A good smoke

I do not consider myself to be a smoker but I do enjoy a handful of cigars every year.  Today is a perfect day to sit outside with a beer and a good cigar.  But, no matter how much I'd like to I am not able to enjoy a cuban cigar. 

I have long questioned the embargo.  It is a perfect example of special interest politics.  Especially now that Florida has taken such a critical role in presidential elections neither party wants to do anything to risk angering cuban voters.

My dad was in a bunker under mortar fire in Vietnam the day I was born. It sure seems to me that if we can trade with Vietnam we should be able to trade with Cuba.

Lions on the prairie

Eden Prairie has a very active Lions group which I've always enjoyed.  They're a great group of guys.  They're dedicated to service but are more informal than some of the other community groups.  They raise money for important causes and do it in a way which is fun--from a pancake breakfast, to Schooner days, the Corn Feed, the list goes on.  And if they're at an event you can count on one other thing--there's a keg which has been tapped.  They always serve beer.

I was at the Corn Feed this past August and spent time talking to three of my favorite Lions--Gary, Tom and Mike.  Mike was trying real hard to get me to shuck some corn.  I was trying real hard to drink my beer. We were at loggerheads.

I'm going to have time on my hands next year and I'm thinking real hard about joining the Lions.  I'm pretty sure they serve beer at their meetings, too.

Class warfare

This morning the Strib ran an article which addressed Dayton's proposal to increase income taxes on the "rich."  Their polling suggested that his proposal was more popular than Emmer's to cut spending and Horner's to broaden the sales tax.

Dayton's supporters continue the cry that the "rich" don't pay their fair share of taxes.  I reject this argument. And, i'll go one step further and bet that most of those who claim that the "rich" don't pay their fair share don't fully understand the "facts" behind the argument--they just repeat the rote phrase.

Let's begin with a statement which I think is uncontroversial--the income tax is progressive.  This means that the more you make, the higher rate you pay.  I think everyone agrees this is true.

But, if this is true, how is it that some argue that the "rich" pay a lesser percentage of their income in taxes?

Simple--they mix and match taxes and make certain assumptions which are impossible to prove but which raise interesting policy questions about what exactly it is that government should tax.

I know, that explanation is vague. So, let's go a step further and explain how this works.

Other than the income tax, all other taxes (sales tax, liquor tax, gas tax) are based on a fixed percentage of the VALUE of the item you buy.  So a "rich" guy buying a keg of beer pays the same amount in taxes as a "less rich" guy buying the same keg.  You can add the property tax into this mix as well as it, too, is based on value and is not intended to be based on income.

These "flat rate" taxes have what economists call a "regressive effect," in that the "less rich" guy has to spend a greater percentage of his income to buy the keg of beer than the "rich guy."

So, to make the argument (that the "rich" don't pay enough) work liberals make various assumptions about consumption, lump all of the various "flat rate" taxes in, and then argue that the rich are paying less than their fair share.

I hate this argument by liberals for a number of reasons. First, because it lumps a bunch of taxes which have different purposes together and treats them as though they were all intended to be income taxes. Second, because it ignores the choices that people make when they buy items which are taxable. And, third because most of these "flat rate" taxes were either enacted or increased by liberals.

Think about this last point for a minute using liberal taxation logic. When the liberals increased the gas tax--a tax with a "regressive effect"--a few years back they actually increased taxes on the middle class and poor and further increased the gap by which the "rich" don't pay their fair share. Kinda ironic, isn't it?

No diving allowed

If you visit the pool at the Eden Prairie Community Center you will notice "no diving" signs everywhere. That's not unusual for a pool.  What's terrible, though, is that our pool doesn't allow diving from blocks for competitive swimming. The high school league changed the minimum depth a few years back and ever since the best swim program in the state has had to compete across town at an intermediate school.

As a former competitive swimmer I feel the pain.  I remember all-too-well how a 5th place showing by my high school's hockey team in the state tournament received more recognition than a state championship by the swim team I was on.

The wound still hasn't healed.  And that was over 25 years ago.

It's not realistic in today's economic times for our city to build the pool which EP swimmers deserve. But, I wonder how much it would cost to simply deepen the pool which we have. 

What is a godsmack?

