As everyone reading this substack is keenly aware, the DSA-aligned council members view business as the enemy. That’s not likely to change until we vote them out.
One thing seemingly none of the politicians are talking about is how to deal with the imminent job elimination due to AI. I’m getting the sense it’s already happening. Mid-level managers are asking the question, why hire college grads when Claude can do the tasks we ask the grads to do? Nobody knows how quickly AI will take the jobs, but most agree that AI will.
We need to support businesses—especially small business—way better than we are. We need to prepare both the young and old to deal with an earth-shifting job market. We’re probably also going to need a plan for better safety nets, such as UBI. And if we need better safety nets, we will need a plan to fund them.
Politicians of all stripes have been slow to recognize the generational change AI is sparking. Hennepin County has a UBI pilot program. At some point I am going to write about it.
The computer was brand new when I started my accounting career, they were laying off accountants by the 10's of thousands regularly but it was really a matter rehoning skills, riding the tide. At some point robotics took off, many unions fought the technology replacement only to see the jobs disappear anyway. They failed to understand how cost effective the savings were, so instead of losing some jobs they lost all the jobs when the manufacturers moved to different countries. It's important to understand the changes are coming, like it or not so the trick is to change along with it,. Try to find the out the future needed job skills and be willing to change.
One thing is clear, if we fail to embrace this technology we will fail because others will use it to develop technology capable of taking everything we have. So it's not a matter of no data centers but where if not here.
UBI is a great idea if it enables people to re-skill and re-enter the job market with more marketable and productive skills. It’s a massive fail if it becomes another cradle to grave entitlement that disincentivizes people and becomes a tax burden on the productive elements of the society. Making UBI work requires a solid core of successful, productive businesses that can both help pay the costs of UBI and hire re-skilled workers. We also desperately need to address our failing public education system.
I believe that commerce is the lifeblood of a city, and it is disturbing that a majority of the Council is fundamentally anti-business. I just got my real estate tax assessment, and my Minneapolis home will have a higher tax bill despite no change in value. I am not complaining, as I know why, and I am blessed to be in a position to afford it. But most are not in that position. Spending more, taxing homeowners more, and an anti-business attitude are unsustainable—great article as always.
It’s too bad the DSA city council members don’t understand what you have just put your finger on in your article. They don’t trust capitalism and the people who believe in it. Many other people feel the same way about socialism/communism/Marxism. If everyone is working for the government, then nobody is actually making anything. And that just doesn’t work.
After my scrawny ward campaign and a new FT job , I’ve taken a breather from daily Mpls management stress, and my mental health improved. (I might volunteer at SD63 convention next weekend , but to have tried for delegate and choosing which walking sub caucus ? You cannot be serious.) But when I took a step back I realized one of our great problems is that various councilmembers view their critically important job descriptions so so differently. The moderates seem more interested in the general city welfare, the socialists in individual or voter base uplift. Cynics would describe it as Corporate Overlords and evil landlords vs. spongers and grifters/vote sellers to the highest buyer. Or Cruel Vicious Jacob Frey vs. the Angelic DSA. I’ve been wondering: What are the most objective , undeniable measures of a city’s fiscal health? Because eventually you will run out of other people’s money, even WITH a new millionaire tier if ever. Do we need a council of elders — which could and should include young new wavers - to implore this deeply divided city 🤡cil to “do your job” , once we all agree what the job is? A certain southside councilmember stated there will have to a supplemental budget meeting. If and when the mayor returns from his media tour, maybe he can call one. Does council President Payne have either the authority or the audacity? City Director MAK? The current finance director? Thanks, Terry. Once again you seem to have read my mind at the moment , and put the words into a weekly column. It’s why I pay to subscribe. In the past year, documentarians and commentators are increasingly asking “Minneapolis : What Hapoened?” It’s well past time we did, and hopefully not too late.
Said another way, we’ve had a solid decade of the Minneapolis Progressive Era starting with the Hodges/Bender/Glidden/Gordon wave, and whatever followed . Has Minneapolis ‘progressed’ in that time? Say what you will about 2015-2025 approximately, I miss the days of her running the meeting, an opinion not shared by her opponents of that time. And Yes, I’m aware Gordon predates 2015 by a lot, and Jacob came in with Lisa, Linea, Cano, and Blong Yang and has been mayor for two full terms so the causes and effects — the question of who really runs the city — are ever-arguable. Add the murder of George Floyd, Covid and the Surge to blur accountability and statistical purity even further. The argument hardly seems worth starting it’s so circular, but I think we have to try.
