Skip to Content

Tony Wagner

Minneapolis, MN
Commenter for
5 years 11 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 05/16/11 at 01:12 pm in response to Jason Lewis: Gays already have equal right to marry someone of opposite sex

I also have to recommend Hiram Foster's comment #2. I would love to see/hear an amendment supporter's honest response to it.

Posted on 05/16/11 at 01:04 pm in response to Vikings stadium expects to seek exemption from Met Council review

If exemptions are so bad, why was every other major sporting facility in town except Target Center exempted from this same review? Why was this fact only mentioned at the end of the article, when it potentially renders the entire article meaningless? Particularly when the author also highlights Target Field as model facility in terms of urban planning -- then why was Target Field exempted from review? Was it a foregone conclusion that it would pass? How could this article be written...

Posted on 05/10/11 at 08:56 am in response to Reaction is fast ... and furious ... to Minneapolis stadium plan

Jeff Davis: "The issue... is whether the people of Minnesota should have the right to vote on the issue"

Mr. Davis,

We already vote for a well-established and regulated representative government. "The people" vote directly on very few issues, and when we do, it should be awfully darned important (and there should be a demonstrated inability to address the issue any other way). This proposed amendment accomplishes nothing, and has already been addressed (several times, IIRC)...

Posted on 05/10/11 at 09:18 am in response to Minneapolis puts $1 billion, tax-filled, politically volatile stadium plan on Vikings table

Rybak: “We are going to ask you for more in sales tax but in return we are going to lower your burden on property taxes.”

How is it going to lower property taxes? Oh yeah, it's going to create new sales taxes to support Target Center, which was a sports facility that proved incapable of supporting itself and thus became the city's obligation through property taxes. (Not exactly something you want to bring up when proposing another sports facility, R.T.)

Also, while...

Posted on 05/10/11 at 09:40 am in response to Minneapolis puts $1 billion, tax-filled, politically volatile stadium plan on Vikings table

Justin Crum: "Seems like the anti-stadium group could have found a better place to meet. You know, like one that hasn't been helped in large part by the Twins Stadium tax?"

An interesting observation, but not really accurate. The Central Library was built and was operating 44 hours per week without help from the Twins stadium tax. Now, it has added Sunday and Monday hours -- 22% of its open hours. I'm not sure that extra staffing meets the "in large part" threshold, and I'm...

Posted on 03/25/11 at 02:20 pm in response to Latest legislative battlefront: claims and counter-claims about 'phony money'

"The governor's budget is predicated on $2.67 billion [in tax increases] for which there is no support,'' said Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

No support among Republican legislators, I'm sure, but Dayton did win a statewide vote of Minnesota voters, campaigning on a clear promise to raise a significant amount of new revenue through taxes.

It was a close election, granted, with a lower but comparable number of voters preferring the "zero new taxes" Republican candidate. But...

Posted on 03/08/11 at 10:53 am in response to Here's an idea: State pays only if programs achieve results

It sounds like a good idea, but this short description leaves me with a question: what about initial start-up funding? Obviously, at the start of any program, no results can yet be measured. Can the state still provide a small amount to begin *potentially* profitable programs, with the promise that good results will lead to increased future funding? If public start-up funds are curtailed, it seems like it would lead to fewer programs, less innovation, etc. Given the diversity of the...

Posted on 03/08/11 at 10:59 am in response to Another standoff in Washington: Remembering the 1995-96 government shutdown

Interesting flashback. A cursory examination suggests the 1995-96 shutdown produced good results, in the form of a budget surplus a few years later, but obviously it was a much better time for the nation economically.

It would be especially interesting to flash back to the Minnesota state government shutdown a few years ago -- it seems we might be headed for another one of those this summer.

Posted on 03/08/11 at 10:28 am in response to Michele Bachmann's health-care 'cover-up' charges hard to fathom

In Ms. Bachmann's defense, legislation is often complex and difficult to comprehend, so normally I am inclined to be sympathetic to these complaints.

However, in this case, not only was the bill extremely high-profile and debated ad nauseum for months (just check Ms. Bachmann's record of complaints about it!), but she has also been among the most vocal opponents of the bill since before debate even began. Her conclusions now (defund and repeal) are exactly the same as they were a...

Posted on 03/08/11 at 10:42 am in response to Michele Bachmann's health-care 'cover-up' charges hard to fathom

Also, I don't know how these Sunday morning news shows operate, but instead of dictating a topic of discussion, I think it would be in their best interests to guarantee each guest a certain amount of time to discuss a topic of the guest's own choosing, provided that the topic is disclosed well in advance. This would allow the shows to actually prepare research and question their guests' statements in situations such as these. Otherwise, as Ms. Bachmann and others have demonstrated, the...