Minnesota must do better, by encouraging alternative energy sources.
I believe strongly in common-sense environmental practices. Clean air and water are not luxuries; they are essential for life. Likewise our “great outdoors” is an essential part of the rightly acclaimed Minnesota quality of life. I want to keep it that way for generations to come.