That was the question my wife posed to me when i told her I wanted to see Godsmack at the Roy Wilkins in October.  Well, actually, she ignored me the first time I mentioned it and only began showing interest when I told her that i wanted to take our 14 year old along.  I then made what proved to be a fatal mistake--I took her to the Godsmack website and without really thinking clicked on the first audio clip I saw so that she could hear the music.  Well, in retrospect "Crying like a bitch" probably wasn't the song I wanted her to hear.

I attended my first concert in 8th grade--ELO.  I couldn't name one of their songs today but I'm sure they were more tame. I guess we'll have to wait on that concert.

Who will take charge in Eden Prairie

The race for Eden Prairie mayor starts to heat up this week with the League of Women Voters "debate."  It's not a true debate, but it will be one of the very few opportunities for candidates to try to distinguish themselves. The problem, of course, is that you'll also have six city council candidates at the same forum; so 8 people trying to divide up 1.5 hours. 

I appreciate that the LWV puts on these events. But, in honesty they should call themselves the League of Liberal Women Voters as it is clear that liberals dominate this group.  This is important at the debate primarily because you'll have a LWV member screening the audience questions--that's a lot of power to have and pretty much guarantees that any questions about taxation won't be asked.

Recently, the LWV has always permitted the question "should party endorsements be a part of local elections," so all the GOP candidates should be ready for that question.  I reject the notion that party endorsements should be any less useful to voters that newspaper endorsements or former elected official endorsements.  In fact, I suggest that party endorsements are far more relevant to voters as voters will have a much clearer idea of what a party endorsement means than, for example, an endorsement by the local paper.  Knowing nothing more, a strong liberal will likely shy away from someone holding a GOP endorsement; but, they likely will have no real idea why the local paper endorsed a candidate. 

Football Saturday in Eden Prairie

Pat's 6th grade White Sharks and Ian's 3rd grade Orange Crush both played games today.

Pat's team won.  Pat had a pretty good game. He remains the best kicker on their team. He blocked reasonably well, but needs to drive his legs some more to keep the defender from making a play.

Ian's team lost.  On offense, Ian suffered a fumble and got pancaked.  Blue had a linebacker who shot the gap every play; the center couldn't protect Ian and Ian couldn't get rid of the ball fast enough. Not his fault.  He played well at linebacker.

The Big Stall

Local politics can be a chess game.  You need to think two moves ahead all the time.

Eden Prairie is about to begin a search for a new city manager. I say "about" because this process should have started three weeks ago--it didn't because the The Big Stall.

The process by which a new city manager is selected is important and I don't mean to imply to the contrary. But, we've been hung up for the last three weeks on which search firm to use for the process.

There are only a limited number of search firms which do city manager searches. Any of them would do a fine job, and the city and the council already has personal experience with three of the top firms.

Nonetheless, it was decided that the selection of the search firm be methodical. First, an RFP. Second, an interview.  Who knows what step three will be, but the result of the first two steps is DELAY. 

We won't know any more about any of the search firms as a result of this process than we do now. And the fact is that the city frequently hires professional services firms with no RFP and no interview.

So, why all the process?  Simple--the election.  A faction on the council is hoping for a change in direction as a result of the November election so they want the final decision on the city manager to be made in 2011.  And you know what-i'm starting to think that's a good idea.

My son the artist

My oldest son is 14.  He attends school in Chanhassen.  Unlike my other three sons, he is very undemanding.  He also has very different interests.

He has an amazing imagination.  In 2007 he wrote a science fiction novel. The plot and characters were pretty simple, but I still thought it was a pretty impressive feat.

This year, he decided to try out for the school play. He has a part in Sleepin Beauty, including a solo song.  I can't imagine having the courage myself at that age to sing in public. I'm looking forward to his performance. I'm proud that he decided to do this.

Orange crush, indeed

My son Pat's 6th grade White Sharks football team was demolished last night by the Orange Crush, 32-0. It was a complete domination from start to finish.

Sure, we're still at the level where one or two playmakers can have a huge impact on a football game. And, Orange sure had those. But football is about execution and Orange was phenomenal in that regard.  Players knew their jobs, held their blocks, didn't get out of position or overcommit...It was impressive for a 6th grade team. That reflects on their coaches who this morning must be pretty happy.

