New Normal: Transportation in Minnesota

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The Daily Planet’s New Normal Project is a series of news stories and community conversations devoted to identifying community priorities as we face serious economic challenges. Every month we’ll tackle a different topic, including neighborhoods, the state budget, education, health care, public services, immigrant communities, the environment, work and inequality. You’re invited to join the conversation, either online (by commenting on articles like this one) or by participating in a community conversation (see the list of this month’s conversations at the end of this story.) The Challenge: As gasoline prices bounce up and down, and bicycles multiply on Twin Cities streets, what transportation policies will best serve Minnesotans? Is the best solution to:Fund more public transit (light rail, high speed rail, buses, streetcars)?Repair and expand highways and infrastructure?Emphasize non-motorized transportation (and “complete streets”)?Some other option?Background:When it comes to transportation, Minnesotans are confronting a host of challenges. Because of the economy, most people’s employment and overall financial situations are less stable than usual. Continue Reading

NAVIGATE seeks to widen higher education path for undocumented students

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A “dreamer” and a “role model”: those are the phrases Carlos* most frequently uses to describe himself. “Connector” seems a worthy addition to that list. Carlos’s work with NAVIGATE MN, an organization that helps immigrant students, regardless of immigration status, pursue their higher education goals, has him connecting with high school students, parents, teachers and counselors. Connecting was also a recurring theme during a recent two-hour exchange at South Minneapolis’s Common Roots Café. Smart, personable, and ambitious, Carlos’s commitment to achieving a better life for himself and his 10-year-brother, who lives in Mexico with his mother, extends to a wider community. Continue Reading

Studies find immigrants essential to filling Minnesota jobs

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When it comes to workforce replenishment, immigrants are not only important: they are essential. That’s the conclusion of several studies, with findings that challenge a common perception that immigrants are stealing jobs from U.S.-born citizens at a time when jobs are scarce. Based on figures from State Economist Tom Stinson and State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, a 2009 report produced by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and other members of the Minnesota Business Immigrant Coalition, explains that, “Unlike native-born Americans, who are aging rapidly and creating what some have called a ‘silver tsunami,’ immigrants are generally in their prime working years when they come to the United States, thus providing a crucial infusion to the work force.” The report adds that without new, young workers, “certain sectors of the economy will continue to contract.” “Obviously, one of the ways to increase the size of our future workforce is to welcome and educate young immigrants coming to our region,“ writes Craig Helmstetter, a Wilder Foundation researcher, in Immigration In the Twin Cities: 10 Things to Know.There are several far-reaching implications if the workforce is not replenished. According to A New Age of Immigrants: Making Immigration Work for Minnesota, a study commissioned by Wilder and the Minneapolis Foundation, “Many policymakers and economists warn that the entitlement systems of Medicare and Social Security will topple and fall if they are not supported by the labor of younger workers, both immigrants and native-born alike.” The League of Minnesota Cities points to National Research Council and Social Security Administration reports, both of which show that younger immigrants “have a positive impact on the financials of government programs, including Social Security.”Facts and figures illustrate immigrants’ impact on the state’s economyIn southwest Minnesota alone, Latino workers generated about $45 million in state and local taxes in 2000.Immigrants owned approximately 3 percent of Minnesota’s businesses in 2002, with annual sales exceeding $2 billion.As of 2002, 138 immigrant-owned businesses had created 386 new jobs, and spent $5.6 million on payroll, rent, supplies and other expenses.Asian Americans and Latinos in Minnesota account for approximately $7 billion in purchases annually.Latinos add nearly $500 million to the economies of south-central Minnesota, through their labor force contributions, their spending as consumers, and the increased demand by employers for regionally supplied goods and services.Source: A New Age of Immigrants: Making Immigration Work for Minnesota, a study commissioned by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and the Minneapolis Foundation, 2010.“On net,” a study commissioned by the Federal Reserve of San Francisco concludes, “immigrants expand the U.S. economy’s productive capacity, stimulate investment, and promote specialization that in the long run boosts productivity.” The Fed adds that, “Consistent with previous research, there is no evidence that these effects take place at the expense of jobs for workers born in the United States.” As a result of such findings, many analysts find it encouraging that the region’s immigrant population is not only growing, but growing rapidly, at ten times the rate of the native-born population. More than 130,000 new immigrants came to Minnesota between 2000 and 2009, from every corner of the globe. Continue Reading

Facts, figures and politics of healthcare policy

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 While there is considerable agreement that reform is needed, what type of reform that should be has stirred fierce debate. Former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger, a Health Policy Fellow at the University of St. Thomas and Chair of the National Institute of Health Policy, says that, “Minnesota has been a national leader in expanding coverage to nearly all residents (although there has been a lot of slippage the eight years of the Pawlenty administration.)” Join our June conversations on Health Care After the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law, former Minnesota governor (and current presidential candidate) Tim Pawlenty made headlines for ordering state officials not to apply for “discretionary” federal healthcare money which would jump-start an insurance exchange. When Pawlenty’s successor, Gov. Mark Dayton took office, the White House allowed Minnesota to reapply for the $1-million planning grant that Pawlenty had declined.  A key provision of the federal law is that most Americans will be required by federal law to be insured, whether through their jobs or on their own, beginning in 2014.  Current public healthcare programs The list below includes the major public healthcare programs, but some smaller, more targeted programs also operate at the state and federal level. Continue Reading

What’s ahead for health care?

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The Daily Planet’s New Normal Project is a series of news stories and community conversations devoted to identifying community priorities as we face serious economic challenges. Every month we’ll tackle a different topic, including neighborhoods, the state budget, education, health care, public services, immigrant communities, the environment, work and inequality. You’re invited to join the conversation, either online (by commenting on articles like this one) or by participating in a community conversation on health care.  The Challenge: How can we ensure that all Minnesotans have access to affordable, dependable healthcare? Is the best solution: 1)    Universal single-payer insurance?2)    State insurance exchanges where consumers can comparison shop?3)    Consumer-directed healthcare attached to health savings accounts?4)    Some other approach?Facts: The number of uninsured Minnesotans grew by more than 100,000 from 2007 to 2009. That means that 9.1 percent of the state’s population—or 480,000 Minnesotans—lacked health insurance in 2009, compared with 7.2 percent—or 374,000 people—in 2007. Continue Reading