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Rural Economy

“Throughout the history of Minnesota, our state’s rich countryside has been connected to our small towns and cities through a web of family relationships and commerce.  We’ve always understood that one cannot thrive without the other.  Today we are at a critical juncture.  If our state is to be successful in the new global economy, then people and businesses in every corner of Minnesota need to have access to opportunity.”

Minnesota is blessed with some of the richest farmland and most valuable natural resources in the world.  We have a history of turning these resources into the raw materials, food and products that have been the engine of our state’s prosperity.  Minnesota is a national leader in producing everything from sugar beets, corn and other grains to beef, pork, poultry and dairy products.  The agriculture and food industry is Minnesota’s largest employer and contributes more than $10 billion to the state economy.

Despite this history, no one would dispute that the last several decades have not been easy on Minnesota’s rural economy.  Farmers and livestock owners have been buffeted by wild price swings.  Younger people are leaving for opportunities in bigger communities – or out of state.

R.T. believes that we can turn these trends around if we have a statewide plan for jobs, opportunity and revitalizing our homegrown economy.  He will be an active partner with Congressman Colin Peterson and Senator Amy Klobuchar, both who serve on Congressional Agriculture committees, to help Minnesota farmers.   R.T. will help to connect rural Minnesota with efficient, safe roads and broadband Internet access.  He will help small, entrepreneurial businesses that are ready to create jobs and revitalize Main Streets across Minnesota with small business loans and business assistance – the same strategies that have turned around neighborhoods in Minneapolis.

Greater Minnesota is a rich source of innovation.  R.T. understands the power of clean, renewable energy to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and create jobs all across Minnesota.

In Greater Minnesota, creating jobs and opportunity depends on good schools and access to quality health care.  Clean water and protected natural areas will not only add to our quality of life, they will support tourism. Local food and regional food systems are good for the environment and support family scale producers.

Healthcare

“Every Minnesotan, and every American, needs to have quality, affordable health care.  We must have universal access to essential health care services, and we must ensure that health care is affordable for everyone.  This is both a moral and economic imperative.  If we don’t get control of health care costs, we will never get control of our future.”

Our country is currently embroiled in a bitter debate about health care reform, even though most Americans agree that the status quo is not working and our system must be fixed.  In this debate R.T. believes we should focus on a few values.  First, people should never lose access to health care if they change their job or get sick.  Second, health care must be affordable.  It is completely unacceptable that half of all personal bankruptcies and half of all home foreclosures are due in part to the high cost of health care coverage.  Third, everyone needs to take responsibility for lowering health care costs.  As long as we have employer-based health insurance in this country, employers need to take responsibility for providing coverage for their employees or paying into a fund for health care coverage.

Out of control health care costs are killing jobs, damaging our global competitiveness, and driving up the cost of state and local government.  We won’t change this until, as a first step, everyone contributes and everyone is covered. R.T. believes strongly that people should have the choice of a public-option health care plan.  The competition provided by a public option will help to force down costs, expand choice and help keep insurance companies honest.  It will contribute to more efficiency in the system and help reduce the burden on small business.

As Governor, R.T. will focus on health education, primary care and preventative care so that individuals can take more responsibility for their own health. 

R.T. will work with Minnesota’s congressional delegation to make sure that Minnesota’s successes on controlling costs and expanding coverage don’t penalize us in federal health care reform.  He will push for universal health care in Minnesota, starting with universal coverage for kids.

R.T. will also keep up the pressure to get control of health care costs. Governor Pawlenty seems to think that we can legislate away cost increases simply by cutting budgets.  All this accomplishes is shifting costs to another part of the system – the emergency room, or worse, people delaying health care until they get sicker.  Health care costs are crippling family, business and government budgets.  R.T. knows we won’t be able to make important investments in jobs and opportunity if we don’t address the root causes of this cost growth.  R.T. will find ways to reduce administrative costs, find efficiencies – like electronic medical records – that reduce costs and improve care and focus on prevention and early intervention.

Reforming health care is both a moral and economic imperative. In the world’s richest country, R.T. thinks it is morally wrong for people to suffer with illness and disease because they can’t afford health care.  And in the world’s richest country, it makes no sense to cripple business and the public sector with skyrocketing health care costs.

Jobs & Opportunity

“Our history has shown that we build opportunity by investing in people and by investing in the common ground where innovation can thrive.  Minnesota faces serious economic challenges, but in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we have a unique capacity not just to recover, but to reinvigorate our economy.”

Record of Results

• When R.T. became Mayor of Minneapolis, he asked why the city’s job training programs were so disconnected from the region’s employers and why there was so little data about whether these programs worked to help people get and keep jobs. R.T. changed things. He revamped the city’s jobs program and as a result 10,000 unemployed people successfully completed training programs and got good-paying jobs. Then he went to work attracting good jobs to Minneapolis. Thanks to R.T.’s hands-on approach, Minneapolis has almost 2,000 good-paying health care jobs with Allina on the south side of town, and Coloplast on the north side.