Watershed district expense project in Eden Prairie

Minnesota has too many forms of government.  One form which people don't given any thought to is watershed districts.  I don't mean to malign the work they do--it's important--but it seems to be that the work could be consolidated into the work that other governments already do.

Watershed districts operate off the radar. Residents really don't pay a whole lot of attention to them. Their budgets are small when compared to cities and school districts, but most still are a couple of million dollars--that's real money.

Tonight, the Eden Prairie city council granted a land use change to permit a watershed district to build learning center in Eden Prairie.  As a taxpayer I think it's a waste of money. But, as a mayor I'm not permitted to making a land use decision which second-guesses the way another unit of government spends its budget. So, I voted to approve it. It was a hard vote as I heard from many who wanted me to vote "no" because expenditure was unnecessary.  Even after the vote I think many don't understand that i couldn't make that decision based on that criterion.

Governmental envy

I've often been envious of those who serve in state and federal government. Not because of the issues they deal with or decisions they make. No, my envy is much more simple--I wish that those in local government had the same ability to caucus.

At the local level all decisions must be debated and decided in public.  That can, and does, make for messy government as council discussion are totally unpredictable.  Some messy discussions could be avoided if individual elected officials had a better sense for how their colleagues felt on an issue. And, arguments on one side or the other of an issue could better be crafted by the advocates.

Don't misunderstand--I do not question the need for local government to make its decisions in public; that is critical.  So, too, the ability of residents to address local government before a decision is made. But, the ability for a quorum of th elected just to meet and talk through an issue in advance of the public meeting sure would be nice.  This happens all the time at other levels of government and no one bats an eye over it. Why can't we do it at the local level, too?

At whose expense?

I watched a funny clip last week about the President’s proposed middle class tax cut.  Apparently, the White House no longer likes the word “stimulus” as I think everyone now understands that “stimulus” was code for “boondoggle” in far too many cases.  So, that word was conspicuously absent from all of the talking points about this package.

A reporter asked the President if this was a “stimulus package.” He smiled and made some comment about how all of his programs are intended to grow the economy, add jobs,  etc.  He’s far to smart to be caught using the most recent forbidden word.

Soon more Americans will realize that most of the so-called “stimulus” programs were entitlement programs paid for at the expense of the taxpayer.  And the problem with entitlement programs is that ending them is very hard to do.

Are the Twins for real?

Minnesota sports fans are used to having their hearts broken. Last year it was the Vikings; one errant pass in the NFC Championship game and it was all over.

This year, the Twins have one of, if not the, best record in baseball since the All Star break.  Barring an incredible collapse they should win the division.

But, in recent history they've not gotten very far in the playoffs. Last years' series against the Yankees was brutal.  Will this year be different? Can they compete against the other AL divisions? This fan hopes so.

Pat can cook?

My son Pat spent the weekend at Shooting camp for Boy Scouts. He got to shoot a 20 gauge shot gun, bows, and some other weapons.  He had a great time.

He found out last week that he had to prepare a meal for his group of ten scouts. The meal had to be approved by the scoutmaster in advance and had to include protein, grain, and vegetable. 

Pat's first idea was hot dogs.  No go said the Scoutmaster--too easy.

Pat's second idea was grilled cheese.  Barely an improvement was the response.

On the morning of the camp out Pat decides on "chili mac surprise."  Fine, except we had none of the ingredients at home. Guess whose problem that was...

Long story short, Pat's meal was a big hit.  He even received praise from the (kinda picky if you ask me) Scoutmaster.

Finally, a skill learned that I may be able to take advantage of.

Vikings stadium redux

I see that gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner is going to announce a Vikings stadium plan this morning before the game against the Dolphins. 

Its hard to justify public dollars an a venue which could be used by the Vikings no more than 10 times a year. Sure, they could stage some additional events there, but not nearly as many as at the Metrodome.  That really is the beauty of the Metrodome--lousy for pro sports but great for other events. 

Favre's errant pass against New Orleans cost more than the ballgame; it cost the best chance the Vikings had to build momentum for a new stadium. Everyone loves a winner. 