I promise this is my last reply today (unless I reply to a reply) but I have to say, at risk of cross-promoting another hyperlocal indie news and views platform, the Minneapolis Times weekly review is full of pieces around these concerns. Pack a lunch cuz they pack a punch. I know some of us have been trying to ring this bell for years, but I think we’re near a tipping point. I hope it’s true that `when followers lead, leaders will follow.’ These days, they mostly seem oblivious, or just careless, feckless and self-indulgent.
"As St. Paul property owners struggle with recently arriving tax bills some have called eye-popping, debate over how to stabilize property tax increases and grow the city’s tax base continues.
“It’s a math problem,” said St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker, who has raised questions about a modest number of city and county positions with redundant or overlapping duties, such as the administration of opioid settlement funds, but not many. “You increase revenue, cut costs or both. Expanding the tax base is a way of increasing revenues. And efficiencies is a way of cutting costs, but for the most part, we’re pretty lean
There are some interesting ideas being considered. Thank you for sending this article. Minneapolis would benefit from its own version of https://insightstpaul.org/
Metro Surge has actually nothing to do with why our city is suffering, it may have hastened a few job loses but those jobs and businesses were on the way out already. Despite the DSA's claims, not everything is Trumps fault. The Socialists/Marxists running our city and state have been actively working twards moving the private sector jobs to government for several years with anti-wealth, anti-business and anti-police. Since we already know that many of our elected officials are not all that bright when it comes to finance and commerce, the question is who is feeding them these goals for our city and state, as well as for what purpose.
To many have fallen into the trap of believing that that the solution is to take the money and wealth from the rich and businesses will solve everything. They don't seem to understand that a vast majority of wealth is tied to the act of owning a thing and when the special is gone, the wealth vanishes. It's like the farmer being viewed as wealthy because he has all that seed stored away for the next season's crop, eat it and everyone starves in the end. How do we convince people that everyone needs to contribute, work or volunteer, if everyone takes we all end up with nothing.
Could it be the silent contributors to the party have a hidden agenda for us. Could they be pitting us against each other, salting our wounds, pointing the finger and affixing blame, all for some greater purpose. Maybe it's something simple, like they just want us to fail. Whatever it is, they clearly do not want us to succeed.
Then there is the fraud, maybe the best thing that could have happened is the cutting of funds. You can't remove that much money from someone's hidden coffers without getting some backlash. The thing is who is screaming the loudest that it stopped, that it needs to be reinstated and that we need more services. It's not the Republicans, and that says a lot. We could be creating new checks and balances, even going to the most needed sites to get them up and running. Instead we get lip service, we are working on it, we are suing the Feds, we need new programs, we need more taxes, and of course it's not as bad as stated.
Yes we are in some serious trouble here, the question is how bad will it get? Do we have to implode before we rebuild.
So how do we engage the DSA-bloc on some helpful changes? I mean, I get frustrated too but they have a strong base of support and so if we're pushing for positive change we have to engage them. I'm not saying this is the position of the Substack or it's readers, but it's not enough to say “They won't do X, so there's nothing to be done.”
I have found them to be very argumentative, it's always their goal to continue until I agree and upon failing that goal returning to the name-calling and shaming. They absolutely refuse to listen.
For our state, and especially for Mpls and the Metro, this is a very good city to WATCH. A great interview in the video clip, below.
*Don’t have to be on FB for it to open.
San Francisco’s mayor tells me misguided progressive policies failed his city — “We lost our way.”
I went out to San Fran for Mayor Daniel Lurie’s first network interview … an interesting — and refreshingly optimistic — conversation. You can watch it here: Jonathan Karl | Facebook
As everyone reading this substack is keenly aware, the DSA-aligned council members view business as the enemy. That’s not likely to change until we vote them out.
One thing seemingly none of the politicians are talking about is how to deal with the imminent job elimination due to AI. I’m getting the sense it’s already happening. Mid-level managers are asking the question, why hire college grads when Claude can do the tasks we ask the grads to do? Nobody knows how quickly AI will take the jobs, but most agree that AI will.
