Some friends were kind enough to invite us to the Wild game last Sunday. The varied reactions of my kids to the invitation was pretty interesting.
My youngest is a happy-go-lucky kid. Invite him to drive to Target and he's thrilled. So his immediate "yeah!" to the invitation was not a surprise.
My oldest doesn't reveal much so he can be hard to read. But, he seemed interested and actually had a nice time, so that was good.
Son number two initially demurred, claiming not to be much of a hockey fan. "There will be food in the suite," I quietly said and his predictable reaction "Food?! Is this with the ****s? They always have great seats! Then I'm totally in."
Son three loves sports. So I knew he'd say "yes" and that the Wild would be his favorite team, ever, by the time the game was over.
The boys had a great time at the game. And, I luckily escaped without having to buy too many souveneirs. That's always a bonus.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Valentine's day gets tricky
My two oldest boys are 14 and 11. My 11 year old is slowly starting to indicate an interest in girls. My 14 year old is far less subtle-he's interested and isn't shy about saying so.
As a dad, this makes me kinda nervous. I certainly don't want them to repeat the silly mistakes I made when I was their age. And yet, I'm not entirely comfortable talking with them about it.
On the Sunday before Valentine's day my hand was kinda forced. My oldest was pacing around and finally asked his mom to buy a box of chocolates which he wanted to give to a girl at school the next day. Mom wasn't convinced it was a good idea; I wasn't either. But, we certainly didn't want to discourage him.
I finally sat him down on the couch and tried to talk with him about it. It was awkward. He ultimately decided that the box of chocolates wasn't yet a good idea and we talked about other ways in which he could let the girl know that he liked her.
For a moment I felt like I had done my fatherly duty--passing on wisom to my oldest son. I encouraged him to talk to me any time that he needed advice about girls. He nodded, and then asked me whether I had dated a lot of girls when I was his age. "No," I had to honestly admit, "I didn't." "Well," my son says after a slight pause, "maybe your advice isn't so good, then."
As a dad, this makes me kinda nervous. I certainly don't want them to repeat the silly mistakes I made when I was their age. And yet, I'm not entirely comfortable talking with them about it.
On the Sunday before Valentine's day my hand was kinda forced. My oldest was pacing around and finally asked his mom to buy a box of chocolates which he wanted to give to a girl at school the next day. Mom wasn't convinced it was a good idea; I wasn't either. But, we certainly didn't want to discourage him.
I finally sat him down on the couch and tried to talk with him about it. It was awkward. He ultimately decided that the box of chocolates wasn't yet a good idea and we talked about other ways in which he could let the girl know that he liked her.
For a moment I felt like I had done my fatherly duty--passing on wisom to my oldest son. I encouraged him to talk to me any time that he needed advice about girls. He nodded, and then asked me whether I had dated a lot of girls when I was his age. "No," I had to honestly admit, "I didn't." "Well," my son says after a slight pause, "maybe your advice isn't so good, then."
Sunday, February 13, 2011
public sector compensation
The Strib has written a few stories now about public sector compensation and the efforts by the GOP majority in St. Paul to reduce or cap any increases. One of the arguments leveled against these efforts is that the dollars involved in any such initiative are a drop in the bucket when compared to the state's budget deficit.
This counter argument makes no sense to me and illustrates well the disconnect which those in the public sector unfortunately have when in comes to compensation and benefits.
Public employees should be fairly paid for the important work which they do. But, their compensation and benefits needs to reflect the realities of the private sector.
Two years ago, as the current recession was causing record lay-offs and salary freezes (or reductions) across Minnesota, I suggested to our then city manager that we needed to reflect that reality in the budget we were working on. I'll never forget his response--"why should our employees suffer because of what's going on in the private sector; the demand for our services hasn't changed..." Slightly paraphrased given the passage of time, but that was the gist.
Ultimately, city headcount was reduced by 6 (out of 270 or so) and wages were frozen for one year. Neither is immaterial, but both are quite modest when compared to the private sector.
I tend to agree, too, that the public pension should be a thing of the past. In the private sector if you're lucky enough to save $800,000 in a 401k you can expect about $40,000 a year in retirement income, assuming safe investments. Of course, most Americans don't save that much in a 401k. But, that same yearly income is far easier to come by for public employees. Should it be? Especially given today's long life expectancies, I think that's simply too generous.
