666: The year that was, and the year that will be (Video)
Plain Talk
The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for primary residences while simultaneously holding the line on attempts to water down the 3% cap on local spending. Also, shamelessness was a theme in state (as well as national) politics. Elected officials...
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666: The year that was, and the year that will be
Plain Talk
The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for primary residences while simultaneously holding the line on attempts to water down the 3% cap on local spending. Also, shamelessness was a theme in state (as well as national) politics. Elected officials...
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665: 'I hate that we're relying on emergency ad hoc payments again' (Video)
Plain Talk
Matt Perdue is the newly-elected president of the North Dakota Farmers Union. While he was campaigning among Farmers Union members for that office earlier this year, he said he spent a lot of time talking about health care. And not because he was asking about it. "I've spent the last few months traveling the state, visiting with folks in small towns across North Dakota, and I think it's really important to make the point that I have not asked them to talk about healthcare, he said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They have asked me to talk about healthcare. It's a top-of-mind issue for farmers...
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665: 'I hate that we're relying on emergency ad hoc payments again'
Plain Talk
Matt Perdue is the newly-elected president of the North Dakota Farmers Union. While he was campaigning among Farmers Union members for that office earlier this year, he said he spent a lot of time talking about health care. And not because he was asking about it. "I've spent the last few months traveling the state, visiting with folks in small towns across North Dakota, and I think it's really important to make the point that I have not asked them to talk about healthcare, he said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They have asked me to talk about healthcare. It's a top-of-mind issue for farmers...
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664: 'We've just got too many programs' (Audio)
Plain Talk
North Dakota has made large strides towards using investments of public funds not just as a way to generate revenue for the for the state but also, by making those investments in North Dakota companies, to benefit the state's economy. But these investments are happening in a lot of different ways, and when some investments made through some programs go bad, and make negative headlines, they can sour the public's view of this sort of public investing. One complicating factor in this is that the state has dozens and dozens of economic development programs, overseen by a patchwork of boards and...
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664: 'We've just got too many programs' (Video)
Plain Talk
North Dakota has made large strides towards using investments of public funds not just as a way to generate revenue for the for the state but also, by making those investments in North Dakota companies, to benefit the state's economy. But these investments are happening in a lot of different ways, and when some investments made through some programs go bad, and make negative headlines, they can sour the public's view of this sort of public investing. One complicating factor in this is that the state has dozens and dozens of economic development programs, overseen by a patchwork of boards and...
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663: 'Where is our home if America is not our home?' (Video)
Plain Talk
Hamida Dakane says she was "disappointed" but "not surprised" by President Donald Trump's comments insulting Somalians and calling on them to leave the country. But it hurt. "You know, this comment, it hits deeply on personal level, and what makes it worse is it's coming from the president of the free world," she said. "It's not just offensive. It is dehumanizing. It shakes your sense of belonging. Even if you lived here 5 days or decades, you call America or Minnesota or North Dakota home, and then the people who represent you demonize you to the point that they call you garbage. It's...
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663: 'Where is our home if America is not our home?' (Audio)
Plain Talk
Hamida Dakane says she was "disappointed" but "not surprised" by President Donald Trump's comments insulting Somalians and calling on them to leave the country. But it hurt. "You know, this comment, it hits deeply on personal level, and what makes it worse is it's coming from the president of the free world," she said. "It's not just offensive. It is dehumanizing. It shakes your sense of belonging. Even if you lived here 5 days or decades, you call America or Minnesota or North Dakota home, and then the people who represent you demonize you to the point that they call you garbage. It's...
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662: 'I want to be the governor for everybody' (Video)
Plain Talk
"I think sometimes we forget that every community in the country has a whole bunch of people that wake up every morning, and the baseball bat that is called life cracks them across the head," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They're the people serving food in a diner, working behind a gas station counter. Sometimes they're sitting in your office right now, anywhere you're at. And if you don't recognize that, then you're not really the governor for everybody. And I want to be the governor for everybody." Armstrong was responding to a question about his administration's...
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662: 'I want to be the governor for everybody' (Audio)
Plain Talk
"I think sometimes we forget that every community in the country has a whole bunch of people that wake up every morning, and the baseball bat that is called life cracks them across the head," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They're the people serving food in a diner, working behind a gas station counter. Sometimes they're sitting in your office right now, anywhere you're at. And if you don't recognize that, then you're not really the governor for everybody. And I want to be the governor for everybody." Armstrong was responding to a question about his administration's...
info_outline"I'm optimistic that they're going to do it," North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to Congress approving an extension to enhanced subsidies for health insurance policies sold on the individual marketplace exchanges. "I'm hopeful that they do it because I think it's the it is the right thing to do."
The subsidies are central to the ongoing shutdown of the federal government, with Democrats refusing to reopen the government without a deal to extend them, and Republicans saying they'll only cut a deal like that once the government is open again.
Godfread, whose office approved new rates for the current open enrollment plan last week based on the assumption that the subsidies will be continued, has warned that without them millions of Americans, and tens of thousands of North Dakotans, would face dramatic cost increases. Despite his prediction, he does see the possibility where Congress doesn't renew them.
"There is certainly a scenario and a reality where neither side wins on this," he said. "I think both sides are so dug into that somebody has to lose, and nobody wants to lose."
Godfread says he's been working with North Dakota's federal delegation — Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, along with Rep. Julie Fedorchak — to get this point across. "The point, again, that I've made with our delegation is, guys, the consumers are the ones who are losing here."
But even given his support for extending the subsidies, Godfread warns that's not going to fix anything. "It's a $440 billion subsidy over the life of this. It's very, very expensive," he said, saying the real solution is addressing health care costs.
Godfread discussed different solutions to that, from increased price transparency to using regulatory authority to impose some price controls, but also said there's a point where the status quo is going to collapse and leave no choice but a complete take over.
"That's exactly what I've said to our to our healthcare providers, in those conversations, that guys, you are advocating for a Medicare for all system," Godfread said. "And I said, we're going to get to a point where nobody can afford this stuff. The only person that can bail it out is going to be the federal government and then we're going to have Medicare for all."
Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discussed the ongoing problems at the North Dakota Commerce Department, when the government shutdown will end, and the federal lawsuit filed by noted advocate for dishonesty Brandon Prichard.
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