While other armchair quarterbacks scrutinize the work of the 2021 legislature, the top three acts include $ 700 million for infrastructure and $ 70 million for infrastructure “Career Academies” for advanced training in technical skills and legal authority to use the $ 8 billion legacy fund to fund some North Dakota investments.
The career academies will welcome employees in dying industries, reach students whose skills do not fit 4-year universities, and provide employment opportunities for non-working adults.
Half the job
But just offering class or workshop lessons is only half the job. A number of states now allow full tuition for certain STEM subjects. Unemployed people need coaches to help them overcome the pitfalls that made them unemployed in the first place.
These will be costly investments, but they will reward society for decades, just as GI law did for America after WWII and post-conflict.
Save for what?
Now that the legislature has taken a serious look at the use of the Legacy Fund, it may be possible to take a broader look at the fund and what it should do for the whole of the citizenry. It doesn’t seem rational that the Legacy Fund should be saved and saved and saved. For what? And when?
The Legacy Fund was earned during the lifetime of today’s North Dakotans. While the state must be frugal in spending money from the Legacy Fund, the current generation has as much entitlement to a share as some generations in the future.
Top ten in the wind
For almost all civic endeavors, North Dakota ranks low. We only make it into the top ten when there is wind.
In addition to investing in solid North Dakota businesses that only serve commercial interests, we should be stepping up the other services that make a quality North Dakota life such as, etc., etc.
Every public service has its own problems that can only be solved with additional resources. Be honest, we are a cheap state and we like a two year legislature because the legislature spends money every day it meets. The middle and upper classes make government policies and their solutions do not fit well with people trapped below the poverty line.
80,000 in poverty
North Dakota now has 780,000 residents according to the 2020 US Census. According to the number servants, we have 9.2 percent – almost 80,000 – residents below the poverty line. (It would be higher, but we can thank Governor Jack Dalrymple for expanding Medicaid for the poor.)
Let’s look at health care, a major concern for thousands of North Dakotans. If we are to believe our health professionals, North Dakota’s health care system is underfunded.
26 health goals
The State Health Department developed a strategic plan to improve the health and wellbeing of all North Dakotans. The plan had 26 clear goals for 2019-2021, all of which are important and could be implemented with more staff and funding.
Prevention and wellness initiatives proposed by the plan included: reducing obesity, reducing tobacco use, reducing the causes of injuries, reducing alcohol and drug abuse, controlling chronic diseases, and developing a nationwide program to control blood pressure.
All of these goals require public participation and support, which is only possible with costly public information campaigns.
A lot to do
Other goals included creating sustainable models for service delivery in rural areas, implementing unified rescue systems, developing long-term care strategies, strengthening staff training, creating incentives to retain doctors and a dozen more.
The State Health Improvement Plan tells us that there are so many needs in health care that we should work with part of the Legacy Fund to create a Marshall Plan for health care that would make life healthier and more enjoyable for more people in North Dakota.
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source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/need-a-bigger-view-for-legacy-fund-news-sports-jobs/
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