This counter argument makes no sense to me and illustrates well the disconnect which those in the public sector unfortunately have when in comes to compensation and benefits.
Public employees should be fairly paid for the important work which they do. But, their compensation and benefits needs to reflect the realities of the private sector.
Two years ago, as the current recession was causing record lay-offs and salary freezes (or reductions) across Minnesota, I suggested to our then city manager that we needed to reflect that reality in the budget we were working on. I'll never forget his response--"why should our employees suffer because of what's going on in the private sector; the demand for our services hasn't changed..." Slightly paraphrased given the passage of time, but that was the gist.
Ultimately, city headcount was reduced by 6 (out of 270 or so) and wages were frozen for one year. Neither is immaterial, but both are quite modest when compared to the private sector.
I tend to agree, too, that the public pension should be a thing of the past. In the private sector if you're lucky enough to save $800,000 in a 401k you can expect about $40,000 a year in retirement income, assuming safe investments. Of course, most Americans don't save that much in a 401k. But, that same yearly income is far easier to come by for public employees. Should it be? Especially given today's long life expectancies, I think that's simply too generous.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
the path of least resistance
They say that kids have their personalities well developed by the time they enter school. For the longest time I thought that was a bunch of baloney. I'm now starting to believe it. My two oldest are in 8th and 6th grade and I think their behavior patters are pretty well developed. They're both good kids, but predictible.
I still remember telling my 6th grader a few years ago that "the end" is not a sentence--yes, he had to write a paragraph for school and did the bare minimum.
Today, he's the first one home from school and one of his jobs is to shovel snow. I don't expect him to clear the driveway. But, if the plow has come by I expect him to clear the base of the driveway so that a car can make it in. And, we have just an inch or two of light fluffy snow, I expect him to clear that.
It's been a snowy winter. And a winter full of excuses. "I didn't notice that the plow came" lasted for a couple weeks. Now, his trick is to make a "path" for my car tires, figuring why shovel more than he absolutely has to in order for me to get my car in the driveway. He actually measured the distance between my tires to make sure the "path" was the right width. Ingenious, but lazy.
I still remember telling my 6th grader a few years ago that "the end" is not a sentence--yes, he had to write a paragraph for school and did the bare minimum.
Today, he's the first one home from school and one of his jobs is to shovel snow. I don't expect him to clear the driveway. But, if the plow has come by I expect him to clear the base of the driveway so that a car can make it in. And, we have just an inch or two of light fluffy snow, I expect him to clear that.
It's been a snowy winter. And a winter full of excuses. "I didn't notice that the plow came" lasted for a couple weeks. Now, his trick is to make a "path" for my car tires, figuring why shovel more than he absolutely has to in order for me to get my car in the driveway. He actually measured the distance between my tires to make sure the "path" was the right width. Ingenious, but lazy.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
That's kids for you
I am a den leader for Son #3's cub scout den. This means that I need to host den meetings at my house and drive other people's kids to various events. The following discussion took place as I was driving the den to the Richardson Nature Center for a field trip.
Scout one: "your car is kind of messy"
Scout two: "yeah, but his house is clean"
Scout one: "his living room is clean, but his basement is messy, too"
Scout two: "you're right, his basement is messy"
I really wanted to spank the both of them. But, i'm pretty sure my den leader training manual says that I can't.
Scout one: "your car is kind of messy"
Scout two: "yeah, but his house is clean"
Scout one: "his living room is clean, but his basement is messy, too"
Scout two: "you're right, his basement is messy"
I really wanted to spank the both of them. But, i'm pretty sure my den leader training manual says that I can't.
the slow death of the budget advisory commission
I first mentioned the idea of a budget advisory commission in early 2006 when I was a council member. I mentioned it during a "council member report" at the end of a council meeting and suggested that we discuss the concept further at the next council meeting. I was surprised that every member of the council (at least initially) thought it was a good idea.
What followed was a lesson in politics as three of our council members changed their minds by the time of the next council meeting and the idea was killed. I remember smiling to myself as I heard each of three opponents voice the same concerns about having a citizen group involved in our budgeting process.
I wasn't too troubled by the council's change in direction because it was really a no-lose situation--if they agreed with me then I could take the credit for creating the commission; conversely, if they disagreed with me I had a nice talking point for the upcoming mayoral campaign.
The budget advisory commission was established in 2007, following my election as mayor in the fall of 2006. The BAC was filled with pretty high octane folks who spent a lot of time studying our budget and making recommendations to the city council.