We need to support businesses—especially small business—way better than we are. We need to prepare both the young and old to deal with an earth-shifting job market. We’re probably also going to need a plan for better safety nets, such as UBI. And if we need better safety nets, we will need a plan to fund them.
Politicians of all stripes have been slow to recognize the generational change AI is sparking. Hennepin County has a UBI pilot program. At some point I am going to write about it.
The computer was brand new when I started my accounting career, they were laying off accountants by the 10's of thousands regularly but it was really a matter rehoning skills, riding the tide. At some point robotics took off, many unions fought the technology replacement only to see the jobs disappear anyway. They failed to understand how cost effective the savings were, so instead of losing some jobs they lost all the jobs when the manufacturers moved to different countries. It's important to understand the changes are coming, like it or not so the trick is to change along with it,. Try to find the out the future needed job skills and be willing to change.
One thing is clear, if we fail to embrace this technology we will fail because others will use it to develop technology capable of taking everything we have. So it's not a matter of no data centers but where if not here.
UBI is a great idea if it enables people to re-skill and re-enter the job market with more marketable and productive skills. It’s a massive fail if it becomes another cradle to grave entitlement that disincentivizes people and becomes a tax burden on the productive elements of the society. Making UBI work requires a solid core of successful, productive businesses that can both help pay the costs of UBI and hire re-skilled workers. We also desperately need to address our failing public education system.
Headlines like this should grab Twin Cities leaders attention:
C.H. Robinson trims high-level managers as part of AI-driven cuts
The Eden Prairie-based logistics company has reduced its total employment by 31% as it deploys hundreds of AI agents
I believe that commerce is the lifeblood of a city, and it is disturbing that a majority of the Council is fundamentally anti-business. I just got my real estate tax assessment, and my Minneapolis home will have a higher tax bill despite no change in value. I am not complaining, as I know why, and I am blessed to be in a position to afford it. But most are not in that position. Spending more, taxing homeowners more, and an anti-business attitude are unsustainable—great article as always.
It’s too bad the DSA city council members don’t understand what you have just put your finger on in your article. They don’t trust capitalism and the people who believe in it. Many other people feel the same way about socialism/communism/Marxism. If everyone is working for the government, then nobody is actually making anything. And that just doesn’t work.
After my scrawny ward campaign and a new FT job , I’ve taken a breather from daily Mpls management stress, and my mental health improved. (I might volunteer at SD63 convention next weekend , but to have tried for delegate and choosing which walking sub caucus ? You cannot be serious.) But when I took a step back I realized one of our great problems is that various councilmembers view their critically important job descriptions so so differently. The moderates seem more interested in the general city welfare, the socialists in individual or voter base uplift. Cynics would describe it as Corporate Overlords and evil landlords vs. spongers and grifters/vote sellers to the highest buyer. Or Cruel Vicious Jacob Frey vs. the Angelic DSA. I’ve been wondering: What are the most objective , undeniable measures of a city’s fiscal health? Because eventually you will run out of other people’s money, even WITH a new millionaire tier if ever. Do we need a council of elders — which could and should include young new wavers - to implore this deeply divided city 🤡cil to “do your job” , once we all agree what the job is? A certain southside councilmember stated there will have to a supplemental budget meeting. If and when the mayor returns from his media tour, maybe he can call one. Does council President Payne have either the authority or the audacity? City Director MAK? The current finance director? Thanks, Terry. Once again you seem to have read my mind at the moment , and put the words into a weekly column. It’s why I pay to subscribe. In the past year, documentarians and commentators are increasingly asking “Minneapolis : What Hapoened?” It’s well past time we did, and hopefully not too late.
Thank you for reading and being a paid subscriber. Your feedback is appreciated.
Said another way, we’ve had a solid decade of the Minneapolis Progressive Era starting with the Hodges/Bender/Glidden/Gordon wave, and whatever followed . Has Minneapolis ‘progressed’ in that time? Say what you will about 2015-2025 approximately, I miss the days of her running the meeting, an opinion not shared by her opponents of that time. And Yes, I’m aware Gordon predates 2015 by a lot, and Jacob came in with Lisa, Linea, Cano, and Blong Yang and has been mayor for two full terms so the causes and effects — the question of who really runs the city — are ever-arguable. Add the murder of George Floyd, Covid and the Surge to blur accountability and statistical purity even further. The argument hardly seems worth starting it’s so circular, but I think we have to try.