Can they still do it? Maybe.  I think their odds would improve if they played up the nostalgia of Vikings teams past.  Not recent Vikings, but of the 1970s.  People love Bud Grant even though its been thirty years since he coached the Vikings. If I owned the Vikings, I'd have called Bud a long time ago and asked him to be a pitchman for a stadium drive.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign...

Love that old song.

I am one of those few who actually looks at campaign signs as I drive through town.  Pretty observant...or, so I thought.

I was picking my oldest up from school today when an odd sign caught my eye. Funny colors.  I looked closer and saw my first Tom Horner sign.  In Chanhassen no less.

I thought about the sign a few seconds more and it suddenly struck me---I haven't seen a single Mark Dayton sign. Not a one.  Maybe i'm too focused on local politics but I still should have realized earlier that no one apparently wants to put Mark's sign up.

Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe he intentionally hasn't put his signs up yet. That would be a mistake of a different proportion.  It's mid-September. Signs gotta be up or people will start to talk.

Horner's at 18%, I heard today. That's pretty good for a guy with no dough.  He needs that number to slowly increase--people love a bandwagon.  And he needs to start raising and spending some money.

I like Horner. He seems a decent fellow. And he might make a good governor. But, I abandoned my party only once--1992 when I voted for Ross Perot. I never forgave myself for that.

Gary for parks superintendent

Two things came to mind as I read today’s story about Speaker Kelliher being a finalist for Mpls parks superintendent.

Point One–she might be the best person for the job.  Who knows? A big part of those jobs is politicing and engaging with the public. She has those skills in spades.  I’m sure the parks board is full of bureaucrats who know the nuts and bolts of running park systems.  Maybe they don’t need another one.

Is there some political patronage going on here? Sure. But, let’s face it–both in the private and public sectors, connections matter. If Eden Prairie had a park system which operated separately from the City i’d do all that I could to get my friend Gary appointed to the job.  He has his fingers on the pulse of the city, as they say, and I trust his judgment.  Those are important factors which shouldn’t be minimized.

Point two–why exactly does Minneapolis have a separate parks board? That’s the far more intriguing issue as I bet most taxpayers in Minneapolis don’t think of the duplication of administrative staff, police (yes, Mpls has park police) and equipment.

A few years back I used to run around Lakes Harriet and Calhoun in the winter.  No matter how bad the snowfall the night before, if you could get the to Lakes on the city streets (which often proved very difficult) by 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning the paths around the Lakes were snow-free.  As a runner, I sure appreciated that luxury, but it seems kind of silly in retrospect that those resources would be spent on paths when streets were still a mess.

Another tiger scout

Riley is our youngest.  Last night he joined Cub Scout pack 479 as a tiger cub. He was pretty excited to receive the orange neckerchief and slide.

It's hard to believe that we've been involved in scouting for seven years.

Scouting has been good for our boys.  They love the campouts. And, they learn practical skills along the way. It builds self-confidence, too.

Our oldest two are now Boy Scouts. I hope they stick it out all the way to Eagle. I think it starts getting tough around 10th grade and a lot of boys start dropping out.

You look taller on t.v.

I was at a son's football game last night and a kind-hearted dad volunteered to help me with my re-election campaign.  He was only mildly embarrased to hear that I wasn't actually running for re-election.

In early August I was at a neighbor's party and after having introduced myself ("Hi, I'm Phil Young") and spoken to a guest for ten minutes or so he says to me "doesn't the mayor live around here"?

I've got a ton of good stories from my fours years as mayor.  From those who think it's a full time job to those who are incredulous that anyone would do it for $10,000/year--yeah, me too.

My favorite story came from a visit a few years back to Prairie View elementary school.  A second grader wanted to know where my security detail was.  She seemed genuinely worried that I was alone. 

I've got the time and now the medium.  Stay tuned.

White sharks go 2-0

Pat plays football with the White Sharks.  He's been on the same team for three years now. It's a good team and is well-coached.

Pat plays tight end and defensive end. He also kicks off. He's got a good leg.  He could probably stick with his blocks a little longer, though.

What price government?

As i've mentioned before it is budget time for the city of Eden Prairie. That means a whole lot of numbers, statistics, predictions, and some down right lies.

