In Duluth, hoots and catcalls from the crowd broke out at a debate between Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-N.D., and his challenger. In France, rioters tore through the streets to protest a proposed hike in the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Elsewhere across America and in key spots around the world, candidates and voters are loudly and often angrily taking up the great debate of our time: What's the proper role of government in modern society?
Except ...
Except, of all places, at the Minnesota Capitol, where on Monday lawmakers unanimously approved and the governor quickly signed an $80 million disaster relief bill.
The famously "no new taxes" Gov. Tim Pawlenty, that is. And the lawmakers who voted "Yes" included Rep. Tom Emmer, the equally anti-tax Republican candidate for governor.
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What's the deal?
Well, the deal seems to be that there's one thing both sides of the debate can agree on, which is that disaster relief is a legitimate function of government. Or as Pawlenty himself put it when asked about his signing the bill, "Responding to emergencies and natural disasters is one of the most important priorities for government."
And that's a place to start answering the question of government's proper role. National defense, check. Building a system of roads, agreed. Coining money and maintaining a court system, affirmative.
So, add "responding to emergencies and natural disasters" to the list. (Even though the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of such a role.)
Actually, when considering this foundational layers of government, there's probably a lot more agreement than the current political climate suggests. Republicans and Democrats alike would agree that the government's modern roles include protecting the environment, maintaining a system of public schools, maybe even helping people provide for their retirement (via Social Security or other means).
The disagreements come over the specifics and the spending levels of these and other issues. In France, that's what the riots are about; and in Duluth, that's why the catcallers jeered the candidates.
But in his column on today's page, Taxpayers League of Minnesota President Phil Krinkie includes a phrase that could help the warring factions find common ground.
Criticizing the Star Tribune's editorial board, Krinkie says the members favor high levels of state services but show "little appetite for trying to deliver services in more cost-effective methods."
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So, what if the editorial board massively ramped up its concern for more cost-effective delivery of services? What if the Legislature's fans of state services did the same?
Krinkie -- and many Minnesotans like him -- might accept that compromise, the column suggests.
Public services in Minnesota and many other states are very expensive: That's one big reason why those states face the budget gaps that they do. If lawmakers can find ways to deliver those services more cost effectively (through pension reforms and other means), some share of the disagreements would be overcome.
No, the results won't be unanimous, as the disaster-relief votes were. But they could draw solid bipartisan support, and that would be a big improvement over Minnesota's past few years.
-- Tom Dennis for the Herald
