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 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.
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.
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.
"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/
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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/