Recession disproportionately hurt black middle class

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Brandt Williams of MPR files a report on the state of Minnesota’s black middle class: “Demographers say the recent economic recession hit African-Americans harder than the broader population. Although many of the state’s black middle class [have] moved from inner cities to the suburbs, its members weren’t immune to the economic downturn, said University of Minnesota professor Myron Orfield. Orfield, executive director of the university’s Institute On Race And Poverty, said its research shows that lenders discriminated against many black families by denying them conventional mortgages. ‘The black middle class got hit very disproportionately hard because they were much more likely to be in predatory loans than white families with similar education, income and credit history,’ he said. These subprime loans offered low monthly payments. But when the interest rates reset upward, mortgage payments soared and forced many black homeowners into foreclosure. For African Americans who fell out of the middle class during the recession, the recovery will be tough. The unemployment rate for African-Americans in the Twin Cities metro area is more than three times that of whites. That’s one of the largest unemployment disparities in the country.”

The Anoka-Hennepin school district has officially changed its “neutrality” policy. Maria Elena Baca of the Strib writes: “The Anoka-Hennepin school board repealed its controversial Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy Monday night, voting 5 to 1 to replace it with a policy that emphasizes ‘respectful exchanges of views’ during classroom discussions of issues around sexual orientation. But it was clear from the substance and tone of 90 minutes of public comments before the vote that the controversy in Minnesota’s largest school district, which has drawn nationwide attention over the situation, isn’t going away. Still, school board members were visibly relieved upon adoption of the Respectful Learning Environment Curriculum Policy. ‘I’m glad we’re done with that,’ said Chairman Tom Heidemann.”

Talk about easy money … The PiPress story, by Bill Salisbury, on the ACLU’s offer of $1,000 for every voter ID fraudster you turn in says: “State ACLU Executive Director Charles Samuelson said his organization put up the bounty to show that a Republican-proposed constitutional amendment to require voters to show a photo identification at the polls is not needed. Samuelson said ACLU attorneys have not been able to find a single case of voter impersonation during the past 10 years. ‘If you can’t find a crime, why change the law?’ he asked at a Capitol press conference where he stood behind a stack of 1,000 $1 bills. In response, the sponsor of the voter ID bill, Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, noted the U.S. Supreme Court has found that ‘voter impersonation is incredibly hard to detect and is nearly impossible to prosecute, yet it has said we know for a fact that it occurs.’ “

Meanwhile, over in Wisconsin … The AP says: “A Wisconsin judge will reconsider a group’s request to temporarily stop the state’s new voter identification law before a trial begins. Dane County Circuit Court Judge David Flanagan on Monday scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24 to reconsider the NAACP’s motion for a temporary injunction. He also scheduled a five-day trial for the lawsuit to begin April 16. Flanagan denied the injunction request last week, saying NAACP plaintiffs did not sufficiently demonstrate irreparable harm for an injunction. The hearing will focus on new testimony, and will be three days after the law takes effect for the state’s spring primary election.”

A plan to open a new taconite mine near Superior has support in the Wisconsin Senate. The AP’s Todd Richmond writes: “Republicans on Monday unveiled a softer version of a bill to help an iron mine open in far northwestern Wisconsin, restoring a challenge process and creating a new tax that would help local governments pay for damage the mine might cause. The new bill puts legislators under the gun. Assembly Republicans passed their own bill last month; now the two houses must find common ground on an incredibly complex, sensitive issue before the legislative session ends in mid-March. Complicating the dynamics even further, four GOP senators face recall efforts against them, forcing them to tread lightly. … A company called Gogebic Taconite wants to dig a huge open-pit mine in the Penokee Hills just south of Lake Superior. The company has promised the project would create hundreds of jobs that will last for generations, a prospect that appeals to Republicans hungry to deliver on campaign job-creation promises.”

