[Speed Gibson,
Friday October 22, 2004 at 3:04pm]
Who's a Moderate?
Continuing my prior post, let's consider John Gunyou's contribution to the intellectually empty Commentary Page in Friday's Commentary page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Mr. Gunyou is City Manager of Minnetonka and formerly Finance Commissioner under Gov. Arne Carlson.
I'll give him this: he's at least proud of the "moderate" label, unlike most liberals. But is he a moderate? Let's use his own answers to his twelve question "are you a moderate" test.
Sure sounds like a liberal to me. But if you're not quite convinced, on question 9, he adds:
This is pure liberal thought. While it may be true that State spending hasn't increased quite as much as personal income [David Strom strikes again!], this "official Price of Government" measure is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial as Perry Mason would say.
Suppose you got a big raise at work, but then all your expenses flexed up at the same rate, which Gunyou seems to think it proper. You're no better off! Why bother to work hard?
Inflation is what counts, and State spending has definitely grown more than inflation.
John Gunyou, you are a liberal. Your article is a signed confession.
I'll give him this: he's at least proud of the "moderate" label, unlike most liberals. But is he a moderate? Let's use his own answers to his twelve question "are you a moderate" test.
1. The most important issue is ... the Minnesota we're leaving for our children. [It's for the children.]
2. The greatest threat to our state is ... the Taxpayers League. [We're among the top five states in terms of taxes. Just how much more do you want? Besides, Education Minnesota has done far more harm to Minnesota.]
3. The ballooning $7 trillion federal debt can be slowed by ... not spending more than we take in. [You mean David Strom might be right after all? Come now, a conservative gets here a lot faster than a moderate.]
4. The public investment with the highest rate of return is ... Head Start. [But Head Start doesn't work. Per the Washington Post: "Study after study has shown that by third grade, any early benefit a Head Start preschool program has provided — the schooling, the health care, the family counseling, the home visits — is gone. The participants score about the same on tests as poor children who never attended preschool. They are just as far behind their middle-class peers." Surely a moderate would concede that Head Start can hardly have the highest return on investment. ]
5. A true fiscal conservative would pledge ... honestly to balance the budget and invest in our future. [We do so pledge. It's those moderates and liberals that mess it up.]
6. The most trustworthy source of real news is ... truly independent media. [Such as? Anybody know what he's talking about?]
7. Balancing the state budget without raising taxes ... really involves balancing ongoing revenue with ongoing spending. [Score another for David Strom? But I believe David would point out that its not a balancing act. It's getting the spending right, then collecting just that much and no more.]
8. We should fund our schools by ... rejecting the no-tax pledge and honestly paying for student growth and inflation. [The no-tax pledge comment is an obvious non-sequitur. And over time, the schools have received tremendous increases over inflation and enrollment.]
9. Taxes are ... simply the price of public services like police and fire protection, schools and colleges, roads and parks. [And welfare, light rail, and sports arenas, and convention centers in Fergus Falls, and all of it much too inefficient.]
10. We can control runaway human services costs by ... reforming the real cost-drivers, like long-term care. [How? Ask the Governor he says.]
11. Our transportation backbone should be funded by ... raising a gas tax that hasn't been increased for 16 years. [Raise a tax just because we haven't for a while?]
12. You love your country if you ... care more about the long-term public good than you do about your own immediate interests. [But it's okay to pick your neighbor's pocket to help with your own immediate interests.]
Sure sounds like a liberal to me. But if you're not quite convinced, on question 9, he adds:
The truth is, the state's official Price of Government has declined over the past decade. That means government is taking a smaller share of money out of our pockets. We can afford to pay for essential public services if we simply freeze the price at its current level instead of driving it lower. [Or, we could discontinue non-essential public services like light rail.]
This is pure liberal thought. While it may be true that State spending hasn't increased quite as much as personal income [David Strom strikes again!], this "official Price of Government" measure is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial as Perry Mason would say.
Suppose you got a big raise at work, but then all your expenses flexed up at the same rate, which Gunyou seems to think it proper. You're no better off! Why bother to work hard?
Inflation is what counts, and State spending has definitely grown more than inflation.
John Gunyou, you are a liberal. Your article is a signed confession.