The Wall Street Journal has a front page story (subscription required) today reporting the unthinkable: America is set to become a net fuel exporter for the first time in 62 years.
As I discussed on Monday, America's imports of foreign crude oil have fallen from 60 percent a few years ago to below 46 percent today. Everyone was aware of our dependence on foreign crude. What was less well known was our growing dependence on finished products: we were importing a growing amount of our gasoline, diesel fuel, and the like from such unfriendly locales as Venezuela.
Now the tide has turned, and despite the still large crude oil imports, our exports of gasoline, jet fuel and such have grown large enough to just about tip the balance. America is set to become a net exporter for the first time since 1949, the Journal reports.
The cloud around this silver lining is that it took a severe recession to make it happen: when our economy was going well back in 2005, we were big importers. With our economy in the doldrums, we are exporting to more dynamic economies in Latin America and Asia. Nonetheless, these export opportunities are fueling new investment and job gains at Gulf Coast refineries and terminals, with ripple effects across the country.
Against this backdrop, the Minneapolis Star Tribune carries a commentary by Charles Ebinger arguing that "Democrats need to get real about U.S. energy policy." Ebinger is a self-described Democrat and director of the liberal Brookings Institution's Energy Security Initiative. He believes that Democrats are getting it wrong on energy policy,
"Increased domestic oil production, coupled with growing imports of Canadian oil sands, would result in a reduction of non-North American oil imports, leading to a significant improvement in the country's yawning trade deficit. Increased gas production would be valuable for cleaner electricity generation (when compared with coal) and could also signal a revival of the U.S. industrial and petrochemical sectors. Further, if natural gas could be deployed in the commercial heavy-duty vehicle fleet, we would be able to reduce our oil imports dramatically. We may even be able to export gas to our allies and trading partners."
For the first time in my lifetime, we have the prospect of achieving true energy independence. Rather than being a drag on our economy and limiting our growth, domestic production and refining of conventional energy sources could actually drive an export-led economic recovery.
If we let it.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
A good idea from MNDOT
Here is my chance to say something nice about Minnesota's Department of Transportation. The St. Cloud Times reports that MNDOT is studying the movement of freight on Interstate 94 and considering the construction of a freeway connection between I-94 and U.S. Highway 10 to improve freight traffic flow on the busy corridor between Fargo and Minneapolis. This kind of long-range infrastructure planning is exactly what we need more of in Minnesota, and less emphasis on high speed rail and other such boondoggles.
Bravo, MNDOT!
Bravo, MNDOT!
Updated: Tempest in a Trash Can
[Updated: As expected, the Maplewood City Council voted to end competition for trash collection in that eastern Minnesota suburban community. The 4-1 vote capped a contentious meeting. Chalk it up to a cautionary tale about representatives not listening to voters and the dangers of lame duck legislative sessions. As least the citizens went down fighting.]
The St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb of Maplewood hasall but decided to end competition among garbage haulers in the city and award one company a monopoly franchise. Somehow the lame-duck City Council has decided that this will somehow save residents money in the long run.
The real driver behind this wholesale silliness is Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency, (PCA) who are convinced that all those competing trucks driving down the street are bad for the environment (diesel fumes) and everything would be so much tidier if only one monopoly provider were at work. Capitalism often turns out to be a messier business than our enlightened central planners would prefer. The PCA couldn't sell this policy to the state legislators, so they are taking their 300-page study of how capitalism doesn't work on the road. The PCA is now trying to convince each city to drop garbage competition. I'm not sure what state law authorizes a state agency to lobby city by city for its own agenda, but no matter.
As usual, the people are ahead of their leaders. The Star Tribune quotes one Maplewood resident, Sue Stark,
"They are not saving me any money," said Stark, who pays about $16 a month for service. "They are taking away my rights."
Sorry Ms. Stark, as usual, your rights were in the way.
The St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb of Maplewood has
The real driver behind this wholesale silliness is Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency, (PCA) who are convinced that all those competing trucks driving down the street are bad for the environment (diesel fumes) and everything would be so much tidier if only one monopoly provider were at work. Capitalism often turns out to be a messier business than our enlightened central planners would prefer. The PCA couldn't sell this policy to the state legislators, so they are taking their 300-page study of how capitalism doesn't work on the road. The PCA is now trying to convince each city to drop garbage competition. I'm not sure what state law authorizes a state agency to lobby city by city for its own agenda, but no matter.
As usual, the people are ahead of their leaders. The Star Tribune quotes one Maplewood resident, Sue Stark,
"They are not saving me any money," said Stark, who pays about $16 a month for service. "They are taking away my rights."
Sorry Ms. Stark, as usual, your rights were in the way.
Monday, November 28, 2011
America's New Deal for Global Energy
Today's Wall Street Journal "Heard on the Street" column (subscription required) discusses America's improving energy independence ("America's New Deal for Global Energy Mix"). Observing that the U.S. now imports less than half of its oil, down from 60 percent just a few years ago, the Journal's Liam Denning explores the implications of this shift on world energy markets.
In fact, the share of imported oil continues to fall, now below 46 percent, due in no small part to North Dakota, where crude oil production has more than quadrupled since 2005. The share of natural gas imports has also fallen.
Denning reports that the oversupply of natural gas, as a result of the shale gas revolution, is causing some to consider exports.
The drop in oil imports could put a de facto cap on world oil prices and improve America's trade deficit, Denning speculates.
All of this is good news, should we let it continue.
In fact, the share of imported oil continues to fall, now below 46 percent, due in no small part to North Dakota, where crude oil production has more than quadrupled since 2005. The share of natural gas imports has also fallen.
Denning reports that the oversupply of natural gas, as a result of the shale gas revolution, is causing some to consider exports.
The drop in oil imports could put a de facto cap on world oil prices and improve America's trade deficit, Denning speculates.
All of this is good news, should we let it continue.
Why Companies are Leaving California
We hear frequently about the dire economic conditions in California and that companies are leaving in droves. But Steve Malanga has the bill of particulars in the Autumn issue of City Journal's California edition.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Prosperity is not always pretty
As Walter Russell Mead points out on his blog, prosperity is not always pretty when we find it in the wild, unlike this achingly beautiful photo essay in the January 2008 National Geographic on the ghost towns of western North Dakota. Now less than four years later those ghost towns are springing back to life with oil and gas exploration, and it's all so...untidy. Fifth generation newspaper mogul A.G. Sulzberger writes in his great-great-grandfather's newspaper of the boom town horrors being visited upon the once-unspoilt prairie.
More than ten years ago, when young A.G. was just a teen, his father's newspaper was writing off North Dakota, and not for the first or last time. ("As Others Abandon Plains, Indians and Bison Come Back") In May 2001, the Times' Timothy Egan wrote,
"In writing the obituary of the Great Plains, social historians have looked out at the abandoned ranches, collapsed homesteads and dying towns huddled against the wind in a sea of grass and seen an epic failure."
Sadly for the Times, North Dakota has failed to fail on schedule.
Mead captures this sentiment from the Timesmen, across the generations,
"Decline is so much more decorous. Prairie towns slowly wither on the vine; the young people quietly leave, the stores gradually empty and close. Reporters from the Times write haunting and moving stories about the gentle, drifting sadness of it all. Novelists in creative writing programs can write delicate tales of rural decline; filmmakers can make understated little films about the lost hope and vanished promise of the American dream."
Long live North Dakota.
More than ten years ago, when young A.G. was just a teen, his father's newspaper was writing off North Dakota, and not for the first or last time. ("As Others Abandon Plains, Indians and Bison Come Back") In May 2001, the Times' Timothy Egan wrote,
"In writing the obituary of the Great Plains, social historians have looked out at the abandoned ranches, collapsed homesteads and dying towns huddled against the wind in a sea of grass and seen an epic failure."
Sadly for the Times, North Dakota has failed to fail on schedule.
Mead captures this sentiment from the Timesmen, across the generations,
"Decline is so much more decorous. Prairie towns slowly wither on the vine; the young people quietly leave, the stores gradually empty and close. Reporters from the Times write haunting and moving stories about the gentle, drifting sadness of it all. Novelists in creative writing programs can write delicate tales of rural decline; filmmakers can make understated little films about the lost hope and vanished promise of the American dream."