Mayor R.T. Rybak and Council President Barbara Johnson serve up a commentary in the Strib offering their best stadium thinking: “[T]he Minneapolis proposal doesn’t only build a new Vikings stadium, it ensures the future of another important statewide asset — Target Center — that generates good jobs and revenue for Minnesotans … Some cities — such as Orlando — with arenas as old as the Target Center already have torn them down and built new ones. That’s unnecessary and wasteful. Instead, we want to renovate our existing facility and make it as good as new for just one-third of the cost of a new facility. Just as sensibly, we can revitalize what we already have by using the resources we already have, simply by repurposing sales and user taxes that are already collected in Minneapolis. No subsidy. No new state taxes. No new local taxes. No property taxes.”

Also at the Strib, Thomas Lee reports that Target loves its plastic bags: “Except for its downtown Minneapolis location, the retailer offers only plastic bags at its regular stores. The retailer usually provides both paper and plastic bags at its SuperTarget stores. But some consumers say they have noticed SuperTarget employees won’t offer paper bags unless they specifically request them. … Target spokeswoman Katie Boylan said the company has no set policy on bags. ‘But generally store team members will use plastic first,’ Boylan wrote in an e-mail. She did not say why. Target’s apparent penchant for plastic comes at a time when retailers are increasingly focusing on ways to reduce their environmental impact. The Retailers Industry Leaders Association (RILA), which last month elected Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel as its chairman, recently issued its first ever report on sustainability.”

Sally Jo Sorensen continues to bat around Mike Parry, the likely challenger to Congressman Tim Walz, like a cat with a ball of twine. In her Bluestem Prairie blog, she writes: “An urban legend, like hell, is not easily conquered, as Mike Parry’s continued campaigning against an imaginary EPA dust rule demonstrates. … One has to hand it to Huckle Media, publishers of the Owatonna People’s Press, for at least putting Senator Mike Parry’s notion of ‘common sense’ within quotation marks. In Parry discusses ‘common sense’ there’s this gem: “Does it make good common sense for Congressman Walz to vote against agriculture?” Parry asked. “It’s exactly what he’s done. He voted against the Cambodian and Panama trade agreements. That’s about a $9 billion export market for this state of Minnesota.” Parry said Walz has supported the Environmental Protection Agency, which Parry says wants to control the dust coming out of the back of a combine. Perhaps Parry should take a refresher course on both his talking points and geography … Presumably, Parry is talking about the Colombian free trade agreement. Colombia and Cambodia? Close enough, one supposes; they both begin with a ‘C.’ … The Washington Post reported in Bill to ban phantom EPA dust rule approved by House panel: Earlier this year, Republicans found what they saw as an ideal talking point to illustrate a federal bureaucracy gone batty. The Environmental Protection Agency, they warned, was trying to regulate something only God could control: the dust in the wind. … There was just one flaw in this argument: It was not true. The EPA’s new dust rule did not exist. It never did.”

In stadium-related news, blogger Ed Kohler at The Deets notes Vikings punter Chris Kluwe laying into the Legislature for not showing the boss, Zygi Wilf, a little respect: “The Vikings punter, Chris Kluwe, has stepped into the Vikings stadium Wilfare debate by calling MN legislators [bleep] for not meeting Zygi Wilf’s demand for more than half a billion taxpayer dollars … Perhaps Kluwe should try thinking of politics in terms of what’s justifiable. If it was justifiable to redistribute more than half a billion dollars from Minnesotans to Zygi Wilf, it would have been done by now. But, the Vikings have failed to make a case on why it’s in the best interest of Minnesotans to do so. Since the legislators Kluwe called [bleep] were voted into office by Minnesotans rather than Zygi Wilf, it’s in their best interest to put their constituents’ interest first. You know, the ones who overwhelmingly do not favor having public revenue redistributed to an NFL franchise. While the average Minnesotan has fewer lobbyists at the state capitol than Zygi, sometimes legislators still manage to do the right thing by putting their constituents’ interests first. Kluwe’s 2011 salary with the Vikings was $1,422,857, which is 48X Minnesota’s per capita income.”