Results:  Typically, big cities have higher unemployment than the suburbs, and for years Minneapolis was in the same boat.  Today, thanks to R.T.’s hands-on approach, Minneapolis has erased that gap and in many months the unemployment rate in Minneapolis is actually lower than in the rest of the region and the state.  That’s something almost no other big city in America can say.

• As Mayor, R.T. changed the way Minneapolis approached economic development. He challenged the old-style approach of offering subsidies to big corporations and refocused the city on helping small business. R.T. understands that small businesses are the engines of job creation. Especially in tough times small companies have trouble getting the capital they need to grow, even when their base business is strong. With that in mind, R.T. led the city in creating the Great Streets Initiative to support small-business growth. Great Streets is an innovative toolbox of low-interest loans and other business financing tools that are helping small businesses create jobs and support families.

Results:  Minneapolis has invested $4.3 million to help small businesses create jobs and grow.  These investments have leveraged millions more in private investment.  Best of all, this program is paid for through an innovative new use of federal grant money, not with local or state tax dollars.

Action on Jobs and Opportunity

By the end of 2009, almost 225,000 Minnesotans are out of work.  To understand the significance of this, think of the personal toll of one person losing their job:  the worry and strain for them and their family; the fear of losing health care or their homes; the dislocation of families moving, children potentially uprooted from schools.  The price paid by families in this recession is unacceptable, and Minnesota needs both a short-term response and a long-term plan.

R.T. is a strong supporter of Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Franken’s work to extend federal unemployment benefits for Minnesota’s unemployed workers and to make sure Minnesota gets the same benefits as other states.  He also supports State Senator Tom Bakk’s call for a special legislative session for early approval of the state’s bonding bill so projects can get going and put people to work.  R.T. also recognizes the power of federal stimulus dollars to get the economy moving again.  Minneapolis has aggressively pursued these federal dollars to protect and create jobs, and the state of Minnesota should too.

Minnesota needs a long-term plan to grow jobs and our economy.  As Mayor R.T. has focused single-mindedly on growing jobs and economic competitiveness, and he will do the same as Governor. Creating jobs starts with investing in education and training, so Minnesota can claim again to have the best workforce in the world.  Next, we need to improve our roads, bridges, transit and technology- from transportation to high-speed Internet access everywhere in Minnesota -so that people can work productively anywhere, and so Minnesota projects can get to market efficiently and cost-effectively.  Minnesota also needs to make smart investments in the common ground that enhance our quality of life, culture and natural resources, because we know that they attract and grow jobs and the talented workforce to fill them.

As Governor, R.T. will immediately bring business leaders, labor, civic organizations and the public sector together to develop a plan for job growth for every region of the state. This plan needs to build on our regional strengths and our unique strengths in industry clusters like health care, medical technology, natural resources, and marketing and retailing.  With his background in business, R.T. knows that jobs are created by the private sector first.  With this in mind, he will take action to improve the climate for business growth in Minnesota.  Minnesota will not be a strong global competitor unless we are a leading place to do business.  We need to keep a close eye on business taxes, but we also need to dispel the myth that low taxes are the best or only way to create economic growth.

Under the Pawlenty administration there has been no plan for growth and no strategy for economic recovery, and as a result Minnesota is getting left behind. R.T. will set a new direction focused on growing jobs and creating broadly shared prosperity.

Budget & Reform

“We have shown in Minneapolis that in tough times, tough-minded leaders can make tough decisions that deliver results for the tax payers. People should expect nothing less from their government.  Someone once said that change is inevitable, but progress is optional. In Minnesota, we need to choose progress.”

 Record of Results

• When R.T. first took office in 2002, Minneapolis was reeling from the economic crisis brought on by 9/11, city debt that was deep and growing, and a political culture rocked by ethics scandals. R.T. rolled up his sleeves and went to work. First he implemented a new, tough ethics policy. Next, he cleaned up the city’s budget. He worked with city employees to identify wasteful spending, reform city services, streamline departments and still make important investments in public safety, safe roads and bridges, and jobs. He balanced the city budget eight years in a row without accounting gimmicks, and paid off $116 million in debt. He did all this while the state government budget was in meltdown and the state abandoned its commitment to Minneapolis and cities like it across Minnesota.

Results: After inflation, Minneapolis’ spending has increased by only 1% from 2003 to 2009.  Governor Pawlenty can’t say the same: during the same time, state spending has increased by 12%.

• Some say that during a financial crisis the only option is to retrench, do less and lower our expectations. Not R.T. During eight years of budget challenges, R.T. has continually found ways to improve city services.

Results: R.T. ended years of dysfunction in city departments by streamlining the development review process, creating one place where businesses can go for permits and approvals.  He led the way for Minneapolis to be one of the first wireless cities in the country – with affordable wireless Internet access for everyone.  Tired of excuses when it came to fighting graffiti, he went to the community for ideas, and offered microgrants for the best ideas.  The response was overwhelming, and the results reduced graffiti in some communities by 100%.

Vision for the Future

In Minneapolis R.T. has delivered on the promise of planning for the future, paying down debt, and implementing a stable strategic plan that people understand and support. We need the same strategy for the state of Minnesota. 