Long live North Dakota.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Must Read: "Reckless Endangerment"
I just finished reading Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon. Written by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner, it tells the inside story of how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac brought down the world financial system back in 2008. Must read for everyone.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Google Quits Renewable Energy Effort
Google quits effort to make renewable energy cheaper than coal. Maybe they know something.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Spain to Cut Solar Subsidies?
Even before the landslide victory for Spanish conservatives, speculation began that generous subsidies for solar power projects would need to be cut as part of the new government's austerity measures. As Reuters reports, the former government financed subsidies by issuing government bonds.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Minneapolis Hates Cars
Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin dares to take on the "complete streets" mafia with this piece headlined "New bike lanes bring confusion and criticism." Feel the condescension emanating from the City of Minneapolis' "non-motorized transportation programmer," Shaun Murphy,
"I drive and I don't like to be stuck in traffic either," said Murphy. "It's part of the trade-offs. In some of these places, there have also been huge safety improvements for both cars and bikes. It's a balancing act, and we have to compromise."
He means you, the driver, have to compromise by not getting to where you want to go.
"I drive and I don't like to be stuck in traffic either," said Murphy. "It's part of the trade-offs. In some of these places, there have also been huge safety improvements for both cars and bikes. It's a balancing act, and we have to compromise."
He means you, the driver, have to compromise by not getting to where you want to go.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Dr. Steven Chu--Venture Socialist
Certain corners of the media are thrilled with Nobel-prize winning Energy Secretary Steven's Chu's "no apologies" performance on Capitol Hill yesterday, defending the Administration's awarding of $535 million in loan guarantees to now-bankrupt solar power firm Solyndra.
The Washington Post editorial board writes,
"Steven Chu appeared before a Republican-controlled House committee Thursday and immediately turned the tables on his GOP critics. Yes, it’s regrettable that a half-billion-dollar government loan to Solyndra went sour. But, Mr. Chu reminded the panel, the loan was part of a program that Congress itself authorized (during the Bush administration)...
"...Well played, Mr. Secretary."
Ah, yes. Blame the Republicans. Shrewd move. We would expect nothing less from a Nobel-prize winner. You see, the Republicans forced Chu to loan a half-billion dollars to a bankrupt firm with Democratic party ties.
The Post does partially redeem itself with this passage, later in the editorial,
"You can call it crony capitalism or venture socialism—but by whatever name, the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program privatizes profits and socializes losses. It’s an especially risky approach in the alternative-energy space, where solar energy is many years from being cost-competitive with fossil fuels for most uses—and history is littered with failed government attempts to back the next big thing."
Dr. Steven Chu has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California and was a professor at Stanford University. Nothing in his distinguished scientific background suggests a background suitable to a career in venture socialism.
In the Wall Street Journal, Kimberley Strassel writes about Dr. Chu's strange new career in her opinion piece "Steven Chu: Energy CEO" (subscription required). Strassel writes about a physics professor sounding more like a seasoned investment pro,
"In Obamaland, department secretaries run the economy, baby! They swim in a pile of balance sheets--creating, funding and managing America's future, one company at a time...Mr. Chu noted that he'd had to hire a McKinsey consultant merely to 'manage this huge portfolio.' "
Strassel makes the obvious point that an agency tasked with nuclear safety should not be in the investment portfolio management business. But I guess it is a not-so-obvious point, as nothing is being done about ending Dr. Chu's curious second career as a venture socialist.
The Washington Post editorial board writes,
"Steven Chu appeared before a Republican-controlled House committee Thursday and immediately turned the tables on his GOP critics. Yes, it’s regrettable that a half-billion-dollar government loan to Solyndra went sour. But, Mr. Chu reminded the panel, the loan was part of a program that Congress itself authorized (during the Bush administration)...
"...Well played, Mr. Secretary."
Ah, yes. Blame the Republicans. Shrewd move. We would expect nothing less from a Nobel-prize winner. You see, the Republicans forced Chu to loan a half-billion dollars to a bankrupt firm with Democratic party ties.
The Post does partially redeem itself with this passage, later in the editorial,
"You can call it crony capitalism or venture socialism—but by whatever name, the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program privatizes profits and socializes losses. It’s an especially risky approach in the alternative-energy space, where solar energy is many years from being cost-competitive with fossil fuels for most uses—and history is littered with failed government attempts to back the next big thing."
Dr. Steven Chu has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California and was a professor at Stanford University. Nothing in his distinguished scientific background suggests a background suitable to a career in venture socialism.
In the Wall Street Journal, Kimberley Strassel writes about Dr. Chu's strange new career in her opinion piece "Steven Chu: Energy CEO" (subscription required). Strassel writes about a physics professor sounding more like a seasoned investment pro,
"In Obamaland, department secretaries run the economy, baby! They swim in a pile of balance sheets--creating, funding and managing America's future, one company at a time...Mr. Chu noted that he'd had to hire a McKinsey consultant merely to 'manage this huge portfolio.' "
Strassel makes the obvious point that an agency tasked with nuclear safety should not be in the investment portfolio management business. But I guess it is a not-so-obvious point, as nothing is being done about ending Dr. Chu's curious second career as a venture socialist.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Political Allocation of Capital: RFK Jr and BrightSource
On a day when Nobel-prize winner and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is on the hot seat on Capitol Hill, answering questions about the Solyndra scandal, details are coming out about an even larger, potential scandal.
The U.K.'s Daily Mail reports about a $1.4 billion bailout for a firm tied to environmental lawyer and Presidential nephew Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Mail reports,
"The revelation was made in an explosive new book, Throw Them All Out, which exposes the secret financial deals of an inner circle of businessmen and politicians in the White House. The author Peter Schweizer says that the payment was made to Kennedy Jr. thanks to connections in Washington."
BrightSource Energy is a solar power company whose investors include Vantage Point Capital Partners, an investment firm where Kennedy serves as a partner and senior advisor.
According the U.S. Department of Energy, BrightSource Energy received a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Department for a solar project in the California desert in April 2011 (to create 86 jobs!). According to the DOE, the project "will nearly double the generation capacity of concentrated solar in the U.S."
The Daily Mail makes much of (1) the role of a former BrightSource employee who later worked from the Department of Energy and (2) Kennedy's ties to the Democratic establishment. But focusing on the role of individuals implies that the problem is fixable: remove the conflicts of interest and favoritism and the program would work just fine.
But the real story is so much bigger. Government, by its very nature, makes for a terrible venture capitalist. Risk taking, risk assessment, and risk management--picking winners and losers among private ventures--are just not skill sets to be found in a government agency, especially one filled with nuclear scientists and the like.
Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute argue in a recent New Geography post,
"We should stop bluntly subsidizing the deployment of more of the same energy technologies--whether current-generation wind, solar, biofuels, or nuclear--and retool energy incentives to demand steady and continual innovation and cost improvements."
They may have a point, but it is unclear whether the Department of Energy is the proper vehicle for even such "retooled" energy incentives. The graph below shows the Department's budget over the last 40 years.
That spike you see in recent years is the 2009 Obama stimulus program, which provided funds for efforts such as the loan guarantee program. When you assign an institution (public, private, or whatever) the task of shoving as much money out the door as quickly as possible, mistakes will be made. The DOE has proven to be unequal to the task.
Regardless, the Daily Mail quotes Schweizer from his book, making a good point,
" 'Politicians have made politics a business. They are increasingly entrepreneurs who use their power, access, and privileged information to generate wealth. And at the same time well-connected financiers and corporate leaders have made a business of politics. They meet together in the nation’s capital to form a political caste. In short, the Permanent Political Class has clearly figured out how to extract wealth from the rest of us based solely on their position and proximity to power.' "
The U.K.'s Daily Mail reports about a $1.4 billion bailout for a firm tied to environmental lawyer and Presidential nephew Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Mail reports,
"The revelation was made in an explosive new book, Throw Them All Out, which exposes the secret financial deals of an inner circle of businessmen and politicians in the White House. The author Peter Schweizer says that the payment was made to Kennedy Jr. thanks to connections in Washington."
BrightSource Energy is a solar power company whose investors include Vantage Point Capital Partners, an investment firm where Kennedy serves as a partner and senior advisor.
