DFL Education Foundation

Preview (11/14): A Progressive Lobbyist's Preview of the 2010 Legislative Session

2009-11-02T09:53:38-06:00

Saturday, November 14
8 to 9:30 AM
Gardens of Salonica
19 N. E. 5th St., Minneapolis (map)

John Kaul of Capital Gains, Inc. will provide a preview of the 2010 session, the last with Gov. Tim Pawlenty. A longtime student of the Minnesota legislature and progressive politics, and once Senator Nick Coleman's chief of staff, Mr Kaul is
also a filmmaker.

As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee, learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Preview (11/12): Minneapolis in the 20th Century

2009-10-29T09:52:00-05:00

Thursday, November 12
12:00-1:00 PM
Fredrikson & Byron law firm, 200 S. 6th Street
40th floor, Minnetonka Room (map)

Update 11/5: See coverage of his new book in the Star Tribune here.

Update 11/6: See an article by Iric on the failure of the Minneapolis charter amendment at Minnpost.com

Iric Nathanson, a long-time political activist and community development official, has published many articles in recent years on Minneapolis political history. In November his new book, "Minneapolis in the 20th Century: The Growth of An American City," will be published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. His talk, with the first public presentation of his book, will focus on how downtown Minneapolis responded to the challenge of suburban development in the second half of the 20th century.

This event is free and open to the public. Join us with your brown bag lunch for this fascinating conversation (drinks provided).

Preview (11/8): Reclaiming Fairness in Minnesota

2009-10-20T20:44:38-05:00

Did you know the poorest Minnesotans have a tax rate three times higher than the richest? Hear Rep. Ann Lenczewski's far-reaching proposals that would restore fairness and stability to Minnesota's tax system.

Sunday, November 8
2:30-4:00 PM
St. Louis Park City Hall, 3rd Floor - map

Followed by Q and A moderated by Dane Smith, President, Growth and Justice.

Light refreshments will be served.

BACKGROUND -- House Republican Representative Pat Garafalo accused House members voting for the 2009 legislative tax package of riding "shotgun on the Pogiemobile." He was wrong. The surprise compromise tax omnibus bill was really the brainchild of House Taxes Committee Chair Ann Lenczewski.

Representative Lenczewski has been particularly concerned about the fairness of Minnesota's taxes. Currently Minnesota property taxes are extremely regressive - households in the top 1 percent pay only 0.7 percent of income in residential property taxes, while those who earn just below the median income pay about 3.5 percent of their income in property taxes, a whopping 5 times more.

Overall effective tax rates for Minnesotans aren't much better. On average, Minnesotans paid 11.4% of their income in taxes. However, the top 1% of Minnesotans had a much lower effective tax rate of 8.8%, while the poorest ten percent of Minnesotans paid nearly three times as much, 22.1% (2009 Minnesota Tax Incidence Study).

At the same time as tax unfairness has risen, cuts in health and education benefits due to Pawlenty's veto of the tax bill and subsequent unallotments have hurt Minnesotans with the lowest incomes the most. Speaking on the omnibus tax bill, Representative Lenczewski stated,

"for shared sacrifice, the lower-income and middle-class people are getting cuts, and wealthier Minnesotans should have to contribute, too. So we're going to cut away some of the stuff they're getting that is, relative to Minnesota tax incidence, very unfair. We really can't afford to subsidize these tax expenditures anymore."

For more background on Rep. Lenczewski, read this interview on her proposal to raise revenue by making Minnesota's taxes more progressive in the 2009 session.

Joel Kramer, Founder of Minnpost, on the future of American journalism

2009-10-20T19:36:26-05:00

In October Joel Kramer, former Publisher of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Founder of both Growth & Justice and Minnpost.com, joined the DFL Education Foundation downtown group to discuss the future of American journalism. We often receive requests from members and attendees to talk about journalism and it's impact on political debate in our politics.

Click play to listen to the conversation.

