I'm not sure the mayor has time for give and take here, but I would appreciate it if he would post positions on the city web site. I'm more than willing to go get them and read them. I do not get email from here because I consider it inefficient. I simply use a shortcut to allow me to check the archives every day. If the mayor would use his city-provided web space to explain his developing position, I'm perfectly willing to create an icon to check that. If other people are unwilling to do that, those of who take the time, can post the URL to the statement.
For what it is worth, the mayor posts statements and speeches at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/speeches/index.asp#TopOfPage For lo these many years we have heard complaints from certain people in business that government is creating a "bad busines climate" that would drive business elsewhere. Government continued pretty much the same way, and business in Minnesota just kept growing and growing, better than other states where the in-party was friendlier to the complainers of business. No one has really bought this "bad climate" argument (since the facts are pretty overwhelming antagonistic to the argument), but these parties still drag it out at every opportunity. Let's look at the issue. The businesses that really are hurt by current policies have done the rational thing and relocated. They no longer CAN be hurt. The ones who are bellowing now are those whose business is NOT hurt. The hand that feeds THEM is the local economy which apparently continues to create a positive business climate for them. They like to pretend that THEY are doing the feeding, but how do they get the wherewithal. Doesn't come from wealthy suburbs. Comes from the ability of Minneapolis to generate their profits. So when they "feed" the local government, they are just "giving back". That's the truth of the matter, though some of them have the sharp tongues that Shakespeare attributed to "ungrateful children". I need to make a disclosure. I worked for City Hall and I HATED it! The people I worked with will, in the interests of risk management, remain nameless, but they are in my alltime Slime Hall of Fame. But in the darkest times, I never believed these businesspeople who dissed MY TOWN and yet NEVER LEFT. I think they are all transparent. They just want favors like everybody else who pouts gets from the government. I'm all in favor of Rybak cleaning up the Mishnah of regulations we've piled up like stinking garbage over the years, but that won't be for the complainers because even if we do that, they'll still complain. They are eternal squeaky wheels. Concerning casinos, I lobbied to PREVENT the state from getting into any sort of gambling. If I were to bend on that, I'd want to see it carved in stone that there would never be more than ONE downtown casino. Given what the warehouse district has become, it deserves the casino. But I don't want the government corrupted any more by mutiple private currying government favor for this. One caveat: The SECOND you would put one in, all kinds of suburbs would be targets for competing casinos, so I'm not sure the profits would remain great. But maybe there would be some. It sure aint gonna be any "permanent solution" for any kind of fiscal problem. The PROBLEM can be summarized in a single word: Bushonomics. ===== Jim Mork -- Cooper Neighborhood ________________________________ Help stop spam -- Join SpamCon Foundation, http://www.spamcon.org __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
