DFL Education Foundation

Flushing away water quality

On the heels of a number of reports on the beleagured status of Minnesota's waterways, the Star Tribune's Water in Mind series hopes to bring some awareness to water quality in the land of 10,000 lakes.  The stats from the first article in the series, Minnesota's lifeblood, are startling:

• "When the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency tests a lake or stream against federal water-quality standards -- and these fall well short of pristine -- the odds are nearly even that it will flunk."  The MPCA's 2006 list of impaired waters contains nearly 2,300 lakes and waterways that have flunked. 
• "Agricultural runoff is now the single biggest pollution source, and the
  problem is growing [because] farming has
  always enjoyed broad exemption from the regulatory regimes applied to
  other industries."
• "More than 60,000 Minnesota households flush their toilets and drain
  their kitchen sinks through "straight-pipe" systems that carry the
  untreated waste into public waterways."

Furthermore, the MPCA has an annual shortfall in its water quality program of $9 million, meaning that resources are stretched thin for improving the situation.  While the problem seems vast, given that many of the communities flushing waste into waterways lack the capital to install sewer systems, the solution to sewage isn't overwhelming: "If each household on a sewer line paid $3 a month on its water bill, and each using a well and septic system paid the same on its property-tax bill, most problems could be remedied in about 10 years." 

That might solve the sewage problem, but how does a state with great pride in its agricultural productivity address the environmental consequences of ag? 

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.

Why Republicans Win?

Star Tribune political affairs writer Eric Black has an interesting blog entry from Tuesday where he analyzes the pattern of Republican victory in politics since the Reagan Era, with help from former MN Republican Party Chair Ron Eibensteiner.  The summary?  That Republicans either have the better ideas or are simply better at coming up with better descriptions of their ideas (i.e. "no new taxes").

The comments on the post point out that Democrats haven't always felt inferior in the description category.  After all, Clinton did pretty well with "It's the Economy, Stupid."  But try coming up with another Democratic winner since 1980?  I'm a younger guy, so maybe my lack of memory can be chalked up to inexperience.

The folks over at the liberal blog MyDD are trying to find the next great liberal slogan (for this year's midterm elections), but I find it telling that between three proposed slogans, "I like pie" is coming first.  DailyKos raised the stakes, offering voters 10 different slogans for this year's Democratic candidates.  Again, web visitors give a plurality to "I like pie" (23%).  Maybe Dems should take note of DailyKos contributor Brainwrap's suggestion: "enough is enough."

Is Drug Company Advertising the Key To Health Costs?

Late last week, Governor Pawlenty dispatched a letter to congressional leaders asking them to establish a moratorium on prescription drug advertising. In particular, he’s focused on the impact of drug advertising budgets on skyrocketing health care costs.

Pundits and detractors are panning the proposal as a campaign ploy, since Pawlenty will face a re-election campaign against one of several DFL candidates this fall (potentially endorsed candidate Attorney General Mike Hatch). The Star Tribune also referred to Pawlenty’s proposal to re-import prescription drugs from Canada, taking advantage of Canadian price controls.  This latter proposal hasn't become the drug cost panacea, with total purchases in the program just exceeding $30,000 last month, perhaps because many citizens are now eligible for Medicare prescription drug coverage.

On the latest proposal, there are some interesting highlights.  Attorney General Hatch’s office produced a report on pharmaceutical companies three years ago, and in a scathing analysis it provides illustrations such as this: “Between 35-37 percent of  industry revenue is allocated to administration and marketing, a figure which is almost three times larger than the 13-15 percent allocated for research and development…In 1996, prior to the relaxation of DTC standards by the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry spent $791 million on advertising.59 After the DTC standards were relaxed, it was estimated that DTC spending increased to $2.5 billion for 2001 -- an increase of 216 percent” ("Follow the Money," 16-17).  This figure rose to $4 billion by 2004, another 160% increase.

Clearly, spending on advertising is a substantial sum, but would that $4 billion necessarily go back into the health care system?  And even if it did, what is $4 billion in advertising compared to the $1.9 trillion spent on health care in 2004?  Not much.

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.