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|  | | | | Other voices | | Others views about taxes and public investment.
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Water, water everywhere
A Pioneer Press editorial notes some of the guiding principles being discussed for the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment approved by voters on Nov. 4: a measurable outcome for every dollar spent; expecting all spending to contribute to multiple positive outcomes (wetlands preservation can help protect water quality, for example); basing funding decisions and priorities on science; and making sure the public has access to a transparent plan for the spending.
This fits well with Growth & Justice's work on Governing with Accountability which calls for government to spend the wisely and be held accountable for results. |
Smart young liberals, meet stone-cold scarcity
In the next few years, the nation's wealth will either stagnate or shrink. The fiscal squeeze will grow severe. There will be fiercer struggle over scarce resources, starker divisions along factional lines.
A column by New York Times columnist David Brooks that appeared in the Pioneer Press. |
People want infrastructure addressed
Remember the 8.5-cent gas tax increase approved by the DFL-controlled Legislature last February over the veto of Gov. Tim Pawlenty? Remember when opponents were quite vocal in saying voters would remember that tax increase at the polls in November?
Well, evidently a solid majority of Minnesota voters did not recall it in a bad way.
An editorial from the Mesabi Daily News. |
The Financial Crisis and the Judeo-Christian Tradition
Growth & Justice makes the case for economic justice through research-based analysis and proposals, focusing on what works to generate a stronger economy and a more evenly shared prosperity. But spiritual leaders of national stature increasingly are speaking out for the same goals and citing the Bible for support. This common-sense review of old-time religion, in an op-ed by former ELCA Bishop Herb Chilstrom, ran recently in the Mankato Free Press. |
Governor asks state agencies to propose 5 percent cuts
The state's November forecast will be release in just over a month and the 2009 legislative session starts in just more than two. The governor has started his budget process and Minnesota Budget Project Director Nan Madden reports he is asking state agencies to reduce their general fund spending by 5 percent. |
Drive less, Minnesotans -- and prosper
Conrad deFiebre, Minnesota 2020's transportation fellow, references a study by Growth & Justice Policy Fellow for Infrastructure & Econoimc Development Matt Kane in this column that appeared on Minnesota 2020's website and MinnPost. |
Honoring Gene Lourey
A commentary by MinnPost CEO Joel Kramer, founder of Growth & Justice and current board chair, about the memorial for Gene Lourey. Lourey, the husband of former Sen. Becky Lourey a long-time supporter of Growth & Justice, was also the father-in-law of Growth & Justice Board member Marlana Benzie-Lourey.
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Big trouble ahead in St. Paul?
The ripples from the worsening financial crisis in the U.S. are likely to be felt in St. Paul come January - in the form of a ballooning state budget gap. By Marshall Helmberger, Timerjay News. |
Saved by the Deficit?
The Wall Street bailout has generated anger among middle-class Americans, but we shouldn't compound the problem by letting it prevent the government from spending what it must to lift the prospects of Main Street.
A column that appeared in the New York Times by former secretary of labor Robert B. Reich. Reich was the featured speaker at Growth & Justice's "Worst Political Advertising in America Awards" in 2004. |
McJustice
It is naive to believe that one can cut year after year without destroying the quality of justice. A commentary by Sen. John Marty. |
State Grant program fuels Minnesota's economic future
The State Grant program's need-based aid helps one out of four college students -- that's 80,000 Minnesotans. Minnesota Private College Council President David B. Laird, Jr. discusses the program's benefits in this column. |
We're aging, but our care system isn't keeping pace
We need new ideas. They're out there, and we don't have to wait for Washington to get them going. A column by Rep. Laura Brod (R-New Prague) and Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis), members of the 2020 Conference, that appeared in the Star Tribune. |
Minnesota schools, failed by the state, look to the ballot
On Nov. 4, 38 school districts will ask voters to help them pay the bills with property taxes and six districts will go to the polls for bonds for building projects. Minnesota 2020's John Fitzgerald looks at the state's underinvestment in education. |
Pearlstein on Quie: A good man, still going strong
A commentary by Chuck Slocum that appeared in MinnPost. Slocum references comments Gov. Quie made during his speech at “Minnesota’s Progressive Republican Tradition: A History of Investing for Real Prosperity” sponsored by Growth & Justice during the Republican National Convention. |
The next business climate chill: worker shortage
The combination of the retirement of baby boomers and the underachievement of students of color, the only segment of Minnesota's young population that's growing, is forecast to leave the state 13,000 college grads short of the number business needs by 2015. By Lori Sturdevant, Star Tribune. |
Editorial: What is wrong with schools?