City staff never liked the BAC. More about that later.
That the BAC made recommendations which the council adopted was a bonus as to me the real beauty of the BAC was that it made our budgeting process far more open to our residents and taxpayers.
Not everyone wanted that kind of openness, though. Some would rather that certain issues not be publicly discussed. Some complained that the BAC's recommendations were infringing on the council's obligation to make policy for the city.
It's this last point--that the BAC was infringing on policy--that prompted this post as I read in the local paper last week that the new council intends to re-focus the BAC because of this supposed concern.
The city has many commissions--planning, park and rec, conservation, human rights, and a few others. Each of these commissions, if they are to do anything useful, "infringes" on city policy as part of their work. They always have and they always will. The important point, though, is that each of these commissions can only make recommendations to the council--this is the important distinction to keep in mind. It is for the council to consider and then accept or reject any "policy" recommendation. And, the council has accepted or rejected recommendations from all of its commissions.
The politicians on the city council are too smart to disband the BAC--that would be too easy an action to criticize. So, when you hear people say that the BAC needs to be re-directed to keep it away from "policy" issues that's just political speak for killing the BAC. I think that's a shame.
What followed was a lesson in politics as three of our council members changed their minds by the time of the next council meeting and the idea was killed. I remember smiling to myself as I heard each of three opponents voice the same concerns about having a citizen group involved in our budgeting process.
I wasn't too troubled by the council's change in direction because it was really a no-lose situation--if they agreed with me then I could take the credit for creating the commission; conversely, if they disagreed with me I had a nice talking point for the upcoming mayoral campaign.
The budget advisory commission was established in 2007, following my election as mayor in the fall of 2006. The BAC was filled with pretty high octane folks who spent a lot of time studying our budget and making recommendations to the city council.
City staff never liked the BAC. More about that later.
That the BAC made recommendations which the council adopted was a bonus as to me the real beauty of the BAC was that it made our budgeting process far more open to our residents and taxpayers.
Not everyone wanted that kind of openness, though. Some would rather that certain issues not be publicly discussed. Some complained that the BAC's recommendations were infringing on the council's obligation to make policy for the city.
It's this last point--that the BAC was infringing on policy--that prompted this post as I read in the local paper last week that the new council intends to re-focus the BAC because of this supposed concern.
The city has many commissions--planning, park and rec, conservation, human rights, and a few others. Each of these commissions, if they are to do anything useful, "infringes" on city policy as part of their work. They always have and they always will. The important point, though, is that each of these commissions can only make recommendations to the council--this is the important distinction to keep in mind. It is for the council to consider and then accept or reject any "policy" recommendation. And, the council has accepted or rejected recommendations from all of its commissions.
The politicians on the city council are too smart to disband the BAC--that would be too easy an action to criticize. So, when you hear people say that the BAC needs to be re-directed to keep it away from "policy" issues that's just political speak for killing the BAC. I think that's a shame.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A period of adjustment
I've neglected to blog for about a month. It's not that I haven't had anything to say--no, it's just that I'm struggling to find the right balance on my subject matter.
I want this blog to be a combination of personal matters and politics. Last year-when i was an elected official-i tried pretty hard to avoid discussing specific decisions made by the city council.
Now that i've left elected office I'm finding that balance even harder. Although I often threatened that I'd become a critic after my term of office had ended that's not exactly what I have in mind.
I don't want to become one of those former elected who project sour grapes whenever they talk. I had a great run and I wish the current city council all the best.
That doesn't mean I'll give them a pass--no, I have some pretty strong opinions on the difficult subjects which will face this council and I will share those opinions. It just means my posts will be less frequent until I find the right balance of respectful comments on issues of legitimate interest.
I want this blog to be a combination of personal matters and politics. Last year-when i was an elected official-i tried pretty hard to avoid discussing specific decisions made by the city council.
Now that i've left elected office I'm finding that balance even harder. Although I often threatened that I'd become a critic after my term of office had ended that's not exactly what I have in mind.
I don't want to become one of those former elected who project sour grapes whenever they talk. I had a great run and I wish the current city council all the best.
That doesn't mean I'll give them a pass--no, I have some pretty strong opinions on the difficult subjects which will face this council and I will share those opinions. It just means my posts will be less frequent until I find the right balance of respectful comments on issues of legitimate interest.
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