To be fair to Mayor Frey, he did lay out a vision in a March 28 Strib Op-Ed. I wish him luck. I’ve tried to share it. https://www.startribune.com/mayor-frey-third-term-plan-operation-metro-surge-ice/601642183?utm_source=gift
I promise this is my last reply today (unless I reply to a reply) but I have to say, at risk of cross-promoting another hyperlocal indie news and views platform, the Minneapolis Times weekly review is full of pieces around these concerns. Pack a lunch cuz they pack a punch. I know some of us have been trying to ring this bell for years, but I think we’re near a tipping point. I hope it’s true that `when followers lead, leaders will follow.’ These days, they mostly seem oblivious, or just careless, feckless and self-indulgent.
Thanks for this piece. About our twin, a piece out today. Like their City Council President also says, "It's a math problem. "
"Tax base needs a boost"
https://enewspaper.twincities.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=4c737661-077d-4177-8562-72108da4d5b2&share=true
"As St. Paul property owners struggle with recently arriving tax bills some have called eye-popping, debate over how to stabilize property tax increases and grow the city’s tax base continues.
“It’s a math problem,” said St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker, who has raised questions about a modest number of city and county positions with redundant or overlapping duties, such as the administration of opioid settlement funds, but not many. “You increase revenue, cut costs or both. Expanding the tax base is a way of increasing revenues. And efficiencies is a way of cutting costs, but for the most part, we’re pretty lean
There are some interesting ideas being considered. Thank you for sending this article. Minneapolis would benefit from its own version of https://insightstpaul.org/
Metro Surge has actually nothing to do with why our city is suffering, it may have hastened a few job loses but those jobs and businesses were on the way out already. Despite the DSA's claims, not everything is Trumps fault. The Socialists/Marxists running our city and state have been actively working twards moving the private sector jobs to government for several years with anti-wealth, anti-business and anti-police. Since we already know that many of our elected officials are not all that bright when it comes to finance and commerce, the question is who is feeding them these goals for our city and state, as well as for what purpose.
To many have fallen into the trap of believing that that the solution is to take the money and wealth from the rich and businesses will solve everything. They don't seem to understand that a vast majority of wealth is tied to the act of owning a thing and when the special is gone, the wealth vanishes. It's like the farmer being viewed as wealthy because he has all that seed stored away for the next season's crop, eat it and everyone starves in the end. How do we convince people that everyone needs to contribute, work or volunteer, if everyone takes we all end up with nothing.
Could it be the silent contributors to the party have a hidden agenda for us. Could they be pitting us against each other, salting our wounds, pointing the finger and affixing blame, all for some greater purpose. Maybe it's something simple, like they just want us to fail. Whatever it is, they clearly do not want us to succeed.
Then there is the fraud, maybe the best thing that could have happened is the cutting of funds. You can't remove that much money from someone's hidden coffers without getting some backlash. The thing is who is screaming the loudest that it stopped, that it needs to be reinstated and that we need more services. It's not the Republicans, and that says a lot. We could be creating new checks and balances, even going to the most needed sites to get them up and running. Instead we get lip service, we are working on it, we are suing the Feds, we need new programs, we need more taxes, and of course it's not as bad as stated.
Yes we are in some serious trouble here, the question is how bad will it get? Do we have to implode before we rebuild.
So how do we engage the DSA-bloc on some helpful changes? I mean, I get frustrated too but they have a strong base of support and so if we're pushing for positive change we have to engage them. I'm not saying this is the position of the Substack or it's readers, but it's not enough to say “They won't do X, so there's nothing to be done.”
I have found them to be very argumentative, it's always their goal to continue until I agree and upon failing that goal returning to the name-calling and shaming. They absolutely refuse to listen.
A comment I put on a Mpls Times piece...
For our state, and especially for Mpls and the Metro, this is a very good city to WATCH. A great interview in the video clip, below.
*Don’t have to be on FB for it to open.
San Francisco’s mayor tells me misguided progressive policies failed his city — “We lost our way.”
I went out to San Fran for Mayor Daniel Lurie’s first network interview … an interesting — and refreshingly optimistic — conversation. You can watch it here: Jonathan Karl | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/jonkarlabc/videos/san-franciscos-mayor-tells-me-misguided-progressive-policies-failed-his-city-we-/854889840746706/