As Duluth struggles with less state aid, some criticize using it
December 23, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Since 2003, the city of Duluth has seen the state money it receives through local government aid fall victim to budget-cutting. Continue Reading
Wow, wow, wow. There is so much to be said about this article.
For Duluth to rely on 37 of its money from LGA, shows a huge problem in the budgeting process in Duluth. Jim Stauber is correct, the city does need to get itself off of LGA. 15 % of cities do just fine without it. It is time for leadership of this city to make some difficult decisions, and start cutting. Stop with all these utopian ideas, and get back to the fundamental things a city should be doing. Yea, staffing has suffered, because most of these city offices were overstaffed to begin with. If they are going to add snow plow drivers, than ok, hire away, other than that, you do not need 19 people, pushing paper, while on Facebook, answering a phone in some office.
The point of lower property tax that Mr Hartman brings up is a moot point at best, when the city is facing a 12% property tax increase to fund a boondoggle of a school district, and 3% to the Chamber. Again, Ness states the same issue about property taxes. Take a look at the schools, and you will how much money is being wasted.
“But Carlson acknowledged that Duluth leans more heavily on LGA than most other large Minnesota cities.” Can anyone come forward and give an honest answer on the main reason that Duluth leans more heavily on LGA. I’d love to hear the answered defending the spending.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
65 
18
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
34 
59
Right, because give me a valid reason why taxes should go up? Not to mention, property taxes will be going up. Federal and state income taxes will go up. Food prices are going up. At what point in time am I working to just what government thinks “is right.” I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get a 20% raise this year to make up for this spending that governments want to do. On what will the money be spent on? We, the citizens, need to start making these officials more accountable with our money, instead, we blindly just hand them over our money.
Blindly throwing good money at a bad problem will not fix the problem of “poor or slow city services.” I also like how that is a liberals go to point: Police, fire, and services. Does the city really need its own human rights commission?
Can you also shed some light on this “LGA saves you a ton of money on my taxes” line. I would love to hear it.
“Duluth received the equivalent of $318 in local government aid for every city resident as of 2010, the most recent year for which statewide data is available. That’s 83 percent more than Minnesota cities were paid on average — $173 per capita — according to data from a state auditor’s report analyzed by the Duluth News Tribune.” Sure sounds like Duluth is getting a lot of money here and out of the three cities you mentioned, we the get most money from the state. Tell me all the glorious things we have in Duluth. Crappy roads, a Norshore pipe dream, A fish tank the citizens have to keep throwing money at, and let’s not forget the Mayor’s pie-in-the-sky hope to bring Duluth’s population to 100k.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
43 
11
John, a major part of why the city’s “portion” of tax levy is less than other cities of Class 1 counterparts is that the City of Duluth also collects a 1% local option sales tax that is injected into the General Fund. These other cities don’t. So, in effect, this 1% local option sales tax paid by you, tourists, shoppers, etc. is also property tax relief. You add that in, then compare to the cities you mention.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
38 
10
Duluth is the ONLY city in Minnesota which has a local option sales tax that flows into the General Fund paying for police, fire, etc. Other cities collect a “local option” tax but it’s earmarked (loosely, in some cases) for a special purpose like a convention center, or “economic development”, or something along the like.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
36 
5
Duluth relies on it so much….because, we have no industrial tax base, way too many welfare recipients so not much being paid in, no decent jobs for college grads….not enough decent jobs for ANYONE…..mostly tourist, and service sector / retail jobs! Duluth’s union benefits and pensions, too many employees with the city ( even after they have cut some city jobs ), too much trying to act like Mpls, when we are only in a small pond in Duluth! Spending projects that we have no business being involved in…..especially in our financial condition! So, bottom line….NOT enough good jobs….no industrial tax base….and too much spending on “feel good” projects and TOO HIGH A % of low income / welfare folks as a % of total population! Can we all see the larger picture here?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
38 
7
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
10 
30
I agree with the Nixon part Merv , but don’t forget CLinton signed NAFTA that was pushed by the 1st Bush.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
21 
6
Oh Merv there you go again…Republicans are evil and Democrats are good…Spare us with the partisan blather…The truth is neither party is doing a good job for the average person.
