The BRAC Commission, which will determine which military bases will be closed, was formed to give political cover to Congress. It creates a way to deal with a politically unpleasant problem so that incumbents can keep their jobs.
We see the same kind of thinking in the Duluth City Council's decision two weeks ago to form a commission to study the city's out-of-control health care costs.
This is an unpleasant political task. The city has only two alternatives: put the squeeze on its employees or raise taxes.
So what did this Council decide to do? Punt until after the next election.
The Council has known about this problem for several years. Candidates have talked about it -- ever so briefly -- during the last couple of election campaigns. The size of the obligation, $178.5 million, has been bandied about since at least March 2004.
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Finally, in July 2005, the council decided to form an independent commission to take a look at it. Not only that -- and this is key -- the council expects the commission to report back in December, a month after the election.
That way, whenever a concerned citizen asks, the candidates can say, "We need to wait for the commission's report."
Don't let them off the hook, Duluth voters. Pin them down and make them air their views. Health care costs are the biggest issue of the campaign.