According the U.S. Department of Energy, BrightSource Energy received a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Department for a solar project in the California desert in April 2011 (to create 86 jobs!). According to the DOE, the project "will nearly double the generation capacity of concentrated solar in the U.S."
The Daily Mail makes much of (1) the role of a former BrightSource employee who later worked from the Department of Energy and (2) Kennedy's ties to the Democratic establishment. But focusing on the role of individuals implies that the problem is fixable: remove the conflicts of interest and favoritism and the program would work just fine.
But the real story is so much bigger. Government, by its very nature, makes for a terrible venture capitalist. Risk taking, risk assessment, and risk management--picking winners and losers among private ventures--are just not skill sets to be found in a government agency, especially one filled with nuclear scientists and the like.
Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute argue in a recent New Geography post,
"We should stop bluntly subsidizing the deployment of more of the same energy technologies--whether current-generation wind, solar, biofuels, or nuclear--and retool energy incentives to demand steady and continual innovation and cost improvements."
They may have a point, but it is unclear whether the Department of Energy is the proper vehicle for even such "retooled" energy incentives. The graph below shows the Department's budget over the last 40 years.
That spike you see in recent years is the 2009 Obama stimulus program, which provided funds for efforts such as the loan guarantee program. When you assign an institution (public, private, or whatever) the task of shoving as much money out the door as quickly as possible, mistakes will be made. The DOE has proven to be unequal to the task.
Regardless, the Daily Mail quotes Schweizer from his book, making a good point,
" 'Politicians have made politics a business. They are increasingly entrepreneurs who use their power, access, and privileged information to generate wealth. And at the same time well-connected financiers and corporate leaders have made a business of politics. They meet together in the nation’s capital to form a political caste. In short, the Permanent Political Class has clearly figured out how to extract wealth from the rest of us based solely on their position and proximity to power.' "
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Since When is 80 MPH "High Speed Rail"?
Today's Minneapolis Star Tribune touts the "progress" in the St. Paul to Chicago $3 billion high speed rail project. A route between St. Paul and LaCrosse, Wisconsin has been selected. The Star Tribune reports,
"Advocates say upgrading the existing track could produce top speeds ranging from 80 to 110 miles per hour and cut more than two hours from a Twin Cities-Chicago trip."
First of all, the last time I traveled from the Twin Cities to Chicago, I traveled by commercial jet: the whole trip took less than two hours.
Second of all, I just checked the web site for Megabus, the inter-city passenger bus service. A one-way ticket from Minneapolis to Chicago went for $23 for an eight-hour trip. I doubt that high speed rail can complete with that sort of price, not with a cost of $3 billion.
Third of all, what high speed? 80 miles per hour? The Japanese "bullet train" travels at speeds of more than 150 mph. In Europe, France's TGV line reaches average speeds of more than 170 mph.
I'm afraid taxpayers are being sold a bill of goods on this one. The real purpose of high speed rail is to appeal to the so-called "creative class." Creative class guru Richard Florida writes,
"It’s been hard to justify high-speed rail (HSR) projects in terms of conventional cost-benefit analysis. But, it may be time to rethink – and broaden -the way we think of the benefits of HSR."
Sorry. I'm a stickler for those "conventional" cost-benefit analyses.
"Advocates say upgrading the existing track could produce top speeds ranging from 80 to 110 miles per hour and cut more than two hours from a Twin Cities-Chicago trip."
First of all, the last time I traveled from the Twin Cities to Chicago, I traveled by commercial jet: the whole trip took less than two hours.
Second of all, I just checked the web site for Megabus, the inter-city passenger bus service. A one-way ticket from Minneapolis to Chicago went for $23 for an eight-hour trip. I doubt that high speed rail can complete with that sort of price, not with a cost of $3 billion.
Third of all, what high speed? 80 miles per hour? The Japanese "bullet train" travels at speeds of more than 150 mph. In Europe, France's TGV line reaches average speeds of more than 170 mph.
I'm afraid taxpayers are being sold a bill of goods on this one. The real purpose of high speed rail is to appeal to the so-called "creative class." Creative class guru Richard Florida writes,
"It’s been hard to justify high-speed rail (HSR) projects in terms of conventional cost-benefit analysis. But, it may be time to rethink – and broaden -the way we think of the benefits of HSR."
Sorry. I'm a stickler for those "conventional" cost-benefit analyses.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Government and Energy: A Different Take
Over at New Geography, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the the Breakthrough Institute have a different take on the role of government in the energy business. Instead of massive subsidies for current technologies or crony capitalist deals for shaky ideas, they recommend spending on basic research.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Franken Touts Solar Project With 75 Year Payback
As reported in the St. Cloud Times newspaper, U.S. Senator Al Franken visited the small Minnesota community of Royalton to tout the town's installation of solar panels on city hall. Quotes the Times,
“It’s a great example of the kinds of things that federal government, for-profit companies and nonprofits can get together and start.”
Let's see what they started. Total project cost, $90,000. Electrical output: 10,000 to 12,000 kWh per year. Let's take the high end of the output estimate and value the generation at a generous 10 cents/kWh.
$90,000 divided by 12,000 kWh/year divided by $0.10/kWh equals a 75-year payback.
Quoting the panels' manufacturer, "“The equation does work in the long-run ... I think everybody should be doing it." Which equation is he working with? The panels will be long gone before they can pay back the initial cost.
“It’s a great example of the kinds of things that federal government, for-profit companies and nonprofits can get together and start.”
Let's see what they started. Total project cost, $90,000. Electrical output: 10,000 to 12,000 kWh per year. Let's take the high end of the output estimate and value the generation at a generous 10 cents/kWh.
$90,000 divided by 12,000 kWh/year divided by $0.10/kWh equals a 75-year payback.
Quoting the panels' manufacturer, "“The equation does work in the long-run ... I think everybody should be doing it." Which equation is he working with? The panels will be long gone before they can pay back the initial cost.
Why is Best Buy Speaking to Utility Regulators?
Dan Haugen of Midwest Energy News features Best Buy's Smart Grid strategy and mentions Kris Bowring's recent address to a group of national utility regulators.
Minneapolis vs. Brown Jobs
Minneapolis Star Tribune business columnist Neal St. Anthony writes about the travails of a Minneapolis business in today's paper and illustrates just about everything that's wrong with the city's economic development policies.
The headline frames the story as "Caught between Minneapolis' past and present" but it is more about Minneapolis' ongoing war against "brown" jobs and its own aspiring middle class.
"Past" is represented by the 88-year-old Smith Foundry, an industrial business that recycles old metal into useful material for reuse by other industry. (Isn't that "green"?)
"Present" is represented by the ""creative class" strategy that emphasizes the role of "knowledge workers" in the new service economy. St. Anthony writes,
"But [this] strong-back-and-dirty-hands factory, which will generate a record $12 million in revenue this year, is not in vogue in a town where the mayor last week was hailing growth of the service sector. And neighborhood-based manufacturing has declined in Minneapolis for years, partly by design."
St. Anthony reports that the foundry "employs 10 administrative staff and 70 blue-collar workers at up to $23 an hour, plus benefits", but has been mired in no end of regulatory hassles to the point were the owner "fears that city elders want to banish Smith Foundry." Regulatory woes include,
"The city is not trying to shut down this foundry," said Council Member Gary Schiff. "This business can continue to operate. [The owner] has made good-faith efforts [on some recent noise-ordinance issues]. He's hired people locally and has a good name in the community. But if you were planning the city today, you would not put [a foundry] in the middle of that neighborhood. You would put it in a heavy-industry zone."
Ah, the "P"-word, "planning." First of all, what "heavy-industry" zone? The heavy industry is all but gone from Minneapolis. Second, why the need for planning? Why should the city decide what businesses stay and go?
Back to the trolley car line. The "creative class" is said to be enamoured of all forms of public transit, not that they use public transit, but they like to see it in the background as part of a bustling city-scape.
But why the hostility to the foundry? The foundry's owner explains,
"The idea was that everything along the Greenway eventually would become residential. We were in an industrial-preservation zone. But we got rezoned. And now we seem to be without a place to exist and grow."
