John Gunyou: New motto: Buck passes through here

Rather than acknowledging any responsibility for the bridge, today's leaders have perfected the art of the non-apology.

By John Gunyou

Last update: August 12, 2007 - 3:59 PM

In the aftermath of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, a stream of public officials have praised the goodness of Minnesota's response to the tragedy, have vowed to get to the bottom of it and have pledged to immediately rebuild. It's been heartwarming, but a little unsatisfying. I keep waiting for someone to apologize.

Not so much to accept blame, but rather to acknowledge responsibility. It's unfair to think that anyone would cavalierly sacrifice public safety for political gain, but what about a simple apology for not doing everything they reasonably should have to prevent such a tragedy?

It's one thing to try, and fall short; it's quite another to not even make the effort. It's increasingly evident the Pawlenty-Molnau administration ignored the advice of bridge experts to take remedial action. Worse yet, the administration still has no viable long-term plan to improve, much less maintain, our state's critical transportation infrastructure.

After twice vetoing the Legislature's attempts to put such a plan in place, Gov. Tim Pawlenty offered up a scheme to fund our needs at only 10 cents on the dollar -- with 30-year bonds. Worse yet, he wanted to pay off that debt by cutting into already inadequate maintenance resources. That doesn't build any more roads or bridges over the long run; it simply borrows against the future.

So, what about that sincere public apology? To dodge any responsibility for their sins of omission, the folks in charge have perfected the art of the non-apology. Here are a few glaring examples:

• "It came out of the blue." This excuse is more compelling for unpredictable natural disasters, but never when the responsible parties have ignored multiple warnings. The night of the disaster, Pawlenty emphasized that no prior inspections had raised any concerns. When this claim proved bogus, he quickly shifted to the "but no one ever told me to close the bridge" defense.

• "I did what the experts told me to" is another popular dodge. Except, in this case, the experts did advise state Transportation Commissioner and Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau to weld steel plates onto the supports of her "structurally deficient" bridge, but she ordered them to come up with lower-cost options. Rather than address the underlying structural problems, she chose to put a new deck on the bridge to make things look better. That unfortunate decision was an apt metaphor for the shortsighted philosophy of this administration -- rather than make critical investments in basic infrastructure, just slap on a new coat of paint.

• "It's not my job" was the old standby trotted out by President Bush. He declared that states are responsible for bridge maintenance to divert attention away from multiple reports about our crumbling national infrastructure. In his world, the federal government is apparently responsible only for rebuilding the foreign infrastructures it destroys.

• "Let's not play the blame game." The Taxpayers League offered up this evasion, which was quickly parroted by its rapidly dwindling cult of no-taxers. It's the diversion most often used by those with the most egg on their faces. If your professed goal is to starve the government beast (or force the unrealistic reprioritization of inadequate resources), one of the inevitable consequences is deteriorating public infrastructure.

• • •

Where's Harry Truman when you need him? Today's leaders seem to have a sign that reads, "The buck passes through here." The non-apology has become the refuge of those who'd rather act resolute after the fact, than actually demonstrate forward-thinking leadership.

We can hope the bridge collapse was enough of a proverbial two-by-four between the eyes to get the attention of those responsible for our public infrastructure. It certainly got ours.

John Gunyou is Minnetonka's city manager. He was Minnesota's finance commissioner in the Carlson administration.

Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments

New ideas for the public sector

THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME to create a more efficient Minnesota. Facing large budget deficits at the state, county and local levels, Minnesotans are seeing with new clarity that the public sector must adapt to new economic realities. Only the smartest, most strategic reinvention will ensure that our tax dollars are spent on the best programs and services. Read more

About Opinion Exchange

Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

Subscribe to RSS|Learn more about RSS