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I am a progressive. But being a progressive doesn’t mean ignoring real and ongoing problems in Minneapolis or neglecting basic roles of government.
Downtown and Uptown are hurting. Hennepin Avenue in particular has experienced a dire commercial wipeout, the product of COVID, unrest, safety concerns and, yes, ill-timed construction. Streets that were once vibrant now feel deserted. Treasured local businesses have been lost. Despite assurances of renewal around the corner, new economic life has been slow to emerge. We can admit these are unwelcome changes to neighborhoods many of us love.
The Minneapolis public school district is struggling tremendously. Enrollment has declined, creating a large budget deficit. Parents don’t feel schools are adequate for their children, and many choose suburban districts instead. No parent can be blamed for finding the best opportunity for their child. But Minneapolis cannot thrive while its schools are shrinking.
There are public safety issues. That’s not to say that Minneapolis is the war zone caricatured in right-wing media. It can be a wonderful place to live. But it’s also true that carjackings and robberies — sometimes in broad daylight, in busy neighborhoods — are far too frequent. We can’t pretend a spate of gunpoint stickups is acceptable or tolerable.
The city faces an impending property tax crisis. As businesses leave, the value of commercial real estate falls and our tax base shrinks. This leads to higher taxes on the people and businesses that remain. Some of them then also leave, worsening the problem — a potentially disastrous downward spiral. Most Minneapolitans do not think tax is a dirty word and are happy to pay their fair share. But nobody wants their taxes to go up simply because there’s less to go around.
I worry that some progressives have been too reluctant to acknowledge these changes, as if admitting problems are real would require us to surrender our values. I disagree. I think true progressivism requires us to be honest about problems, not ignore them — and then to tackle them pragmatically and effectively, in ways consistent with liberal values.