Record revenue? High-paying blue-collar jobs, "hiring ex-felons and recovering addicts from a neighboring halfway house"? Sorry, doesn't fit the with new vision of a "cool" city.
These neighborhood industrial jobs are exactly the kind of businesses that we need to keep and attract to get our economy moving again. Bard College Professor Walter Russell Mead writes about the need for "bad" jobs,
The headline frames the story as "Caught between Minneapolis' past and present" but it is more about Minneapolis' ongoing war against "brown" jobs and its own aspiring middle class.
"Past" is represented by the 88-year-old Smith Foundry, an industrial business that recycles old metal into useful material for reuse by other industry. (Isn't that "green"?)
"Present" is represented by the ""creative class" strategy that emphasizes the role of "knowledge workers" in the new service economy. St. Anthony writes,
"But [this] strong-back-and-dirty-hands factory, which will generate a record $12 million in revenue this year, is not in vogue in a town where the mayor last week was hailing growth of the service sector. And neighborhood-based manufacturing has declined in Minneapolis for years, partly by design."
St. Anthony reports that the foundry "employs 10 administrative staff and 70 blue-collar workers at up to $23 an hour, plus benefits", but has been mired in no end of regulatory hassles to the point were the owner "fears that city elders want to banish Smith Foundry." Regulatory woes include,
- Rezoning. The foundry's neighborhood has been rezoned to the point where the 88-year-old business is "now a 'nonconforming use' in this location"
- Noise ordinances. A new ordinance designed to regulate noisy late-night, downtown bars is being used by a neighbor against the foundry.
- Right-of-way. Hennepin County is enforcing its property rights on the nearby Midtown Greenway bike trail to prevent the re-construction of a sand tank on the foundry's property. The county is reserving its space for a future trolley-car line.
"The city is not trying to shut down this foundry," said Council Member Gary Schiff. "This business can continue to operate. [The owner] has made good-faith efforts [on some recent noise-ordinance issues]. He's hired people locally and has a good name in the community. But if you were planning the city today, you would not put [a foundry] in the middle of that neighborhood. You would put it in a heavy-industry zone."
Ah, the "P"-word, "planning." First of all, what "heavy-industry" zone? The heavy industry is all but gone from Minneapolis. Second, why the need for planning? Why should the city decide what businesses stay and go?
Back to the trolley car line. The "creative class" is said to be enamoured of all forms of public transit, not that they use public transit, but they like to see it in the background as part of a bustling city-scape.
But why the hostility to the foundry? The foundry's owner explains,
"The idea was that everything along the Greenway eventually would become residential. We were in an industrial-preservation zone. But we got rezoned. And now we seem to be without a place to exist and grow."
Record revenue? High-paying blue-collar jobs, "hiring ex-felons and recovering addicts from a neighboring halfway house"? Sorry, doesn't fit the with new vision of a "cool" city.
These neighborhood industrial jobs are exactly the kind of businesses that we need to keep and attract to get our economy moving again. Bard College Professor Walter Russell Mead writes about the need for "bad" jobs,
"Think of the path to successful middle class living as a ladder; the lower rungs on that ladder are not nice places to be, but if those rungs don’t exist, nobody can climb. When politicians talk about creating jobs, they always talk about creating “good” jobs. That is all very well, but unless there are bad jobs and lots of them, people in the inner cities will have a hard time getting on the ladder at all, much less climbing into the middle class."
And Mead adds,
"To get these jobs, we have to change the way our cities work...The kind of metal bashing repair shops that fill the cities of the developing world are almost impossible to operate here."
You don't have to tell Smith Foundry.
The EPA's Willingness to Compromise Electric Grid Reliability
The lead editorial in today's Wall Street Journal tackles the apparent willingness of the EPA to let electric grid reliability suffer for the cause of...of...what exactly?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
When Niall Speaks, We Should Listen
Newsweek columnist Niall Ferguson warns us that Europe's crisis is headed our way.
What's Good for GE is Good for America
Or so says GE. The industrial giant is just one of several cashing in on big renewable energy subsidies, as documented in today's New York Times.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Modernizing Conservatism
Power Line's Steven Hayward writes on the topic of modernizing conservatism in The Breakthrough Journal.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Daniel Hannan on the Italian Crisis:
The U.K. Daniel Hannan (MEP) writes in the Daily Mail about the Italian debt crisis now gripping Europe. He quotes from an appropriate Kipling poem,
"This is midnight—let no star
Delude us—dawn is very far.
This is the tempest long foretold—
Slow to make head but sure to hold."
"This is midnight—let no star
Delude us—dawn is very far.
This is the tempest long foretold—
Slow to make head but sure to hold."
A Conservative Guide to Good Governance
These sound like good ideas whatever your ideology. From the Heritage Foundation's website.
Mark Glaess Writes on MN's RES
The Alexandria Echo Press reprints a commentary from Mark Glaess on Minnesota's Renewable Energy Standard, the state law that requires utilities to buy 25 percent of their energy from renewable resources. His commentary first appeared in a local electric coop newsletter.
Rather than feel good bromides, Glaess brings hard numbers on what the well-intentioned policy is costing Minnesota electric ratepayers,
"In 2009, Minnesota utilities produced 3,441,000,000 kWh by capturing the wind. On average, utilities paid 4.5 cents for each kWh...the market only paid an average of 2.7 cents for each kWh produced by wind... The loss of 1.8 cents per kWh spread over 3.4 billion kWh cost Minnesotans some $62 million in 2009."
Read the whole thing.
Rather than feel good bromides, Glaess brings hard numbers on what the well-intentioned policy is costing Minnesota electric ratepayers,
"In 2009, Minnesota utilities produced 3,441,000,000 kWh by capturing the wind. On average, utilities paid 4.5 cents for each kWh...the market only paid an average of 2.7 cents for each kWh produced by wind... The loss of 1.8 cents per kWh spread over 3.4 billion kWh cost Minnesotans some $62 million in 2009."
Read the whole thing.
Feed-In-Tariff Fail: Is the US Bailing Out Spain's Solar Industry?
Almost a year ago, I posted about the failure of Spain's solar power "feed-in-tariff" program. Simply speaking, a feed-in-tariff is an above-market price paid to an energy producer, subsidized by utility ratepayers or taxpayers.
Any first-year economics student can tell you that paying above market will bring producers out of the woodwork, which will quickly bankrupt any such program. Nonetheless, solar power advocates want to bring feed-in-tariff to Minnesota and the U.S.
Two years ago, the New York Times reported on the collapse of Spain's solar power industry, "Spain's Solar Market Crash Offers a Cautionary Tale About Feed-In Tariffs," quoting the CEO of Spain's Abengoa Solar,
"What's important for the regulation of solar is stability," said Santiago Seage, the CEO of Abengoa Solar SA, one of Spain's largest solar developers. "Unfortunately, up to now, we have had too many changes. ... [And] if the context changes, you can make mistakes in business decisions."
Regardless, Seage stills recommends feed-in-tariff to us in America. The New York Times reports,
"Americans and others would be wrong to avoid the feed-in tariff based solely on Spain's experience, Abengoa's Seage said. 'The feed-in tariff is a mechanism that, typically, Americans don't like,' Seage said. 'They believe it doesn't optimize costs for the taxpayers. ... Nevertheless, I feel it has a huge advantage. It's a simple mechanism to get the market started.' "
Now PJ Media reports the possibility that the U.S. government (and its taxpayers) may be bailing Abengoa out of its "mistakes in business decisions." The Department of Energy's loan guarantee program (think Solyndra) rushed to complete transactions before the program ended on September 30th. One of the last guarantees approved was for an Abengoa ethanol project. Earlier, the DOE underwrote Abengoa solar projects in Arizona. Writes PJ Media,
"Over the last two years, DOE Secretary Steven Chu has awarded Spain-based Abengoa—a sprawling, multi-national industrial firm operating in 70 countries—loan guarantees worth a staggering $2.78 billion for solar and ethanol plants."
PJ Media concludes,
"According to Chris Horner, a senior attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Abengoa is not an exception, but the rule for the Obama administration’s artificially stimulated “green” industry. He tells PJ Media, 'This is not unique to Abengoa. It defines the [green] industry, which exists in any meaningful way solely due to political creation, not performance or economics.' "
Your tax dollars at work.