In a highly competitive global marketplace, it is clear Minnesota could well lose any edge it might have had. We are quickly taking the state of achievement to the state of mediocrity. An editorial from the Bemidji Pioneer. |
It ain't sexy -- it's infrastructure
Katrina ... the I-35W bridge collapse ... never again? Well, nationwide, little is being done to shore up the country's crumbling undergirdings. An opinion piece by Christine McEntee that appeared in the Star Tribune. |
As the state cuts, our safety net stretches
To make up for the enormous losses, hospitals have to raise the price of care for patients with private insurance, which in turn drives up your premiums. It's the recipe for a vicious circle: higher premiums leading to more people without insurance, which leads to more charity care, which results in an ever-thinning safety net. By Brock Nelson, president and CEO of Regions Hospital in St. Paul. |
An 'incomplete' for No Child Left Behind
The state Department of Education reports that 933 schools are now on the watch list based on statewide test scores. So why does that list keep growing in a state with one of the best academic achievement records in America? An editorial from the Star Tribune. |
Taxes have a place in economic policy
We cannot solve the country's finanical problems long term without putting federal government finance on a sustainable basis. And we cannot do that without increasing taxes or imposing spending cuts both parties rejected in the past. By Edward Lotterman, St. Paul Pioneer Press. |
2008 City of Excellence Awards
The cities of Breezy Point, Luverne, Sartell, and Woodbury received "City of Excellence Awards" from the League of Minnesota Cities for their innovative work. Growth & Justice President Dane Smith was a judge for the process.
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A 'living wage' is money in the bank
Peter Dumon, a hotel owner in Los Angeles, has a vision of prosperity and urges his fellow LAX-area hoteliers to stop fighting the city's living-wage ordinance for the sake of economic growth. From the opinion page of the Los Angeles Times.
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Sartell recognized for its innovative water quality project
A judge for the League of Minnesota Cities' 2008 City of Excellence Award, Growth & Justice President Dane Smith said that there is far too much unfounded attacking of the public sector and not enough recognition for smart public investments by our state and local governments. Smith's participation was noted in a St. Cloud Times story about Sartell's award written by Larry Schumacher. |
Worried about low-income families? Start paying attention to climate-change!
Capping greenhouse gas emissions will inevitably impact the cost of energy, transportation, food, and other goods and services. And that will hit low-income families particularly hard since these items make up a larger share of their budget, and they have less flexibility to adapt to the changes in price. The latest from Christina Wessel at the Minnesota Budget Project. |
Our opinion: gax tax
An editorial from the Brainerd Dispatch states that the Legislature's gas tax hike was justified. |
Making taxes more fair in Minnesota
A letter-to-the-editor by Rep. Ann Lenczewski, chair of the House Tax, and Rep. Paul Marquart, chair of the House Property Tax Relief and Local Sales Tax Committee, printed in the Crookston Times. |
Jennifer Imsande: Together we ride
Jennifer Imsande is associate director of the Masters Program in Advocacy and Political Leadership at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She rode the 2008 Minnesota Ironman April 27. This was printed in the Star Tribune. |
Editorial: Voters can see through politicians' gas-tax ploys
House Republicans can't seem to get over the fact that they lost the fight against the gas tax increase -- an increase which, by the way, was supported by the traditionally conservative Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. From the Rochester Post Bulletin. |
Cost of insurance far outpaces income
Study released shows cost of covering families takes bigger piece of household budget. In Minnesota, cost of family coverage increased 29 percent while policyholders' income remained the same. |
The numbers tell the truth
New gas tax to fund aggressive road and bridge construction in the state is a very small percentage of the jump in prices at the pump. An editorial by the Pioneer Press. |
Revenue shortfalls mean Minnesota faces long-term budget deficits
The state's most recent economic forecast assumes that the country will experience a mild recession through the first half of 2008. As a result, the state faces a $935 million deficit in FY 2008-09 and a $2.1 billion deficit in FY 2010-11 when the impact of inflation is included. |
Pawlenty's cuts aren't helpful
An opinion piece by Linda Doerr, vice president of senior services at St. Benedict's Senior Community and a member of The Long-Term Care Imperative, which is a legislative collaboration between Care Providers of Minnesota and the Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance. It appeared in the St. Cloud Times. |
The street on weflare
E.J. Dionne Jr. explores how Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. Printed in the Washington Post. |
Property taxes projected to increase over $1,100 a minute in 2008
A nonpartisan study released this week reveals more bad news for Minnesota homeowners. Property taxes payable in 2008 are projected to increase at least $596 million statewide if all local taxing jurisdictions adopt their proposed levies, according to a Minnesota House Research property tax simulation. That’s an 8.8 percent increase over 2007 taxes. |
Sen. John Hottinger: Follow their example
In a June 29, 2006 letter to the editor in the Star Tribune, Sen. John Hottinger (DFL-St. Peter) writes that the Growth & Justice ad signers have set positive examples in recognizing the importance of the common good. |
Amy Lange: 'The Gang of 200'
In a June 29, 2006 letter to the editor in the Star Tribune, Amy Lange questions Star Tribune Columnist Katherine Kersten's concerns for the downtrodden. |
John Stiles: Fairness and basics
In a June 28, 2006 letter to the editor in the Star Tribune, John Stiles responds to Star Tribune Columnist Katherine Kersten's assertion that increasing taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Minnesotans would burden "ordinary Minnesotans." |
Pat Ryan Greene: Kersten doesn't speak for me
Pat Ryan Greene writes in a July 3, 2006 letter to the editor in the Star Tribune that he disagrees with Katherine Kersten's suggestion that Growth & Justice ad signers should just write checks to the government rather than advocate higher taxes. |
Growth & Justice hosts special guest Joel Rogers
In his March 15, 2006 presentation, Joel Rogers argued that the states could and should take the lead in creating a more progressive economic future, and that collaboration among organizations at the state level is critical, supported by a clear, concise description of what a progressive economic program would be about. |
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