Letter - Ounce of prevention

Jerry H.
02/28/2010 1:19 PM

Whine, Whine, Whine .... Why was it OK for 'undercover Jackie" and her posse of Amigos to attack me for article content I put forth in a letter, but it is bad, bad, bad for me or anyone else to point out the complete folly of what the author of this letter has written? Is "Jackie" claiming that the Minnesota State Legislature is not dominated by members of the DFL? Is she claiming everything going wrong in Minnesota is solely the responsibility of the Governor? And yet, everything going wrong in DC is still Bush's fault - not the fault of the current Administration? Where did this person get her PhD in critical, logical analysis?

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Amos A.
Garfield, MN     02/28/2010 7:33 AM

OK. I'll bite. Jackie K is complaining about posters who get personal. Notice, however, that both posts she references were in response to the article. So how do Jackie's posts rate on her "editor's request" sacle? Do either one of them have anything to do with the topic? Or is she just getting personal? (Same as I just did.)

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Kay P.
02/27/2010 9:21 PM

Let's talk about MN Government...let's talk about the budget....let's talk about how the STATE is freaking BROKE and basically robbing from one program to fund another. Imagine that they are still trying to legislate and create more ways to spend money the STATE hasn't even collected yet.

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Jackie K.
02/27/2010 6:26 PM

And another one just doesn't get it!!! "Like-minded extreme right wing lemming. I. Bushland, TX 02/26/2010 8:17 AM Ditto - "Written like a true, narrowly focused partisan."

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Jackie K.
02/27/2010 6:25 PM

I see that Jerry H HAS NOT FOLLOWED the editor's request to not get personal with the comments. How many times does the editor have to post that request before the message is understood? "Jerry H. Casa Grande, AZ 02/26/2010 5:50 AM Written like a true, narrowly focused partisan, Mr. Davis. Everything is always the other guy's fault. The last I checked there was a legislative body in the State of Minnesota, dominated by members of the DFL Party. You can't blame all Minnesota's ills solely on Governor Pawlenty. It appears you want to, but that just makes you something of a laughing stock ....."

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Kay P.
02/26/2010 10:42 AM

Just let me add, I remember a day when HS STUDENTS had the ability to letter and get recognition for "service" within their public school. It wasn't all that long ago, either, but I suspect it changed when someone thought that the adult employment numbers needed a little boost. Now, at my kids' school, they went from using students as teacher's aides and office help or library assistants, to placing ADULTS in those positions(public jobs), complete with a paycheck that digs into the funding of the school district. Now, each elementary grade has at least one dedicated aide...who, I might add, may not have any post secondary education related to teaching, but has the ability to provide supplementary help to a teacher, anything from secretarial to supervision of the class. A few have some teaching capacity and their higher pay reflects their additional schooling. Incidentally, class sizes are smaller, yet we have a larger STAFF than 20 years ago, to provide paltry education results. Who's bright idea was it to END what was a great volunteer program within public schools? It was FREE! It's made a come back, under a new name, with a new job title for anyone with the qualifications to administrate it. It also seeks to incentivise that volunteering with education grants. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1388/show Imagine...20 years ago, local schools made use of volunteerism, with not additional cost to a single taxpayer...what do you think of Congress now? There is another chunk of JOBS, hidden in this Act. I guess, since my daughter as long ago earned her minimun hours of "service" I better make sure she gets "credit" for her efforts at student tutoring this year. I suppose it will mean that someone will have to become an administrator of such program...yet ANOTHER public payroll to fund.

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Kay P.
02/26/2010 9:36 AM

It's really sad to note that the entitlements (public programs, some created as mandates by the FED, and underfunded), payroll and retirement legacy of our public offficials and all of their "support" staff, along with the high education costs(both k-12 and post secondary) payroll, pension, and operating costs, and other "do-good" public projects are what is KILLING our state's budget. Who created those jobs? EVERYONE of them got a start as a line in some bill, then grew out of a figment of someone's imaginative "need". The agency didn't exist until it was the brainstorm of a special interest, and they bent the ear of a sympathetic lawmaker. Take a long look at what OUR STATE is doing for it's people. At the time, it may have made sense to create a commission to address a problem area, BUT, the time has come to DE-FUND some of those redundant and ineffective or limited "public good" areas of our State government that are using up limited resources on very limited special interests. Commissions and boards...didn't exist until they were created "for the state of MN". Who votes for those spending projects? Our representatives at the state level...and they most graciously grease the loudest "wheel" that puts gas in their campaign vehicle. Who fails to stand up to a Union and tell them their performance SUCKS? At the state level, the government. They can't make demands that teachers increase their performance. MCA scores show our schools are UNDER-PERFORMING. They can make all the excuses they want to, but excuses aren't solutions. WE, the people, need to clean out MN government at the voting booth. State legislators LACK the cahones to cut programs...they refuse to acknowledge that they've been taking in the strays and now the "pound" is overrun and the dog/cat food is long gone. Those folks that want a better grasp, need to go visit the Government Phone Directory for http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?az_type=description&subchannel=-536887676&programid=536906629&sc3=null&sc2=null&id=-8494&agency=NorthStar Maybe give those commissions, agencies and boards a call. Find out what they get for funding, how that funding is spent, how many "employees" as well as appointed commissioners and consultants, and what their operation costs are for the fiscal year...have them DEFINE their purpose...then go digging. I believe MN is at the ECONOMIC cliff, and we need to seriously re-evaluate each and every program that it is required by law to fund. Anything that is of little public good is CUT completely. Anything that is of limited scope, de-commissioned and it's purpose absorbed by a related agency, or commission. It's employees can apply for the limited jobs left over. Good employees have NOTHING to worry about. Poor performing employees are shown the door. Perhaps, the only people to hate the fact that Pawlenty has no choice but to cut funding...are probably the same folks that think every commission, agency and board is absolutely necessary for the world to turn. I got news for them, life goes on...the limted scope of what government was intended to provide for society has grown to epic proportions and allowed to SPEND money it has yet to receive. All of those extra special interest programs have been charged up on the State's "credit card" and now tax revenues and fed grants and allotments can't foot the bill. It's alarming that there are genuine "nanny-staters" that would rather let the government pull all the strings and call the shots. It's really too bad that some people aren't confident in their own ability to make decisions that they would rather let some entity do it for them. The disconnect from "personal responsibiility" and "living within a budget" is a "new" affliction and it's dragging society down. Blame Pawlenty all you want, the next GOVENOR will get the same paintjob...legislators picked the color out long ago.

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Like-minded extreme right wing lemming. I.
02/26/2010 8:17 AM

Ditto - "Written like a true, narrowly focused partisan."

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Roger D.
02/26/2010 6:52 AM

Mr. Davis, You have your title reversed. I am always in support of reasonable prevention. The ailments which you are referencing have been created by tons of cure to provide an ounce of prevention. We are now all suffering from the side effects of the overkill. As we can not any longer accept responsibility for our own behavior, It must be the governors fault!

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Jerry H.
02/26/2010 5:50 AM

Written like a true, narrowly focused partisan, Mr. Davis. Everything is always the other guy's fault. The last I checked there was a legislative body in the State of Minnesota, dominated by members of the DFL Party. You can't blame all Minnesota's ills solely on Governor Pawlenty. It appears you want to, but that just makes you something of a laughing stock .....

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