The Minneapolis Zoo

"What is Minneapolis like now? It is an expensive, crime ridden, deep blue city,  run by clueless idiots and ideologues (a bit of editorial by yours truly)."

I have told this story before. I grew up right across the street from Minneapolis. As a boy, I would ride my bike to the drug store on 42nd and Thomas in North Minneapolis. When I got older, I was allowed to ride the bus (all my myself) into downtown Minneapolis. For years, my Mother worked at Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis. As a special treat, once in a while my family would pile into the car on a Saturday night and drive downtown to see a movie at one of the nicer downtown theaters. Minneapolis was never a scary place - it was just a fun place to go.

As the saying goes, "that was then and this is now." What is Minneapolis like now? It is an expensive, crime ridden, deep blue city, run by clueless idiots and ideologues (a bit of editorial by yours truly). Just this week on local media, the following were reported about the Mill City:

• Another tax increase. This year it is going to be a whopper. As most of us know with our paychecks, increases are few and far between. If you get one, it is peanuts. Not in Minneapolis however. Mayor Betsy wants a 5.5% increase. And (ready for this one) - over half of it is for increases in employee salaries benefits as set in labor contracts. Got to love those public sector unions!  
• Fifteen more cops. What? The city planners want more police? Oh boy, that set of a firestorm in city hall! The "people" don't want cops. Some see cops as the "bad guys". Instead they want more money for services. More, more, more. Does the city need fifteen more cops? My opinion? Maybe 115 would be more like it. Minneapolis has a serious and growing crime problem, and only idiots cannot recognize it.
• Business leaders protest. Okay - this is a segue to the point above. Business leaders in the city sent Mayor Betsy a letter complaining about the rising crime rate in the city (gasp!). The bemoaned the rising "unchecked, flagrant, aggressive, and sometimes criminal behavior right in downtown". And they want a plan to fix it by spring. Note to Mayor Betsy: these are the bill payers talking to you. If you don't have the where-with-all to fix this problem, companies will leave your fair city and move to the "burbs". Then who will fund your 5.5% increase in government?

I get kind of a kick of what has happened to this once beautiful town. The people who live there have almost become myopic. In other words, they are like frogs in a slowly boiling kettle. They don't see what is happening all around them. Bottom line - the city has already started on it's death spiral. 

Was that a wee bit of histrionics? Maybe. But lets look at Detroit. This too, was once a safe growing city. When I was a young boy, our government invited the leader of the Soviet Union to visit Detroit. Why? Detroit was a shining example of what a city should look like. Now Detroit looks like it has been bombed out. Very few places in Detroit are safe after dark. And Chicago on the south side? Even more dangerous. More people get shot there than in a combat zone.

Is there hope for Minneapolis to turn around? To become a safe, normal city again? I doubt it. The people who live there believe the current city is the "new norm", and they are fine with it. Sooner or later however, the money will run out. Then Minneapolis will become hollowed out, just like so many other blue cities have.