Nick I agree with Clinton selling out and signing NAFTA. It was good-bye American manufacturing.
Even worse, Clinton signed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act which sequentially set up the financial collapse and mess we are in today.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
27 
4
Merv….Numerous folks on many different issues have all told you the same thing….do I need to refresh your memory? Quit trying to blame the world economy for Duluth’s numerous mistakes ( mis-management, for the most part ), as our industry has not disappeared from Duluth because of the global economy…..now think carefully about that, before you sprout off again! RE-THINK about most of your positions….the global economy does NOT inject itself in MOST of DULUTH’S problems! MOST of Duluth’s problems have been started by our own local’s.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
22 
5
I never said Democrats are good. Clinton was a right-wing Democrat. He supported to support “free-trade” policies just as much as Nixon and Reagan. So did Bush 2, and so is Obama. I’m just addressing where the problem started. There’s nothing partisan about it.
Also, I agree that Glass-Steagall should have never been repealed. These aren’t Democrat or Republican issues, these are issues about a privately owned government. And I wish we could talk about them some more. But you guys ALWAYS paint the issue as either liberal or conservative. You make it sound like everything would be great if the government was run by Republicans, and if somebody disagrees with you, they must be a Democrat. Heck, your name is “DFL Duluth Exposed.” And you’re calling me the partisan?!
And Vern, you’re being willfully ignorant. You only get mad at things you can see and ignore things you don’t. You can see people on welfare, you can see the headlines on the newspaper. But it’s evident that it’s too much effort for you to do any research beyond that – to be critical of the institutions that you give your allegiance to. Please don’t lecture me about Duluth’s economy. The USA has lost manufacturing jobs by the tens-of-millions, and Duluth was built on manufacturing. The city council didn’t ship those jobs overseas. Private industries did. How can you possibly think that globalization isn’t an important factor in this discussion. It’s the most important factor! Look at our port! Look at all the empty ships! Look at where 99% of the goods you buy are made!
Like or Dislike:
9 
15
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
17 
37
The people of Duluth have no shame. We are on welfare, I might see ten percent to help with a special project, but over 30% is horrible. We need to start to really look at our city, our property tax base and our selves. Everytime someones wants to do something, someone protests and stops it. We need to remind them that then they need to open their wallet and pay alot more property tax. We also need to look at all the feel good things like the “lake walk extension”, we cannot afford it. We have more parks the we can afford, the old armory needs to be sold to someone who will pay property taxes, the Northshore needs to be sold and might even have to be torn down in order to create property taxes. All of these non profits cost us double, first no property taxes and then the needy people they bring in to live on them that pay very small amount of taxes, if any at all.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
63 
15
It’s simple live with in our means, not bleed the people for more money. This kind of thinking is why our country is in financial trouble !
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
51 
12
So if the city sends 90 million to state and we get 30 back. This is a good deal…?
Maybe there should be a 50/50 split here and we would not have to go begging to get tax dollars collected back from the socialists.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
39 
5
This is exactly what Duluth gets for selling out to the tourist and the welfare dollar.
Imagine a Duluth property tax ledger that would have benefitted from 25 years of retaining even 1000 students from local colleges per year. A properly gentrified Central Hillside would have the potential to bring revenues far more in line with what they should be. Then add in the money lost by having Harborview/”Highland Homes” or whatever the utopian pipe dream of new projects is, and right there you’re talking millions upon millions of dollars.