Any first-year economics student can tell you that paying above market will bring producers out of the woodwork, which will quickly bankrupt any such program. Nonetheless, solar power advocates want to bring feed-in-tariff to Minnesota and the U.S.
Two years ago, the New York Times reported on the collapse of Spain's solar power industry, "Spain's Solar Market Crash Offers a Cautionary Tale About Feed-In Tariffs," quoting the CEO of Spain's Abengoa Solar,
"What's important for the regulation of solar is stability," said Santiago Seage, the CEO of Abengoa Solar SA, one of Spain's largest solar developers. "Unfortunately, up to now, we have had too many changes. ... [And] if the context changes, you can make mistakes in business decisions."
Regardless, Seage stills recommends feed-in-tariff to us in America. The New York Times reports,
"Americans and others would be wrong to avoid the feed-in tariff based solely on Spain's experience, Abengoa's Seage said. 'The feed-in tariff is a mechanism that, typically, Americans don't like,' Seage said. 'They believe it doesn't optimize costs for the taxpayers. ... Nevertheless, I feel it has a huge advantage. It's a simple mechanism to get the market started.' "
Now PJ Media reports the possibility that the U.S. government (and its taxpayers) may be bailing Abengoa out of its "mistakes in business decisions." The Department of Energy's loan guarantee program (think Solyndra) rushed to complete transactions before the program ended on September 30th. One of the last guarantees approved was for an Abengoa ethanol project. Earlier, the DOE underwrote Abengoa solar projects in Arizona. Writes PJ Media,
"Over the last two years, DOE Secretary Steven Chu has awarded Spain-based Abengoa—a sprawling, multi-national industrial firm operating in 70 countries—loan guarantees worth a staggering $2.78 billion for solar and ethanol plants."
PJ Media concludes,
"According to Chris Horner, a senior attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Abengoa is not an exception, but the rule for the Obama administration’s artificially stimulated “green” industry. He tells PJ Media, 'This is not unique to Abengoa. It defines the [green] industry, which exists in any meaningful way solely due to political creation, not performance or economics.' "
Your tax dollars at work.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tom Steward Writes on the St. Cloud Airport Fiasco
The Freedom Foundation's Tom Steward has a piece up at the Big Government.Com website on the St. Cloud Airport. The Airport has burned through big dollars of federal grants in a futile effort to attract an airline.
Collapse of the Blue Social Model
Bard College Professor Walter Russell Mead writes frequently about the collapse of the "Blue Social Model," the collection of policies and attitudes that form the progressive state.
Most recently Mead writes about a police corruption (ticket-fixing) trial in the Bronx, New York, and how it stands in for the breakdown of big-city, liberal politics. Mead observes that the following vignette outside the Bronx courthouse, illustrates a great city in crisis,
"Between the good government, pro-minority [New York] Times reporters, the angry crowd of police rallying to protect their privileges and perks against the background of a city facing financial cutbacks, and the crowd of poor benefit seekers waiting in the street, resentful of the privileged police, we see can see the political and social crisis of New York in a single space."
We in "good government" Minnesota think we are immune to this sort of thing. Think again. In the Minneapolis Star Tribune appears a report about a pensions issue, with a City pension fund being rolled up into a larger state plan. This merger of plans means the workers assigned to managing the now-defunct City plan are in line for generous severance benefits. Writes the Star Tribune,
"The four employees of the soon-to-be-defunct Minneapolis police and fire pension funds will leave their jobs with at least $400,000 in severance benefits, although all four have preference for jobs with a statewide pension plan that's absorbing their organizations."
$400,000 divided by four workers equals $100,000 per worker. One case study,
"The biggest salary settlement goes to Minneapolis Firefighters' Relief Association executive secretary Wally Schirmer, a retired firefighter already drawing a city pension of more than $41,000 annually. He was granted about $116,500, or one year's salary."
He's already getting a pension, he continued to work, drawing a six-figure salary, and now gets a six-figure severance. That doesn't count "continued health insurance and cashouts of their unused sick and vacation time."
What ties the Bronx and Minneapolis together in the belief that there will always be enough money to satisfy the various big city liberal constituencies. Whether its public employees, benefit seekers, or "good government" media, we have run out of cash to make everyone happy.
Most recently Mead writes about a police corruption (ticket-fixing) trial in the Bronx, New York, and how it stands in for the breakdown of big-city, liberal politics. Mead observes that the following vignette outside the Bronx courthouse, illustrates a great city in crisis,
"Between the good government, pro-minority [New York] Times reporters, the angry crowd of police rallying to protect their privileges and perks against the background of a city facing financial cutbacks, and the crowd of poor benefit seekers waiting in the street, resentful of the privileged police, we see can see the political and social crisis of New York in a single space."
We in "good government" Minnesota think we are immune to this sort of thing. Think again. In the Minneapolis Star Tribune appears a report about a pensions issue, with a City pension fund being rolled up into a larger state plan. This merger of plans means the workers assigned to managing the now-defunct City plan are in line for generous severance benefits. Writes the Star Tribune,
"The four employees of the soon-to-be-defunct Minneapolis police and fire pension funds will leave their jobs with at least $400,000 in severance benefits, although all four have preference for jobs with a statewide pension plan that's absorbing their organizations."
$400,000 divided by four workers equals $100,000 per worker. One case study,
"The biggest salary settlement goes to Minneapolis Firefighters' Relief Association executive secretary Wally Schirmer, a retired firefighter already drawing a city pension of more than $41,000 annually. He was granted about $116,500, or one year's salary."
He's already getting a pension, he continued to work, drawing a six-figure salary, and now gets a six-figure severance. That doesn't count "continued health insurance and cashouts of their unused sick and vacation time."
What ties the Bronx and Minneapolis together in the belief that there will always be enough money to satisfy the various big city liberal constituencies. Whether its public employees, benefit seekers, or "good government" media, we have run out of cash to make everyone happy.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Complete Streets on Libertarian Viewpoint
Here are the links to my TV interview last month by Sue Jeffers on Libertarian Viewpoint. Subject: Complete Streets in Minnesota.
St. Cloud and Complete Streets
Just like the European Union and local school districts, "Complete Streets" advocates insist that the voting continue until the correct result is reached. They won't take "no" for an answer, but once "yes" is reached, the question is closed.
Case in point, the City of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Back in September, the City Council voted down a "Complete Streets" policy, but that result was not allowed to stand. Yesterday, the City Council finally voted the right way and passed the policy on a 4-3 vote.
Warning to St. Cloud residents: now that "Yes" is official, good luck getting a bad project reversed.
Case in point, the City of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Back in September, the City Council voted down a "Complete Streets" policy, but that result was not allowed to stand. Yesterday, the City Council finally voted the right way and passed the policy on a 4-3 vote.
Warning to St. Cloud residents: now that "Yes" is official, good luck getting a bad project reversed.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Snatching Environmental Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Driving around this afternoon, I caught this story on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). With great sadness, MPR reports that Minnesota currently meets national air quality standards. But don't despair, big opportunities are coming to micromanage your lives.
Our victory against air pollution is one of the great untold stories of our time. On August 1, 2010, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published an astonishing article ("A Not So Dirty Secret in the Air"), which revealed the following,
"The Twin Cities metro area has so much fine particulate pollution that it could fail to meet the new standards expected from the federal government next year. And in 2014, a more strict standard for ozone could be issued."
Please note, particulates and ozone emissions are going down not up. The feds are ratcheting the standards to the point where we no longer can meet them, even with the massive reductions we have made and continue to make.
The culprit? As MPR reports, "The Enemy...is us." And by "us" they mean "you," the polluting public,
"another source of pollution goes unregulated and is a big part of the toxic pollution problem: our automobiles, boats and ATVs."
adding,
"Our tailpipes produce the single largest chunk of air pollution that the state sees, both in particulate pollution —a lot of that comes from diesel — and also ozone, which is a big emission from gasoline-powered vehicles."
Wait, the Pioneer Press told me last year that car and truck emissions were down 51 percent in 20 years and both particulates and ozone are decreasing, not increasing. Let not the facts interfere with a good story and good money.