The current city council has three conservatives and two liberals.  And, by use of the term "liberal" I do not mean to be pejorative. I just prefer that term to the nonsensical term "progressive," which liberals now seem to prefer. Progress towards what, exactly?

The liberals try to talk like conservatives as long as they can. Indeed, at last week's city council meeting all five members said they favored a 0% increase budget for 2011.  But, when it came time to vote only two actually voted that way.  (the story about the stray conservative who voted with the liberals is too complicated for this short post).

An argument sure to be heard as we move towards a final budget (last week's was only preliminary) will be that whatever spending increase the liberals support amounts only to a nominal amount per year per household.  That statement will be factually correct--if you spread out a $2 million increase in our budget over 20,000 tax paying parcels in town the amount will be small. But, it's still $2 million.

As a country we got into trouble because we didn't ask what things cost; we asked what the monthly payment was.  That's how people ended up buying cars, houses, and governments that they can't afford.

farewell, Wolfie

My wife and children are dog lovers. I am more of a dog tolerator.

Yesterday, my parents put their dog Wolfie to sleep. He was old, fat, incontinent, and had difficulty walking and standing up. But, he was loved by my parents and all of their grandchildren--and I think that he knew that.  Perhaps that eased whatever pain he felt as his body slowly failed.

I accompanied my dad to the vet.  He was more shook up than I expected him to be.

My son Patrick was especially unhappy that I didn't give him the opportunity to say "good-bye" to Wolfie. He is the most sensitive of my four boys.

The boys knew my parents were sad and wanted to express their sympathies. After some deliberation on what to do, we agreed on the attached video.

My boys will miss Wolfie.

the next mayor of Eden Prairie

The race to succeed me as mayor has been pretty quiet so far. Sure, some lawn signs have come up; but, signs don't vote.  I have no sense that either candidate is working the doors--and you need to work doors in order to win local elections.  Back in 2006 I beat a heavily favored candidate by doing two things:  knocking on 10,000 doors and a nice compare/contrast mailer to voters the week before the election. It's an easy formula that either candidate could duplicate.

This year's mayoral race is of particular importance as it could sway the future direction of the city council.  We have a five member city council which is now balanced at 3 conservatives and two liberals.  This year the mayor's seat and two of the four council seats are up for grabs; one of the council seats is occupied by Jon Duckstad, who is running for mayor. 

It is likely that liberals will capture the two council seats, including the seat currently held by Jon.  One would think that would mean a shift in the council irrespective of the mayor's race; but, that's not so because one of the incumbent council members (whose seat is not up this year) is running for state office.  If he wins, Jon wins, and the two liberals win council seats then the council will be split 2-2.

The law provides that the council gets to appoint any vacancies. The law also provides that if the council vote results in a tie that the mayor alone gets to fill the seat.

That's why the mayor's race is so important.  It could determine the continuation of a conservative council.

Minnesota elections, a mayor's view

Today it was announced that former Gov. Arne Carlson is endorsing Tom Horner (I) for governor.

That Governor Carlson has (again) abandoned the Republican party should come as no surprise. He seems to relish it. In fact, I think he should stop identifying as a Republican. Two general elections away from the party (he endorsed Obama in 2008) and you’re out in my book.

I don’t think Arne is a barometer for very much, if ever he was. But, I do think this is a good year for a strong third party candidate. I hear from many in the middle that they can’t bring themselves to vote for Dayton (D) or Emmer (R). But, does that mean that these people will, without more, vote for a third party candidate? No, because of the Theory of the Wasted Vote.

Those who actually bring themselves to the voting booth want to believe that they’re voting for a (possible) winner. Very few (read: Nader voters) want to use the ballot box to prove a point.

Thus, while the votes are there for the taking, Horner has to earn them. Can he? That’s the question.

Fourth in line in Minnesota

Mona and I have four sons. While some may think being "the baby" is a good position to be in, there's another side to this birth order.

This fall we have two sons playing football and three sons involved in scouting.  This makes Monday and Wednesday nights something of a nightmare as we have three activities on occasion.

When it came time to look at fall schedules, the oldest three got priority. So, when youth soccer didn't fit into the schedule, poor son number four ended up without a fall sport. 

