Mpls-St Paul could secede from MN. The 51st state. Its own state income tax. Free from meddling by Pawlenty and one-way suburbanites, and indirectly Bush (the real reason the anti-war resolution has failed in Mpls). Sustainable. End corporate welfare. Encourage the big corps to go away and make room for local small business. Move TIF money back to the schools from which it has been taken (stolen). Set up our own single payer health insurance. Our own sustainable public transit system, looking first at our needs, not those from other states. A pro-choice and civil-liberties haven.
What are we waiting for? --David Shove Roseville On Mon, 24 Mar 2003, Chris Johnson wrote: > Jim Mork wrote: > > > Pick up North Oaks or Fridley and move them 500 miles north and what > > WOULD be the attraction of living either place? None. The SOLE reason > > that they attract the people who live there is the immediate proximity > > of Minneapolis and St Paul. Give me a count of the major symphony > > orchestras in either place. Tell me how many Broadway shows you can see > > in either place. Count off the four-star restaurants in either place. > > And on and on. WE have the library (or will have). WE have the > > entertainment. WE have the culture. WE have the universities (North > > Oaks score of universities, last I checked, was zero). > > > > The fact is that it is our core cities that make this region GO. The > > suburbs live off the scraps. Moving from Minneapolis to a suburb is sort > > of like sunbathing in the REFLECTION of the sun. > > Hear, hear! > > Ignorance of this is the problem at the state level and the Axis of Eagan. > > No doubt there are large numbers of people who live in the proximate > suburbs who have zero interest in visiting either city to partake of > their many amenities. But if we removed all the people in those suburbs > who do use the urban amenities, those suburbs would become rapidly > collapsing shells, unable to support themselves in the fashion to which > they've become accustomed. > > The reality is that Minneapolis and St. Paul provide a panoply of > benefits to the metro area and the state. Without them, most suburbs > would simply could not exist. Without them, the state the would be > ranked near last in just about all economic categories. > > Unfortunately, it seems the suburban mentality among too many, including > those in power, is in direct contradiction to this fact. They need to > be educated and persuaded. Otherwise, we may as well resort to their > aggressive us vs. them tactics. Of course, that can't really happen > since the state legislature seems more than ready to over-rule any > ordinance or policy that the Minneapolis city council adopts, having > done so in the past. The phrase tyranny of the majority comes to mind. > > It's too bad Minneapolis and St. Paul don't have some additional > "homerule" protections written into the state laws and constitution, as > Denver does in Colorado (although the bullies in the Colorado > legislature appear to be ready to run their bulldozer over the city of > Denver in the very near future with regards to a "shall issue" concealed > gun permit law.) With a bit more freedom from interference from the > state legislature, I'd guess that Minneapolis could more easily solve > its problems. > > Maybe it's time we begin alliances with outstate cities, who for the > most part have not figured too largely in Minneapolis' policies in the > past. They appear to be getting the short end of the stick from the > myopic suburbanites as well. > > Chris Johnson > Fulton (former suburbanite: Chaska, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, Maple > Grove, Crystal, Shoreview) > > > > TEMPORARY REMINDER: > 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. > 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. > > ________________________________ > > 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 > TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ 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