The state of Minnesota is in financial chaos.  Over the last eight years we have lurched from budget crisis to budget crisis and are now facing a deficit of up to $7 billion.  Even worse, the state has pushed its budget failures down onto homeowners as property taxes go through the roof.  Minnesota is a state of great assets, but the failure of leaders in Saint Paul to solve this problem is hurting our capacity to create jobs and opportunity and a prosperous future for all of us.

Problems that have been allowed to grow for years won’t be solved easily, and they won’t be solved overnight.  R.T. will tackle these challenges head on, make tough decisions and work honestly with the people of Minnesota to find solutions.  R.T. will develop a long-term plan with clear measures for accountability for results, and honest budgeting with no gimmicks or tricks – just like he’s done in Minneapolis. He will clearly lay out the challenges and bring together the best ideas to create a long-term plan to fix the structural problems in our state’s budget.  First he will cut spending, then reform the way the state delivers services.  We will also find new revenue.  Anyone who understands the state deficit knows you cannot fix this problem with gimmicks or quick fixes.

Over the last eight years, The Republican’s mantra has been “no new taxes.”  The facts are that eight years of Pawlenty’s economic policies have hurt Minnesota’s economic rankings by almost every measure.  And as any property owner in the state will tell you, there’s no such thing as “no new taxes” when the state passes on to local government its historic commitment to help pay for education and basic services like police and fire. 

R.T. has a better vision.  He knows that Minnesota is a great state because in the past our leaders have made wise investments in our future.  We have invested to make sure our kids are well educated, our public infrastructure is sound, our lakes, fields, woods and streams are protected and well used, and the health and security of our most vulnerable citizens, from the youngest to the oldest, are protected.  These investments have created the climate where some of the best and brightest businesses on the globe have grown and thrived.  They have created the environment where some of the fastest-growing, most entrepreneurial businesses in the world have been born.

February 2, 2010 (Minneapolis, MN) — With roughly half the precincts reporting, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is showing strongly across Minnesota.
Mayor Rybak said:
“Minnesotans are expecting real results from their leaders and candidates, not more excuses. They’re looking for something different, not the same old politics that has gotten us nowhere.
“I’m very encouraged by our strong showing tonight because it shows that people across Minnesota are connecting with our record of getting solid, measurable results in putting people to work and making people’s lives better. It shows people are connecting with our demonstrated ability to change the same old politics and restore faith in our common purpose.”
“And it shows that people are connecting with us in every corner of Minnesota , from Duluth to Hutchinson to Minnetonka to Eagan. We’ve been out meeting folks in every corner of our state, talking honestly about what we can accomplish together when we change our politics and put people and jobs first.

Campaign manager Tina Smith said:

“The nuts and bolts of our campaign are working at full strength. Tonight’s strong results are a tribute to the grassroots energy of hundreds of volunteers who made many thousands of calls in just the last three days and connected with caucus-goers across Minnesota. We’ve turned out people in every county and senate district who are ready to go the distance for a campaign that offers a real difference and real change.

“Tonight’s showing is also a testament to Mayor Rybak’s tireless energy and passion for making Minnesota a great state once again. Even though R.T. was the last candidate to get in the race, he’s been all across Minnesota — and he’s only just getting started. Minnesotans everywhere are finding out that R.T. isn’t afraid of a fight and won’t let up until we take Minnesota back and start making it great again.”

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R. T. Rybak Top Vote-Getter in reNEW.mn Poll

Over half of voting members select Rybak, showing statewide appeal of record of getting progressive results, changing politics

January 31, 2010 (Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was the top vote-getter today in the poll of members of reNEW.mn, the gubernatorial-endorsement campaign of TakeAction Minnesota. Rybak is the only candidate who received votes from over half of reNEW.mn members, garnering 336 votes from the 643 reNEW.mn members who voted for up to three candidates.

The result is all the more significant as reNEW.mn members have taken a pledge to run for delegate slots to April’s DFL state convention.

Mayor Rybak’s top showing today is the second major boost in three days for the Rybak campaign, following Friday’s announcement that the campaign has raised $278,000 in just 12 weeks. The campaign raised money at a faster pace — $23,000 a week — than any other gubernatorial campaign, despite the fact that Mayor Rybak was the last DFL candidate to officially enter the race for governor.

“I’m extremely grateful for the support of reNEW.mn members and I’m thrilled that our campaign led the poll with support from over half of those who voted,” Mayor Rybak said. “Today’s results show clearly that a campaign built around getting progressive results and leading a new politics can win this election — and will change Minnesota by governing from common-sense, progressive values in coalition with a broad range of partners.”

Mayor Rybak continued, “With reNEW.mn, TakeAction Minnesota has built a statewide campaign that is unprecedented outside the major political parties. I’m pleased that our campaign’s top showing with TakeAction members today demonstrates that we, too, are building a statewide coalition.

“I thank all the members of reNEW.mn for their dedication to this groundbreaking exercise, no matter whom they supported, and I will work hard to earn the support of each and every one of them as our campaign goes forward,” Mayor Rybak concluded.

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