The MPR pieces quotes a spokesperson for the American Lung Association. The Association began in 1904 to fight the disease tuberculosis, a fight which was largely won in this country back in the 1950's. Rather than declare victory, dissolve the institution, and discontinue its lucrative Christmas Seals campaign, the Association reinvented itself in the early 1970's, taking on smoking and air pollution as its causes. A non-profit, like other corporations, enjoys perpetual life, it can live on long after the founder passes from the scene.
No matter, next stop social engineering. MPR reports that regulators will be taking additional steps,
"Not just telling people to stay inside, but don't mow your lawn. Don't fuel your cars until after sunset, because of the sunlight contribution to ozone...That certainly is a fairly common strategy, and I'm sure one we would be thinking about."
Don't mow my lawn? So there is good news here. But wait, won't I get fined by the City for not cutting my grass? I can't win.
Our victory against air pollution is one of the great untold stories of our time. On August 1, 2010, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published an astonishing article ("A Not So Dirty Secret in the Air"), which revealed the following,
- Since 1970, Minnesota has slashed air pollution by more than 50 percent
- Air pollution, per capita, has dropped by more than two-thirds
- National emissions of carbon monoxide, down 62 percent
- Sulphur dioxide (acid rain), down 65 percent since 1970
- Ozone emissions, down 9 percent since 1990
- Particle emissions, down 14 percent since 2000
- In Minnesota, emissions from cars and trucks are down 51 percent since 1990
"The Twin Cities metro area has so much fine particulate pollution that it could fail to meet the new standards expected from the federal government next year. And in 2014, a more strict standard for ozone could be issued."
Please note, particulates and ozone emissions are going down not up. The feds are ratcheting the standards to the point where we no longer can meet them, even with the massive reductions we have made and continue to make.
The culprit? As MPR reports, "The Enemy...is us." And by "us" they mean "you," the polluting public,
"another source of pollution goes unregulated and is a big part of the toxic pollution problem: our automobiles, boats and ATVs."
adding,
"Our tailpipes produce the single largest chunk of air pollution that the state sees, both in particulate pollution —a lot of that comes from diesel — and also ozone, which is a big emission from gasoline-powered vehicles."
Wait, the Pioneer Press told me last year that car and truck emissions were down 51 percent in 20 years and both particulates and ozone are decreasing, not increasing. Let not the facts interfere with a good story and good money.
The MPR pieces quotes a spokesperson for the American Lung Association. The Association began in 1904 to fight the disease tuberculosis, a fight which was largely won in this country back in the 1950's. Rather than declare victory, dissolve the institution, and discontinue its lucrative Christmas Seals campaign, the Association reinvented itself in the early 1970's, taking on smoking and air pollution as its causes. A non-profit, like other corporations, enjoys perpetual life, it can live on long after the founder passes from the scene.
No matter, next stop social engineering. MPR reports that regulators will be taking additional steps,
"Not just telling people to stay inside, but don't mow your lawn. Don't fuel your cars until after sunset, because of the sunlight contribution to ozone...That certainly is a fairly common strategy, and I'm sure one we would be thinking about."
Don't mow my lawn? So there is good news here. But wait, won't I get fined by the City for not cutting my grass? I can't win.
Those Opposed to Democracy
A pair of columns skeptical of democracy dominated the Opinion page of Sunday's Minneapolis Star Tribune. Columnist Lori Sturdevant decries the surplus of democracy in Minnesota, ("Punting the tough issues to the people: Is there such a thing as too much direct democracy? Ask California. Ask schools.")
Her thesis is that referenda on school levies and stadium taxes show a failure of leadership by elected officials. To be clear, by failure she means the failure to raise taxes, writing, "This is a case of legislators running amok with their desire to dodge blame for higher taxes."
As readers of this blog will know, I favor direct democracy. Yes, we have a Republic, with representative democracy. But whenever the people vote on an issue, I believe that the outcome is, by definition, the "right" outcome.
Former third-party candidate for Lt. Governor, Jim Mulder, writes about the redundancy of all the overlapping levels of government in Minnesota. I am very receptive to arguments in favor of government redesign. But I think that Mr. Mulder is attacking the problem from the wrong end. Basically, Mr. Mulder thinks we have too many counties, with some including more than a million people, but some with just a few thousand.
He makes some good observations regarding overlap. I have often wondered why we have local Soil and Water Districts and a state Board of Water and Soil Resources. However, he believes archaic the "Jeffersonian principle of democracy--that no one should live more than a day's horse ride from the county courthouse."
The implication here is that any political arrangement supported with an argument related to horse travel must be discarded as hopelessly out of date. Well, how about this, political boundaries should be small enough that the people governed together are likely to know one another.
My county, Hennepin, holds more than 1.1 million people. I cannot believe that densely populated neighborhoods in Minneapolis share much in common with semi-rural areas at the County's western edge. Yet all are governed by the same County board. I would argue that residents would benefit from having the jurisdiction split into three or four entities, grouping populations with like interests.
The actual Jeffersonian principle has nothing to do with horse travel but that "the government closest to the people is the most responsive" (1787). Mr. Mulder would have the government move away from the people, trading responsiveness for some notion of "efficiency."
Her thesis is that referenda on school levies and stadium taxes show a failure of leadership by elected officials. To be clear, by failure she means the failure to raise taxes, writing, "This is a case of legislators running amok with their desire to dodge blame for higher taxes."
As readers of this blog will know, I favor direct democracy. Yes, we have a Republic, with representative democracy. But whenever the people vote on an issue, I believe that the outcome is, by definition, the "right" outcome.
Former third-party candidate for Lt. Governor, Jim Mulder, writes about the redundancy of all the overlapping levels of government in Minnesota. I am very receptive to arguments in favor of government redesign. But I think that Mr. Mulder is attacking the problem from the wrong end. Basically, Mr. Mulder thinks we have too many counties, with some including more than a million people, but some with just a few thousand.
He makes some good observations regarding overlap. I have often wondered why we have local Soil and Water Districts and a state Board of Water and Soil Resources. However, he believes archaic the "Jeffersonian principle of democracy--that no one should live more than a day's horse ride from the county courthouse."
The implication here is that any political arrangement supported with an argument related to horse travel must be discarded as hopelessly out of date. Well, how about this, political boundaries should be small enough that the people governed together are likely to know one another.
My county, Hennepin, holds more than 1.1 million people. I cannot believe that densely populated neighborhoods in Minneapolis share much in common with semi-rural areas at the County's western edge. Yet all are governed by the same County board. I would argue that residents would benefit from having the jurisdiction split into three or four entities, grouping populations with like interests.
The actual Jeffersonian principle has nothing to do with horse travel but that "the government closest to the people is the most responsive" (1787). Mr. Mulder would have the government move away from the people, trading responsiveness for some notion of "efficiency."
Trapped at the Airport: A Parable for Our Times
In the category of almost "too good to check" comes this story from the Daily Mail, which surely must be a parable for our times.
A 55-year-old California woman, Teri Weissinger, was at the San Francisco airport, for a flight to Idaho where she hopes to start a new life.
Down to her last $30, she didn't have money for the airline's baggage fees ($60), and was told that abandoning her luggage was not an option (security risk, you see). (She had purchased the plane ticket before the rule on disclosing hidden fees took effect.)
A desperate series of calls to family and friends failed to raise the money in time for the flight's departure, and now she was down $210--$60 for the luggage and a $150 change fee for missing her original flight.
What followed was an 8-day ordeal reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal, about a man trapped at JFK airport because of visa problems. The Terminal movie itself was based on the real-life story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, who lived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for 17 years because he had his briefcase stolen and did not have the proper visa to either enter France proper or fly on to another destination.
M. Nasseri finally escaped the airport when an illness forced him into a nearby hospital and he now lives in a Paris shelter.
Ms. Weissinger's story is not nearly as dramatic, as she was always free to leave the airport, with luggage in tow. After 8 days of sleeping at the airport and living on trail mix, she finally received help from a nearby church, the Airport Church of Christ, who raised the $210 to see her off to Idaho.
Self-employed for the past 25 years, she was leaving California to take a new job in Idaho.
