Campaigns play cruel joke on Northland

By RON BROCHU

Politicians promised much during their recent campaigns, particularly in terms of a stronger economy and plentiful jobs. Sandwiched among accusations of immoral character, socialistic tendencies and financial impropriety, voters were told shiny, happy people will hold hands from Seattle to Miami, Fond du Lac to East End, during the rebound that explodes once we imprison investment bankers, renounce NAFTA, slash corporate taxes and stop redistributing wealth, depending on your silly beliefs.

Despite good intentions, nobody can guarantee communal prosperity, particularly not through partisan economics. At best, such commitments are wishful thinking. At worst, they’re outright lies – right up there with digital phones offering crystal-clear audio quality. Say what?

To pepper the Twin Ports with such off-handed campaign jive is a cruel joke. The current recession is just the latest among several downturns to spotlight that our economy sags worse than Salvador Dali’s vision of life. Forty years in search of recovery, Duluth and Superior are on an economic roller coaster, with job gains typically offset by job losses, new investment by consolidation, decent wages replaced by subsistence pay. Living here requires patience and continuous sacrifice. Patience is essential because it could take a lifetime to find that one perfect job. Continuous sacrifice because your perfect Duluth job probably will never pay on par with the same position in a stronger market. And God help the poor sot who loses that perfect job.

We all thought conditions were improving, with a $6 billion Superior refinery expansion – a dream disseminated more by local reporters than Murphy Oil – and extensive new Iron Range mining investment. Then we learned that pro-business, pro-jobs politicians of every stripe rendered those developments virtually impossible by facilitating the credit crisis and market collapse. Even the stealthiest investors lost their fortunes in a greedy extravaganza fit for Caligula. Today, thanks to Congress, the near-term prospect for multi-billion-dollar investment is slimmer than the potential for expanding a refinery with oil prices in free fall.

For area job holders, many of whom are underemployed, the credit crisis represents another dark day after an age of darkness. Placing investment on hold reiterates the fact that Tommy Toad, the high school idiot who moved to Colorado, is making more money selling truck tires than Don Ness earns trying to unravel Duluth’s municipal catastrophe. It just ain’t fair.

The scenario is much worse for jobless individuals. A quick look at employment sites reveals a stark reality: Few people qualify for those long-promised high-paying industrial jobs. Wanna work on the Range? Hope you can weld, drive a 40-ton truck and swing a crane. By itself, a high school degree won’t open the gate, much less the hiring manager’s door – not even for a sympathy interview with cousin Bob. Even a college degree in the wrong specialty can be worthless.

At best, heavy industry might employ our children or grandchildren, but only if they’ve secured the proper credentials – a two-year technical degree at minimum, with four-year engineering credentials preferred. The rest of us better hone our telemarketing skills, head back to school or hope the Food Shelf opens a store within walking distance.

Lowering the bar

The U.S. Senate campaign featuring Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken set new lows for both parties in Minnesota, if not the nation. Rivaling a cage match between Dr. X and Mad Dog Vachon, their faceoff redefined rude politics, although both will claim the worst ads were sponsored by outside groups. Note, however, that neither candidate asked their supporters to hold off from making third-party, stomach-turning accusations.

On a brighter note, however, they collectively hastened the demise of America’s two-party system. Unfortunately, it won’t happen fast enough. Independent Dean Barkley was unable to profit from the banal Coleman-Franken diatribe, which is difficult to comprehend. If Barkley had the pizzazz of Jesse Ventura, he might have pulled it off, but his personality and reputation weren’t sufficiently audacious to rally the nauseated, disenfranchised folks who simply stayed home Tuesday.

Apparently, it has come to that – a political system that depends upon the groin shot, rabbit bunch and show biz personalities. And may the richest, sickest candidate win.

Author Ron Brochu invites your feedback.

Published in the Nov. 7, 2008 Reader Weekly