Fishy Deals

Desperate times call for desperate measures. From an article in today's New York Times:

Minnesota was looking for a bargain on the tiniest walleye fish, known as frylings, that the state stocks in some of its lakes. Wisconsin needed more of the longer fingerlings for its fishing lakes. So the neighbors have decided to share fish — Wisconsin’s frylings for Minnesota’s fingerlings — along with hundreds of other items: bullets for the police, menus for prisoners, trucks for bridge inspections and sign language interpreters. With governors from opposing political parties and residents who often share only sports rivalries, Minnesota and Wisconsin are being drawn into the unusual alliance by financial circumstance. The sharing, officials in the two states say, could save them $20 million over the next two years.

It would be great for Michigan if some trout-rich state were in desperate need of creek chubs, or lamphreys. Too much to hope for, of course, though we are entering the the interstate recessionary swap meet. We probably, sad to say, won't fare even as well as our neighbors to the west:

In Michigan, where as many as 10 prisons may be closed to save money, officials are in talks with other states to keep some of the facilities open by filling them with out-of-state inmates. Among the possibilities, Michigan workers would continue to run the prisons, but they would essentially be extensions of the other states’ corrections systems.

John D. Cherry, Jr., the lieutenant governor of Michigan, said his state had little choice but to rethink the most basic questions about the role of state government and whether its size and shape still matched Michigan’s economic base....

“We don’t have any easy gimmicks left,” Mr. Cherry said. “It really is a matter of making fundamental decisions about what remains and what goes.”

In the article, Cherry acknowledges that one of the things that may go in Michigan is state oversight of wetlands. Advocates of that move say that federal wetlands regulations are sufficient. Unfortunately, many wetlands don't fall under federal control. Localities can make their own rules for small wetlands parcels, but these previously were required to conform to state standards. That gave the process a uniformity that development interests actually appreciated. The state Homebuilders Association actually supports continued state wetlands oversight.

The recession has inspired some creative responses from some governments and businesses that bring unexpected and widely distributed benefits. Other organizations take, and maybe are forced to take, actions for short term survival that could bring further decline over time. Certain expenditures that didn't reap an immediate return, or that paid immaterial benefits were once still considered wise investments. For individuals, these included things like books and flyrods. For businesses, travel to meet clients, or highly experienced and therefore more expensive workers. For governments, things like wetlands, school and road repairs, and the arts; possibly in consequence of these last, this list might also include the future.