San Francisco International Airport is located in San Mateo County, but is owned by the City of San Francisco. Ms. Weissinger thus received no assistance from the most liberal city in the most liberal state in America. You can understand why. As a economic refugee on her way out, she was in no position either to continue in the dependent class, voting in her would-be benefactors in election after election or continue as a producer, funding the progressive state. As she was of no use to them, they provided no help. The Daily Mail reports,
"When she tried to plead with airport authorities for help, Ms Weissinger claimed she was threatened with arrest on vagrancy charges."
Who did come to the rescue? Not any level of government, but a local faith community. And after 8 days in the airport, she boarded a flight on a different airline, who waived the change fee, but not the baggage charge.
Someone needs to update the lyrics to the Al Jolson song, "California Here I Come", as the flow is now the other way.
A 55-year-old California woman, Teri Weissinger, was at the San Francisco airport, for a flight to Idaho where she hopes to start a new life.
Down to her last $30, she didn't have money for the airline's baggage fees ($60), and was told that abandoning her luggage was not an option (security risk, you see). (She had purchased the plane ticket before the rule on disclosing hidden fees took effect.)
A desperate series of calls to family and friends failed to raise the money in time for the flight's departure, and now she was down $210--$60 for the luggage and a $150 change fee for missing her original flight.
What followed was an 8-day ordeal reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal, about a man trapped at JFK airport because of visa problems. The Terminal movie itself was based on the real-life story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, who lived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for 17 years because he had his briefcase stolen and did not have the proper visa to either enter France proper or fly on to another destination.
M. Nasseri finally escaped the airport when an illness forced him into a nearby hospital and he now lives in a Paris shelter.
Ms. Weissinger's story is not nearly as dramatic, as she was always free to leave the airport, with luggage in tow. After 8 days of sleeping at the airport and living on trail mix, she finally received help from a nearby church, the Airport Church of Christ, who raised the $210 to see her off to Idaho.
Self-employed for the past 25 years, she was leaving California to take a new job in Idaho.
San Francisco International Airport is located in San Mateo County, but is owned by the City of San Francisco. Ms. Weissinger thus received no assistance from the most liberal city in the most liberal state in America. You can understand why. As a economic refugee on her way out, she was in no position either to continue in the dependent class, voting in her would-be benefactors in election after election or continue as a producer, funding the progressive state. As she was of no use to them, they provided no help. The Daily Mail reports,
"When she tried to plead with airport authorities for help, Ms Weissinger claimed she was threatened with arrest on vagrancy charges."
Who did come to the rescue? Not any level of government, but a local faith community. And after 8 days in the airport, she boarded a flight on a different airline, who waived the change fee, but not the baggage charge.
Someone needs to update the lyrics to the Al Jolson song, "California Here I Come", as the flow is now the other way.
Friday, November 4, 2011
A False Dawn for Detroit
Recently, I posted about some inklings of good news for the beleaguered city. In the past few days, it has made a turn for the bleaker. Mayor Dave Bing muses about the need for a state takeover of the city, with the possibility that its cash may be exhausted by February. The town of Highland Park, which lies within the footprint of surrounding Detroit, has followed through on its plans to have all the streetlights removed for lack of funds.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Democracy is Dead, After All
An update of my post yesterday. It seems democracy is dead. Greece caved into European demands and dropped the idea of a national referendum on the bailout. Although the stock market liked it, Walter Russell Mead thinks that it reflects badly on the ability of European institutions to cope with the crisis. Mead writes,
"Europe’s institutions cannot cope. Decades of building intricate rules and complicated institutions have failed to create an institutional architecture than can resolve basic disputes."
"Europe’s institutions cannot cope. Decades of building intricate rules and complicated institutions have failed to create an institutional architecture than can resolve basic disputes."
Green Jobs Fail
For someone involved in the energy industry, I probably haven't paid as much attention to the Solyndra and subsequent scandals as I should. But to paraphrase an infamous quote, "one Solyndra is a scandal, a thousand Solyndra's are a statistic."
The problem isn't that some politicians steered some government money toward a few favored donors, it is that the whole enterprise is misguided.
Today, Walter Russell Mead posts on his blog about the subject, "Time To Change Course on Green Jobs." where he asks the question,
"Is there something about the word ‘green’ that makes people go weak in the head?"
Adding, "What three months ago was widely hailed by the establishment press as a sign of the futurism and forward-thinking of the Obama Administration now, post-Solyndra, is increasingly seen for the bone headed blunder it was."
Also today, the Wall Street Journal has an editorial on the issue ("Solyndra Without the Tears," subscription required) covering the energy scandal du jour, the now-bankrupt Beacon Power Corp. The editors ask an interesting question,
"Would the Obama Administration's record be better or worse if it tried to pick losers instead of winners?" The world will never know.
The problem isn't that some politicians steered some government money toward a few favored donors, it is that the whole enterprise is misguided.
Today, Walter Russell Mead posts on his blog about the subject, "Time To Change Course on Green Jobs." where he asks the question,
"Is there something about the word ‘green’ that makes people go weak in the head?"
Adding, "What three months ago was widely hailed by the establishment press as a sign of the futurism and forward-thinking of the Obama Administration now, post-Solyndra, is increasingly seen for the bone headed blunder it was."
Also today, the Wall Street Journal has an editorial on the issue ("Solyndra Without the Tears," subscription required) covering the energy scandal du jour, the now-bankrupt Beacon Power Corp. The editors ask an interesting question,
"Would the Obama Administration's record be better or worse if it tried to pick losers instead of winners?" The world will never know.
More "Complete Streets" in St. Paul: Goodbye Parking!
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on major street work planned for the City's Raymond Avenue in 2013. And yes, "complete streets" is on the job.
"About 50 of the existing 112 parking spots along the avenue would be eliminated to add bike lanes and other improvements." Comments at the hearing were split evenly, 7 to 7. In baseball, a tie goes to the baserunner. In Urban Planning, it seems, a tie goes to the bike rider.
"About 50 of the existing 112 parking spots along the avenue would be eliminated to add bike lanes and other improvements." Comments at the hearing were split evenly, 7 to 7. In baseball, a tie goes to the baserunner. In Urban Planning, it seems, a tie goes to the bike rider.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Are Greeks Ready for Democracy?
Not if you believe European Union's leadership.
Daniel Hannan, a British Member of the European Parliament, is on the case. Today on his blog, Hannan takes them to task (reprinted on the pages of the Daily Telegraph), opening with,
"Shall I tell you the truly terrifying thing about the EU? It’s not the absence of democracy in Brussels, or the ease with which Eurocrats swat aside referendum results. It’s the way in which the internal democracy of the member states is subverted in order to sustain the requirements of membership."
On Monday Hannan wrote about the initial reaction to the news that Greece would hold a referendum on the European bailout,
"I wish I could convey the sheer writhing horror that George Papanderou's referendum proposal has provoked in Brussels. Eurocrats instinctively dislike referendums. They feel that their work is too important and complicated to be vulnerable to the prejudices of hoi polloi..."
Today's Wall Street Journal sees the benefits of this referendum in an editorial. The Editors write,
"As for the rest of Europe, they may eventually come around to thanking Mr. Papandreou and the Greeks, even for a no vote. Today's conventional wisdom is that a Greek default would spread contagion, never mind that past bailout packages for Athens haven't exactly contained it...A Greek default would provide a lesson in what happens to countries that can't live within their means."
Even if the Greeks vote no, at least they will have chosen their own fate. The only cure for the excesses of democracy, is more democracy.
Daniel Hannan, a British Member of the European Parliament, is on the case. Today on his blog, Hannan takes them to task (reprinted on the pages of the Daily Telegraph), opening with,
"Shall I tell you the truly terrifying thing about the EU? It’s not the absence of democracy in Brussels, or the ease with which Eurocrats swat aside referendum results. It’s the way in which the internal democracy of the member states is subverted in order to sustain the requirements of membership."
On Monday Hannan wrote about the initial reaction to the news that Greece would hold a referendum on the European bailout,
"I wish I could convey the sheer writhing horror that George Papanderou's referendum proposal has provoked in Brussels. Eurocrats instinctively dislike referendums. They feel that their work is too important and complicated to be vulnerable to the prejudices of hoi polloi..."
