I debated how to title this post and finally decided to make it about taking responsibility. I really liked “Keep your home page current”, but decided that would make less sense to those who are not active on social media.
Even though I no longer live there I still follow developments in North Dakota. The state and university are experiencing some tough times. This post is not about responsibility for the present state of affairs, but rather a particular issue I have noted in the political rhetoric associated with the state.
The economy of North Dakota is not that difficult to understand. Despite efforts to diversify, the financial well-being of the state depends on:
- agribusiness (price of commodities)
- energy – coal and now oil, and
- Canadian visitors.
North Dakotans might assume things are more sophisticated than this, but they live in North Dakota and are not exposed to diversity – financial or otherwise.
Not long ago, the North Dakota economy was doing very well especially when contrasted to what was happening in the rest of the country. Politicians being politicians took responsibility for the brilliance of their contributions to this situation. I explained my reaction in a previous post noting that the past govenors had might the wise decision to locate their state on top of a vast quantity of dead dinosaurs.
Things have changed recently and I was curious about how the politicans have adapted. I visited the govenor’s web site and found he has yet to make adjustments. The web site notes that “under his leadership, the state has:
- created 70,000 new jobs,
- created the fastest growing economy in the country,
- provided a billion in tax relief to the citizens, and
- been ranked as the “best run state”.
This is why it is important to keep your web site up to date. Many of the jobs no longer exist, the billions in tax relief in combination with less revenue to tax means state institutions are not receiving the support that was committed, and the economy is tanking.
Oil prices nationwide have declined. The exchange rate for the Canadian dollow has discouraged Canadians from coming to North Dakota. Farm prices have fallen.
Politicians cannot really be blamed for most of the present problems (except the tax cuts), but I do find the inconsistency in taking responsibility somewhat amusing. If North Dakotans really believed they had exceptionally brilliant leaders, that ignorance is on them.