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Andrew Richner

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
2 years 14 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 09/27/12 at 11:08 am in response to Redistribution of wealth has gone upward, not down, since early '80s

If political decisions were made the same way as market decisions (and maybe they are ...), then, according to the data in this article, the "average worker" would get one vote while each CEO would get 231 votes. While in such a system you would be participating in decision-making, you'd be hard-pressed to find any political scientist to call that democratic. The market is a plutocratic system, not a democracy. And the degree to which the choices of the elite are favored increases with...

Posted on 09/19/12 at 01:58 pm in response to If Republicans lose in November, several ghosts (all named George) will haunt the party

The operative word is "current." Republican analysts are already predicting that if Romney were elected, it will be the last time a presidential candidate will be elected by a largely white, male demographic. In other words, it will not be possible to win in the future without getting BROAD-based support from other demographic groups.

The point wasn't to say that young and ethnically-diverse people are ALL Democrats, it was to say that the majority of those demographic groups votes...

Posted on 09/18/12 at 09:46 am in response to Charles Alfred Pillsbury, 1842–1899

De-contexualized, Pillsbury's investments in railroads, grain elevators, and banking seem to be "diversification" of interests, but at the time, these kinds of investments were essential in highly integrated economy. Railroads in the Northwest in the 19th century monopolized the grain supply through engaging in land speculation, through near-universal ownership of grain elevators (and as a consequence the setting of grain grades) outside of Minneapolis, and through employing buyers and...

Posted on 09/14/12 at 02:04 pm in response to A look at Plan-it Hennepin’s early plan for Minneapolis' main drag

My criticism of transit route planning in Minneapolis is the exact opposite of yours. It seems that every route in the city must pass through Nicollet, Hennepin, or Marquette. Whether you're in Uptown, University, South Minneapolis, North Minneapolis, or Northeast, your options for getting downtown are almost always better than getting to the next neighborhood over.

Posted on 09/14/12 at 01:21 pm in response to Warrior Romney may have miscalculated voters' longings

So Romney's up 48-45 in Rasmussen? Obama's up 49-46 in NYTimes/CBS.

Posted on 09/12/12 at 02:42 pm in response to Minnesota educators, policymakers train keen eye on Chicago strike: What's it all about?

If policy can be dictated on a Federal level that has effects on the working conditions of teachers across the nation, how is it carpetbagging for a teacher from St. Paul to join his fellow teachers in Chicago when they protest those conditions? Solidarity is the opposite of opportunism.

Posted on 09/06/12 at 04:49 pm in response to Bill Clinton: Our arithmetic teacher

Anyone who's seriously concerned about the national debt should advocate the immediate end of operations in Afghanistan and a serious reduction in the discretionary defense budget which stands at more than half of discretionary spending. If being in Afghanistan is like buying a car, it's not even a functional car. It's not taking us anywhere. It's a car that eats up 1/5 of the family's expenses every year just sitting on blocks in the front yard, leaking oil on the grass and rusting. If...

Posted on 09/07/12 at 08:36 am in response to Bill Clinton: Our arithmetic teacher

I should hope that 10% isn't the furthest we go to cut down military spending. I think the line of argument that "something has to be done" about entitlements always entails an argument for reform, which, the story always goes, means some kind of privatization or reduction in those fixed incomes. But there are smaller wrinkles in these programs that can be smoothed out to help save them from future deficit. One glaring example is the upper limit on the Social Security wage base....

Posted on 09/04/12 at 12:09 pm in response to New hybrid buses are latest part of Metro Transit’s Go Greener campaign

The article and the Metro Transit press release it got its information from doesn't state which Federal department issued the $1.2 million grant, but it seems likely it's the Dept. of Transportation. Check out the 2012 discretionary budget. DoT got $25.6 billion. That's a large enough budget to make more than 21,000 grants of the same size. The largest discretionary spending was on the Dept. of Defense which got $683 billion. The transportation budget could fit inside the defense budget...

Posted on 08/20/12 at 10:47 am in response to Todd Akin’s colossal gaffe could be a game-changer

Akin plainly meant that he thought a woman's body could spontaneously abort a pregnancy without medical intervention based solely on the fact that it was from a rape. Biased as they were, his comments were earnest, and without rhetorical flair. The whole context of Biden's "chains" comment was playing on Wall Street's use of "unchain" and "unshackle" rhetoric to justify loosening of market regulations. Yes he's using the imagery of "debt slavery," but that's a rhetorical device that gets...