Download the full podcast

This pod cast is brought to you by The DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Ranked Choice Voting in Minneapolis, what it is and how to vote

2009-10-20T19:16:52-05:00

Stone Arch welcomed Sarah McKenzie and Cristof Traudes from The Downtown Journal to talk about Instant Runoff Voting, more appropriately called Ranked Choice Voting. Citizens of Minneapolis are being asked to cast a new type of ballot and decide elections in a new way for city offices. If you're voting for Mayor, City Council or Park and Recreation Board in Minneapolis this year, then have a listen and learn all about it.

Click play to listen to the conversation.

Download the full podcast

This pod cast is brought to you by the DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Bob Kuttner, Editor and Founder of The American Prospect, on Obama's Challenge

2009-10-15T18:49:45-05:00

On October 4th the DFL Education Foundation, in partnership with Growth and Justice, welcomed author Bob Kuttner, founder of one of my favorite magazines, The American Prospect. This was an extraordinary opportunity to take a fresh look at the Obama Administration eight months into what is likely to be a transformative Presidency.

Mr. Kuttner's point was that there are many types of transformative Presidencies.

Please click the iTunes link here to listen to Mr. Kuttner's presentation, and the conversation that followed.

You can also click play to listen to the conversation.

I also ask you, forward this podcast to friends. The great thing about technology, and the web in particular, is that we can share it with as many people as we like. So share the conversation.

We would like to thank Dane Smith from Growth and Justice for leading the conversation, and iDream.tv for producing this podcast.

Jeremy Wieland, President, DFL Education Foundation

Preview (10/10): Minneapolis City Politics and the IRV Nov. City Election

2009-10-01T20:44:57-05:00

Saturday, October 10
8 to 9:30 AM
Gardens of Salonica
19 N. E. 5th St., Minneapolis (map)

For the first time, Minneapolis will be using a new voting system called IRV--instant run-off voting--in which voters will be asked to rank their choices for mayor, council, and the park board. With no primary, and lots of issues, this should be a very interesting election. Join reporter Cristof Traudes, government reporter, and Sarah McKenzie, editor of the Downtown and Southwest Journals, for this fascinating conversation.

As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee, learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Preview (10/15): The Future of American Journalism with Joel Kramer

2009-09-24T20:43:46-05:00

Thursday, October 15
12:00-1:00 PM
Fredrikson & Byron law firm, 200 S. 6th Street
40th floor, Minnetonka Room (map)

This month's downtown discussion group will examine how news is delivered in an era of Google, blogs, and tweets and newspaper bankruptcies. Joel Kramer brings a wealth of expertise to the issue as the former publisher of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and current CEO and Editor of online news source Minnpost, and he is one of the national leaders in the search to save and enhance the journalistic enterprise at the local level.

This event is free and open to the public. Join us with your brown bag lunch for this fascinating conversation (drinks provided).

Senator Linda Berglin on Minnesota Healthcare

2009-09-21T09:29:55-05:00

Wow! September brought Minnesota Senator Linda Berglin on the subject of healthcare to the Downtown Discussion Group. The Senator is a long time expert on healthcare so this was a great opportunity for an insider's perspective.

Click play to listen to the conversation.

Or download the conversation: Download Linda Berglin

Thank you to the DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv for this podcast.

Preview (10/4): Is Obama Maximizing the Moment? With Robert Kuttner

2009-09-01T20:40:16-05:00

Sunday, October 4
2:30 - 4:00 PM
Aloft Minneapolis (map)

Reception following for DFL Education Foundation supporters.*

Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect magazine, as well as a Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow. He was a longtime columnist for BusinessWeek, and continues to write columns in the Boston Globe.

Bob is the author of eight books, including the recent New York Times bestseller, Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, (Chelsea Green, 2008).

PREVIEW the event:

Watch Kuttner debate William Kristol on the failure of American conservatism
Watch Kuttner debate Sean Hannity
Read about Kuttner on Wikipedia
See Kuttner address Obama's challenge on the PBS show NOW
View The American Bubble Addiction, a short film on the birth of the economic crisis

*Supporters are classified as those who donate $50 or more prior to the event. Click here to help support this event and future DFLEF events like it.