Gary Rust

The filing deadline for next spring's municipal election is Nov. 17. The same window of opportunity is open for those who want to file as candidates for mayor. This is not to discredit the two candidates who have filed so far for mayor, but rather to observe that the lack of candidates for this important office is disappointing.

Having served six years in the Missouri House of Representatives, I can tell you it is a rewarding educational experience to serve your community.

Having lost an election (for U.S. representative), I found that also to be a rewarding learning experience. Win or lose, we all should applaud anyone who puts himself or herself forward for the scrutiny and opportunity elected office provides.

The outcome of races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia sends a major signal to the congressional races in Missouri and elsewhere. No Democratic candidate will be able to ride -- what months ago was assumed -- the coattails of President Barack Obama.

The early polling lead of Robin Carnahan versus Roy Blunt of over 10 points -- leading to Carnahan's low-key issue-avoidance campaign -- had already shrunk to a polling tie before Tuesday's elections.

Now it will be a highly competitive race for U.S. Senate next November.

Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the debt, unemployment, health care, the budget, cap-and-trade and other national issues, along with the 60-vote Senate majority, union organizing efforts and ACORN will all play a part. Tune in for the campaign that has already started. Inform yourself about the candidates and the issues.

During a recent panel discussion of global warming, Al Gore was asked to comment on a recent article that said he might become the first billionaire created by investments in green endeavors, most of them supported by major government grants or tax benefits. Not denying that possibility, Gore stated, "I put my money where my mouth is."

The issue of global warming generates more contradictory information and distraction than Paul Erlich's book, "The Population Bomb" (since discredited). Erlich is now a global-warming advocate.

Climate change? Let's get real. In December the nations of the world will congregate in Copenhagen to discuss what must be done about climate change. The assumption will be that the problem is at least partially man-made and that dramatic steps should be taken lest the planet fry itself. This will be the biggest such confab since the Kyoto get-together in 1997, during which dramatic agreements were made to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Nothing much came of those agreements, in no small part because India and China were exempted from the restrictions.

Copenhagen will be no more successful than was Kyoto. The reason: China. Last year China surpassed the U.S. in producing carbon dioxide, even though China's overall economy is still about one third the size of ours. By 2020 China's emissions will be twice those of the U.S. Beijing is not about to stop its headlong economic growth in the name of fighting global warming.

Therefore, even if the U.S. drastically cut back on its output of carbon dioxide, the overall impact on global temperatures would barely be measurable, perhaps 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit but probably much less. Despite the Obama administration's push for a cap-and-trade scheme that would greatly increase the cost of energy (the Treasury Department's estimate: $300 billion a year) it's not going to happen. Even a Democratic Congress is not going to commit political suicide.

Good thing, too. This obsession with carbon dioxide is misplaced. There are a series of practical things we could do that are very climate-friendly and would not damage the economy. Among them are building more nuclear power plants, promoting coal sequestration technology, encouraging greater use of natural gas (which releases about half the carbon dioxide that coal does and a quarter less than oil), changing the paving surface of streets and the material used on roofs and modernizing the nation's electricity grid. And who knows what breakthroughs might occur in solar energy and other areas?

The idea that there must be a trade-off between growth and green is pernicious and false. Experience demonstrates time and time again that greater wealth creation and a better quality of life for all go hand in hand. -- Steve Forbes

The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated. -- Ronald Reagan

Something to think about: Aging of the population -- The scary part: Baby boomers, who are getting close to retirement. In the U.S. before the current economic crisis, government debt was about 49 percent of GDP. It will rise to 60 percent at the end of the current fiscal year. If baby boomers keep current health care and retirement programs and Social Security benefits, government debt will reach 350 percent of GDP by 2050. About three-quarters of that increase in government debt comes from health care-related costs.

Education -- About 37 percent of U.S. baby boomers earned a college degree, but that's been essentially constant over time. The problem is that 20 years ago 37 percent was the best in the world. Now it's mediocre. Countries like Canada and Japan are close to 50 percent, and countries like China are growing rapidly in regard to college degrees -- from 4 percent to 16 percent, still low, but there are 1.2 billion Chinese. With a greater number of Chinese and Indians graduating from college than North Americans and Europeans combined, there will be a huge shift in the balance of world knowledge power and where innovation is going to come from. -- Investor newsletter

Gary Rust is chairman of Rust Communications.