Challenges

Duluth is facing enormous and unprecedented challenges. How do we, how will we and can we come together to solve these issues? Where is the middle ground and where is the consensus? What do we agree are the biggest obstacles to our future?

The key to all of this is to understand the disparity between Duluth and similar sized cities. Further we need to understand the relationship between government and those who fund it, namely, private citizens and business. To find common ground we need to have a vision for the future.

In Duluth we lack a vision. To find consensus we need leadership behind that vision. Lacking a vision, we have "leaders" who are incapable of leading, after-all, how can they lead if they are leading us nowhere? To find the middle ground we need to agree on the meat of our vision. Lacking a vision, we have no middle ground, just shifting sands of political posturing. Consensus is lacking as we have a divided community, those who follow the winds of popularity and those who seek leadership and true progress.

The final sticking point seems to be the differences in the definition of "progress". "Progressives" have arguably made the word their own however, progressives are universally in favor of regressive policies, practices and politics and "conservation". "Conservatives" on the other hand, seem to be more concerned with true progress, development, growth and technology, which ultimately results in conservation and efficiency than the "progressives". How is it then that the "progressives" who are largely conservative, regressive and anti-technology have successfully hijacked the moniker "progressive"? The explanation lies in an analogy. Today's internet culture has epitomized the notion of first come, first served. In essence, if you get out there first and register a domain name, a marketing approach, a growth strategy, a sales concept, it is, in effect, yours as long as you pay your monthly and annual fees and dues. The same holds true with the "progressives". They have coined and essentially been allowed to monopolize certain terms, concepts and theories and in large degree, their definitions have been accepted as gospel.

Herein lies the problem. Everyday people accept the term "progressive" as meaning one who advocates progress. In Duluth, the progressives have hijacked every politically influential organization and board from the Chamber of Commerce to the comprehensive planning process. This has resulted in cynicism by the conservatives who have been effectively disenfranchised from Duluth politics and influence for decades.

How then do we arrive at a solution to the issues facing Duluth with such a one-sided approach? Those of us with more realistic, conservative, development oriented solutions to the long term problems facing Duluth have to simply wait it out. If we want to avoid personal liability at the hands of the City, we have but one choice and that is to move our families and businesses outside the City limits until the City either collapses or is able to arrive at more realistic contracts with AFSCME, convince the State Legislature to take a bigger bite of our liability or declare bankruptcy. The City does not have the tax base or resources to overcome it's current liabilities without extorting an unsustainable tax burden from the individuals and businesses.

The City should not be let off the hook by the Legislature. This is a situation of our own making and we must bear the brunt of the fallout. Political paralysis has infected the Council and Mayor's office and hope is fading that the Unions will ever come to their collective senses. The current crop on the Council would rather debate the Iraq War on our nickel than solve the issues they were elected to address. Reality is setting in with those of us looking objectively at the situation and the long-term road map being laid by the Council, the progressives and the Mayor. Some things never change and insane people must not be expected to effect positive change without outside intervention. The intervention will not occur as long as Duluthians continue to subscribe to the DFL lines of liberal BS and vote these clowns into the majority.