But what do you expect from decades of City Clowncils, goofball mayors and state politicians who know nothing of building?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
40 
9
I don’t know why anybody is complaining. This is exactly the kind of thing Duluthians want based on their voting history. They’ve been in love with the DFL and its politics for decades. This didn’t “happen” to Duluth. Duluth chose this.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
43 
15
“The city of Duluth generates about $85 million in sales tax receipts that go to the state of Minnesota each year, and we receive $27.4 million back in the form of LGA.”
Seems like the state is more reliant on our money than we are on theirs.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
38 
9
I forgot where it says you’re supposed to get $1:$1? Can someone tell me? Because pretty sure that would mean cities like Edina, Wayzata would be making out like bandits.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
27 
8
DanH, ya nailed it! You keep voting the libs in, ya made your bed now lay in it. Everyone is so happy and proud of our fine, un-rivaled welfare system, deal with what it creates. The tax base is needed to provide the system with money to operate, not endlessly suckle from it. Some of these liberals need to take a drive down town, not avoid it, you created it.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
33 
12
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
9 
31
Merv, your pipe dream is based in the 70-80′s, we’re 30 years passed that, now we have to deal with the new reality, WELFARE! Sorry jack, the facts are the facts, that’s what causes our problems today, all of your hypothetical crap is just that, crap. The “what ifs” are gone, now we have to deal with the liberal agenda you and yours have created, today!
Like or Dislike:
16 
5
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
6 
17
Merv when you get corned by the brainwashed crowd, just get out it is no use. A country where fewer and fewer have more and more and somehow it is the fault of the poor? If they don’t get it now in these days of blatant corruption, they never will. Redistricting anyone? It is right in front of your noses.
Like or Dislike:
3 
11
Welfare, welfare, welfare…you hit it on the head Merv. Duluths economy is based on welfare. (Case in point look at the kid that shot at that cab driver. Fresh up from Chicago. Article in todays DNT. Why?) You sould like a broken record in blaming the “Global Economy” for Duluths woes. No Duluth was made to be a welfare mecca by people like you who vote for flaming libs and then stick your head in the sand to try to hide from the rammifications of your vote. Hows about you look across the pond to Superior. Now there is a little city that knows how to attract good manufacturing jobs in spite of the “Global Economy”. Even some ex-Duluth businesses have re-located in Superior. But hey, Superior and WI don’t feel the need to bring in multitudes of leaches who don’t want to work but instead Superior provides jobs, jobs for ambitious people who want to work. See a difference?
Like or Dislike:
12 
6
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
2 
12
Oh I know, let’s move somewhere where people want to live differently than us and complain about how they live!
Like or Dislike:
2 
5
Just look at Detroit for an example of what Duluth will be like in the future. Nobody takes responsibility and blames the ills on the other side. Everybody needs to quit whining and work together to move us forward. The right and the left are both responsible for jobs leaving the country. We have to face the fact that this is a global economy and we are no longer a manufacturing society. People are going to be paid $20 an hour to make shoes and it takes a reasonable amount of tax money to make our society run. We will soon reach a point where we will no longer be able to make fiscal decisions for our country if we continue to run up debt. Raise taxes, cut spending and pay this stuff off. While we are at it, let us leave our Constitution alone. I continue to be amazed by people who think electing the same types over and over again will spur change. If we do not make smart decisions now, our future austerity measures will make them for us.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
21 
4
rosie….well said! My sentiments as well. The global economy is here to stay, as we cannot convert the USA to a lone island to stand alone against the rest of the world! It would sure help, if we became more competitive….but we are going to have to START paying off our total debt as well as balancing our annual budget! We, as a society are so used to getting everything we want…..right now, it is going to be difficult to change these things, as a society. Tighten our belts and “live within our means”. To compete on a global scale, we are going to have to lower our costs of goods…and we all should know exactly what that means. The prices of goods will have to come down, as the wages and benefits will have come down….just to compete, on a global scale!