Today's Wall Street Journal sees the benefits of this referendum in an editorial. The Editors write,
"As for the rest of Europe, they may eventually come around to thanking Mr. Papandreou and the Greeks, even for a no vote. Today's conventional wisdom is that a Greek default would spread contagion, never mind that past bailout packages for Athens haven't exactly contained it...A Greek default would provide a lesson in what happens to countries that can't live within their means."
Even if the Greeks vote no, at least they will have chosen their own fate. The only cure for the excesses of democracy, is more democracy.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Niall Ferguson on how America can avoid collapse
From his Newsweek column. Add his name to those you should read regarding the decline and fall, but don't call him a "declinist." He's more of a "sudden collapse" kind of guy.
To avoid that fate here, Ferguson offers this software analogy,
"What we need to do is to delete the viruses that have crept into our system: the anticompetitive quasi monopolies that blight everything from banking to public education; the politically correct pseudosciences and soft subjects that deflect good students away from hard science; the lobbyists who subvert the rule of law for the sake of the special interests they represent—to say nothing of our crazily dysfunctional system of health care, our overleveraged personal finances, and our newfound unemployment ethic."
To avoid that fate here, Ferguson offers this software analogy,
"What we need to do is to delete the viruses that have crept into our system: the anticompetitive quasi monopolies that blight everything from banking to public education; the politically correct pseudosciences and soft subjects that deflect good students away from hard science; the lobbyists who subvert the rule of law for the sake of the special interests they represent—to say nothing of our crazily dysfunctional system of health care, our overleveraged personal finances, and our newfound unemployment ethic."
The Receding Tide of Prosperity
Picking up on yesterday's theme, there are more good analyses popping up of the current situation, particularly of the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon. Over on his blog, Walter Russell Mead calls attention to an analysis by Megan McArdle at The Atlantic. She builds on the essay I linked to yesterday by Kenneth Anderson, who argues that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement really represents an intra-class conflict between the upper and middle tiers of the (his word) virtueocracy.
Before returning to that thread, I first want to call more attention to to this piece from Anne Applebaum in the Daily Telegraph, "Can America survive without its backbone, the middle class?" This quote helps frame the issue,
"Despite all the loud talk of the “1 per cent” of Americans who, according to a recent study, receive about 17 percent of the income, a percentage which has more than doubled since 1979, the existence of a very small group of very rich people has never bothered Americans. But the fact that some 20 per cent of Americans now receive some 53 per cent of the income is devastating."
Rich Lowry, in the New York Post, picks up on a theme of inter-class struggle in "Stuck at the Bottom: Culture and the American Dream." He concludes, "old-fashioned bourgeois virtues, and particularly marriage, rarely figure in the public debate. Everyone is more comfortable talking about taxes or the banks, as the American Dream frays."
Finally, from Sunday, Ross Douthat writes in the New York Times about stresses on the middle class and diminishing expectations. While the OWS crowd may harbor some legitimate (if well-hidden) grievances, their preferred policy solutions--higher taxes and a bigger government--will only lead to more grief,
"The public-sector workplace has become a kind of artificial Eden, whose fortunate inhabitants enjoy solid pay and 1950s-style job security and retirement benefits, all of it paid for by their less-fortunate private-sector peers. Some on the left have convinced themselves that this 'success' can lay the foundation for a broader middle-class revival. But if a bloated public sector were the blueprint for a thriving middle-class society, then the whole world would be beating a path to Greece’s door."
Instead, Douthat makes an argument for what he terms "small-government egalitarianism," which to my ears sounds a lot like "aspirational conservatism" combined with "redesigning government." His concept,
"would seek to reform the government before we pour more money into it, along lines that encourage upward mobility and benefit the middle class. This would mean seeking a carefully means-tested welfare state, a less special interest-friendly tax code, and a public sector that worked for taxpayers and parents rather than the other way around."
Back to McArdle's analysis, "The Rage of the Almost-Elite." Picking up on Anderson's analysis, she extends it, by harkening back to this work by George Orwell from the last century, where he describes another time and place occupied by the "wreckage left behind when the tide of Victorian prosperity receded."
McArdle touches on the culture theme, as did Lowry, not to praise "old-fashioned bourgeois virtues" as he did, but to explain why members of Anderson's "New Class" seem so obligated to trash those same virtues,
"It's not entirely crazy to suspect, as Orwell did, that this has something to do with money. Specifically, you sneer at the customs of the people you might be mistaken for."
But McArdle confirms with her experience that the New Class saves their ire more for the tier directly above them, than the classes they view as below them,
"They didn't see it coming. Yes, yes, maybe they were naive about the possibilities of a fulfilling and secure life in the field of non-profit environmental management. Probably they should not have sunk tens of thousands of dollars into acquiring a BFA. But these mistakes didn't usually used to be crippling.... Unfortunately their choices became utterly, horrifyingly disastrous just at the moment when we had a terrible financial crisis that spiked our unemployment rate up to 10%."
I find much of this analysis persuasive in explaining current events, like the OWS protests. More importantly, these analyses show the Internet at its finest. Rather than fomenting dissent and spreading confusion, analysts around the globe are able to read and react to each others' work almost in real time, strengthening arguments and building on one another.
Before returning to that thread, I first want to call more attention to to this piece from Anne Applebaum in the Daily Telegraph, "Can America survive without its backbone, the middle class?" This quote helps frame the issue,
"Despite all the loud talk of the “1 per cent” of Americans who, according to a recent study, receive about 17 percent of the income, a percentage which has more than doubled since 1979, the existence of a very small group of very rich people has never bothered Americans. But the fact that some 20 per cent of Americans now receive some 53 per cent of the income is devastating."
Rich Lowry, in the New York Post, picks up on a theme of inter-class struggle in "Stuck at the Bottom: Culture and the American Dream." He concludes, "old-fashioned bourgeois virtues, and particularly marriage, rarely figure in the public debate. Everyone is more comfortable talking about taxes or the banks, as the American Dream frays."
Finally, from Sunday, Ross Douthat writes in the New York Times about stresses on the middle class and diminishing expectations. While the OWS crowd may harbor some legitimate (if well-hidden) grievances, their preferred policy solutions--higher taxes and a bigger government--will only lead to more grief,
"The public-sector workplace has become a kind of artificial Eden, whose fortunate inhabitants enjoy solid pay and 1950s-style job security and retirement benefits, all of it paid for by their less-fortunate private-sector peers. Some on the left have convinced themselves that this 'success' can lay the foundation for a broader middle-class revival. But if a bloated public sector were the blueprint for a thriving middle-class society, then the whole world would be beating a path to Greece’s door."
Instead, Douthat makes an argument for what he terms "small-government egalitarianism," which to my ears sounds a lot like "aspirational conservatism" combined with "redesigning government." His concept,
"would seek to reform the government before we pour more money into it, along lines that encourage upward mobility and benefit the middle class. This would mean seeking a carefully means-tested welfare state, a less special interest-friendly tax code, and a public sector that worked for taxpayers and parents rather than the other way around."
Back to McArdle's analysis, "The Rage of the Almost-Elite." Picking up on Anderson's analysis, she extends it, by harkening back to this work by George Orwell from the last century, where he describes another time and place occupied by the "wreckage left behind when the tide of Victorian prosperity receded."
McArdle touches on the culture theme, as did Lowry, not to praise "old-fashioned bourgeois virtues" as he did, but to explain why members of Anderson's "New Class" seem so obligated to trash those same virtues,
"It's not entirely crazy to suspect, as Orwell did, that this has something to do with money. Specifically, you sneer at the customs of the people you might be mistaken for."
But McArdle confirms with her experience that the New Class saves their ire more for the tier directly above them, than the classes they view as below them,
"They didn't see it coming. Yes, yes, maybe they were naive about the possibilities of a fulfilling and secure life in the field of non-profit environmental management. Probably they should not have sunk tens of thousands of dollars into acquiring a BFA. But these mistakes didn't usually used to be crippling.... Unfortunately their choices became utterly, horrifyingly disastrous just at the moment when we had a terrible financial crisis that spiked our unemployment rate up to 10%."
I find much of this analysis persuasive in explaining current events, like the OWS protests. More importantly, these analyses show the Internet at its finest. Rather than fomenting dissent and spreading confusion, analysts around the globe are able to read and react to each others' work almost in real time, strengthening arguments and building on one another.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)