A good discussion topic from Sean.
"The policy outcomes are relatively mild, other than in the ag/environment bill. What it really demonstrates is how the process is broken. We have 201 state legislators, almost all of whom are put on the sidelines while a handful of folks make the deal at the end of the session. In the back room with no transparency, no less. Reforms are needed, and here are a few that would be a good start:
End This Charade" Sean
Though I find it a bit silly. All of those folks are free to vote their conscience and not be sheep. I was the only one to comment on this post. "Maybe that is why he keeps winning elections in a fairly Conservative part of the State. He votes to represent his constituents, not his party. Just think if more politicians did this wild and crazy thing... :-)" G2A
MinnPost Collin Peterson
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The founding fathers didn't like parties. But their solution wasn't to outlaw them but to establish rules that would help to ensure that they would be ineffective. We see many of the results of that today.
--Hiram
A copy of what Jerry wrote elsewhere:
Sean, I agree reform of the process is needed, and that it is politically unlikely, divided government or no. Well, maybe if we had the GOP completely in control, they could get together and go to "zero-based budgeting" which would resolve a lot of the problems because the budget would flow from the financial requirements of each department and the policy decisions therein. Each would then pass individually, once they were all added up to see if we had the money or not. Those days of double-digit increases every two years would likely stop, and the budget bills would become a BETTER vehicle for policy decisions. Each could then be debated at length on its merits, in public and in "regular order" through the legislature. The final result would be a long series of bills, whatever passed after all debate and amendment, hopefully in time for the legislature to reconvene for a veto override rather than special session. Ah, the dream-- efficient and effective government.
Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but the latest "school shift" champ was Gov. Dayton, was it not? During negotiations, he INSISTED on a larger school shift (to cover added spending) than Republicans had proposed. Then when the GOP proposed repaying the shift early, out of a surplus, Dayton vetoed the proposal.
In case any one thinks Jerry is exaggerating about those increases... Just remember they need to be divided by 2 to get the yearly increase.
3 Minute Budget
Please remember Inflation has been averaging under 3% for a long time.
Sean,
I do agree with you that these unprofessional politicians require more milestones to keep them on track. If they can not manage their own workload like professionals, then we can treat them like poor performing team members.
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