Like or Dislike:
16 
4
Vern, you are calling for America to turn into a 3rd world country! You want us to be just like China and India. You have no idea about the large scale implications of the actions you’re calling for. You might as well say, “I won’t be happy until everybody is working for 20 cents per hour!”
Like or Dislike:
6 
14
Rosie, what on earth are you talking about? Who is going to be paid $20 an hour to make shoes? How is the left responsible for jobs leaving the country? Are you talking about the left that continues to defend the minimum wage and basic public services? Or the right-wing Democrats in Washington that claim to support progressive ideas during election season? Blaming others for blaming others is the weakest argument yet.
It would do everyone on this board a great bit of service to have a conversation with someone from any other developed country. Our corporate media always claims that spending and handouts are the biggest issues in America. But the majority of people get NOTHING for free. Absolutely nothing. In most industrialized countries, education is heavily subsidized and loans can be sometimes be forgiven if you’re at least working. Not in America. In most industrialized societies, things like affordable health services, social programs, and decent wages are commonplace and worth defending. Not in America, where going bankrupt for basic medical treatment is totally acceptable. In most industrialized societies, they don’t continue to have the same debates that were resolved decades ago just because a few robber-baron business types control the media, and in turn, what the masses think. We don’t have a spending problem, this country has a critical thinking problem – a problem where easy answers spoonfed by commercial media and emotionally driven populism trump research, analysis, and an understanding of the size, scale, and sheer magnitude of the amount of money and resources being moved around.
Like or Dislike:
6 
14
Well said Merv. People here have some vague notion about Europe, but I ask them to do some research. Look at the quality of life statistics from other developed countries and what they pay for those benefits. Now if you close your eyes and block out images of Old Glory and honestly ask yourself who is getting a better deal? Another thing to think about is it is not just a few countries in Europe where people are living better than us, well there is of course Japan (nothing new), but now we have Tiawan and South Korea who’s standard of living is surpassing ours.
We have the power. We greatly outnumber the oppressors, but as long as we are pitted against each other nothing will change.
Like or Dislike:
3 
8
Merv….”We don’t have a spending problem”…..Merv, I strongly suggest that you “consider your sources” for the info that you “try to paint” on all these different posts! And by “consider your sources”, I also mean the “quality and integrity” of all your sources, that you parrot from….try “expanding” your realm and scope of the definitions and talking points that you use…..in your “opinions”, on these “opinion only” boards! Comprende???
Like or Dislike:
7 
2
Look at the size of Government spending during Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2 and Obama. The lowest is Clinton and second lowest is Obama. Those are just the facts and I’ve posted links in the past from government reporting agencies expressing those facts, but it’s not worth my time. The myth of Republican small government is a myth. If you want the truth look it up. If you want to continue to be manipulated by the rich, then don’t.
Like or Dislike:
2 
8
Here is a link. There are many expressing this. Three lowest spending presidents since Eisenhower are Obama, Clinton and Carter. All Democrats. THAT is the TRUTH.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is-the-smallest-government-spender-since-eisenhower-would-you-believe-its-barack-obama/
Like or Dislike:
2 
6
Merv, I agree people should not go bankrupt for getting sick, or losing their job, I’ve been there, I agree. However, the thrust of your argument is to resort to communism, ain’t going to happen. The wonderful part of the US is you can bust your arse and excel, that’s what we’re made of! Sitting on your butt accepting handouts is NOT the American way. Your “poor me, poor society” garbage is a complete cop out, if you’re willing to work hard and get an education you still have opportunity in this country, granted a huge chunk of your income will go to the “poor me’s” you so staunchly defend, but it is possible and still worth it. Ya gotta work and better yourself Merv! I know you’re the smartest guy you know and a formal education will benefit you in no way, but guess what, that’s the gauge society has set up by which we are judged, deal with it! And do it! Or, shut up and deal with the bed your lack of ambition has made. Welfare and handouts are wrong, no matter how YOU spin it, at least the corporate thieves are at work.
Like or Dislike:
8 
1