The era of big government lives on in municipal services.
A few weeks ago, the governor of Minnesota, previously hailed by some people as being the most conservative governor of the state since ... well, perhaps ever, made news by announcing that "the era of small government is over."

Perhaps Tim Pawlenty's dedication to conservative principles was always overstated. Perhaps his recent statements are just election-year rhetoric, a move towards the center. (Twin Cities blogs North Star Liberty and Our House offer some useful background information).

Here's something else to consider: there's still a widely accepted belief that ambitious plans for government are, at least in some specific cases, acceptable.
Of course, Minnesota has the social welfare and taxpayer provided health care network that you would expect from a place with Scandinavian roots.

But what might be surprising is the ways in which government reaches into ordinary life, even life in those alleged bastions of conservatism, the suburbs.

What you will find there is a surprising number of government-owned and operated enterprises that have nothing to do with obviously public functions.

Take, for example, water parks. The plain-jane municipal pool has given way to water parks, with all sorts of special features.

Eagan, Minnesota, is a major suburb of Saint Paul. It's the home of Governor Pawlenty. It's also the home of a number of government owned and operated commercial enterprises, including a water park to rival many a privately owned enterprise.

This year, the city expanded the facility by adding the Captain's Course, a miniature golf course that, if the marketing materials is to be believed, is quite a step up from the windmill fare.

In the southern 'burbs you can find water parks in Apple Valley, Bloomington, Edina, and Shakopee.

Northern suburbs that have city-owned facilities include Shoreview.

Why make the trek to a privately owned concern such as Wild Mountain--an hour's drive from downtown Saint Paul--when you can let the kids run wild at the municipal water complex?

Back to Eagan for a moment. It has a government-owned fitness center with all manner of weight training and cardio equipment. Why pay your dues to a commercial operator such as Life Time Fitness when you can get most of the same services for less at a government facility that just has to break even (if that) and doesn't have to turn a profit?

Is there a limit to what government can and should do? If running a health club and extravagant entertainment center is part of its mission, Maybe not.

No discussion of summertime activities would be complete without mentioning golf. Though Governing magazine has called municipal-owned courses "the most nonessential of nonessential services," governments provide.

In the winter, Minnesota has municipal ice arenas by the score. It's the land of hockey. They are also few government-owned ski hills. Northern Minnesota features Lutsen (privately owned and operated), Giants Ridge (owned by an agency of the state of Minnesota) and Spirit Mountain (owned by the city of Duluth).

Granted, some of the various facilities came about when there were few or even no privately owned and operated facilities.

But rising to the level of needing government involvement? That's hard to believe.

Each facility mentioned above, by the way, fails several components of the test of a public good. In particular, gates and employees can and do exclude non-fee-payers from pools, ski hills, and golf courses.

There are obvious drawbacks to such activities. For one, it puts the majority of taxpayers in direct commercial conflict with a few taxpayers who own golf courses, water parks, and so forth. Two, it distracts government from its core mission. Three, it can contribute to a false confidence in what government can do, prompting it to move from relatively simple tasks to more problems more intractable than "we don't have enough courses for junior golfers." Finally, it is self-perpetuating: would you want to risk your own house, or your own money, your own time, to go into business against someone with taxing authority?

Labels: Golf

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