He's a pretty easy going kid and he's only six years old, so he really has no idea that he got bumped.

Orange crush wins late

Football in Eden Prairie starts in 3rd grade.  The games are pretty messy. But, the kids love them.

Today, Ian's Orange crush team won its first game on a last second play which went 70 yards. It was a great finish.

Ian is quarterback. He played a great game, but got hit a number of times.  His quarterback boot to the right side of the line works pretty well; i'm sure it will lead to a touchdown pretty soon.

Ian is number 11.  Two seconds after this picture he gets crushed by his friend, Walker, wearing 55 red.

Miscellania

I'm on the board of directors of a local financial institution.  I like to have varied interests and I'm lucky that i've always been able to fit them into my schedule. I hope that continues.  The financial is in the middle of a fair amount of change and I'd like to do my part to finish the overhaul that we started.  It's very interesting not only because of the economic climate we're in but also because of the changing government regulations. I think we'll see a lot more consolidation of the financials with assets of less than $1 billion; and a further consolidation of the various financial regulators into one super-regulator. 

I just came home from a local high school football game. I saw a variety of local political candidates there. They all act the same way--standing in the rain waiting to be recognized or given credit for being there. I can't claim to be the most outgoing person in the world, but I've always had an ability to "turn it on" in the right place.  For heaven's sake...work the crowd.  Shake a couple of hands. Go to the press booth and ask to make an announcment for the school at half-time.  Don't just stand there.

stay-at-home dad or consultant?

When we lived in Los Angeles we were well exposed to the joke that every waiter/waitress in town is really an actor waiting to be discovered.

I've found a similar situation with some stay-at-home dads who seem uneasy with that designation and are quick to call themselves a consultant or a trainer or (fill in the blank).  I think staying home with a child is an honorable and important calling and I've never seen any reason for people to minimize it.

Since late July, I've been a stay-at-home dad, although i really didn't start that job in earnest until Mona started working two weeks ago.  Until then I shamelessly slept in while she pretty much did what she's always done, which is almost everything around the house.

It's a hard job which I hope isn't long-term.  But, until I figure out exactly what it is that I want to do I'm not gonna sugar-coat it--I'm a stay-at-home dad. 

Changes at home

My wife Mona re-entered the work force full-time two weeks ago.  While we had talked for some time about her returning to full-time work when our youngest entered full-day school, it has nonetheless been a stressful event.   

I know things will get easier for her with time, but right now she spends a lot of time at night and on the weekend doing "homework" and otherwise preparing for her job.  She is very hard-working and conscientious!  She recognizes that she's been given a great opportunity.  We were very lucky in today's economy to find something which is challenging and which will help her refresh her skills.

I'm proud of her.

Duckstad has a good night

Council member Jon Duckstad is running to succeed me as mayor of Eden Prairie. He was in good form tonight.  He moved to freeze the budget for 2011; the ensuing debate was long. His motion failed but he made his point--he's committed to fighting for the taxpayer.  That's a winning message.

Slow running today

I ran the Victory 10K in North Minneapolis this morning. It's a great community race and my favorite 10K.  The course is nice and flat and the local Lions and other groups do a great job of making it a fun event.  I've run it five times; today was my slowest race by far. But, I wasn't running for time. 

You know your perspective on running has changed when after the race you reach for a hot dog and not a banana!

http://www.raceberryjam.com/indexrr.html

notre dame wins!

Notre Dame won its opener yesterday against Purdue. It wasn't very pretty, but it was a win. Big news in the Young household, as my boys love to watch football with me.  And, a good start makes it more likely that we'll roadtrip out for a game this year. 

Pat and Ian have their first football games this year.  The Eden Prairie Football Association starts contact football in third grade.  It is hard to think of my 55 pound 8 year old playing football, but the kids don't move that fast so i suppose the collisions will be manageable for him.

Ian Young, Eden Prairie football star

Fall is in the air in Eden Prairie

Yesterday's high was in the 60s. The three oldest boys and I went to the Twins game at Target Field. Many fans were wearing hats and warm jackets.

The boys enjoyed the game. Whether they would have done so absent new hats and plenty of treats i'd rather not know.

I enjoy the cooler temperature.  I have a harder time getting accustomed to the shorter days.