Government Shut-Down

Differences of opinion can occur in any situation. We are taught as children to “give and take,” and negotiate our way to an agreement. If the children can’t do that, some “responsible” adult will try to mediate.

What happens if the “children” who are arguing are the adults? In the case of two countries, it could mean war. In the case of the Minnesota State Government, it appears to mean “partial government shut-down.” There are no “adults” available in the government to settle things.

Primitive people would have perhaps had a physical altercation, resulting in a leader who would ultimately take charge. In our “civilized” world, political leaders don’t soil their hands this way; they prefer to have others take those kinds of risks.

Is it easy to negotiate a budget? I’m guessing not. After all, how much can be “trimmed” before there is nothing left? Then of course there is the Republican agenda to keep the power and money in the hands of those who already have power and money. The Democrats are interested in promoting the interests of all the special interest groups who want the world to bend to their particular doctrine. Where does that leave middle-America?

Minnesotans elected Jesse Ventura for Governor in 1998, not because he was a politician, but because he was not. He was a way for Minnesotans to indicate that they were unhappy with politicians. Unfortunately, Jesse soon showed that he was more concerned with the media “picking on him.” This was probably due to the fact that he was continuously babbling about macho things like “hunting men,” or the Navy SEALs.

Now, with a pro-Bush Governor in Minnesota (Tim Pawlenty), we can only ride the wave that the entire country is riding. Perhaps we need someone like Jesse to pull the “foreign object” (i.e. brass knuckles) out of his tights, and take control.

So now, the “children” who are running the state government have spent the last six-months arguing, and the government will shut-down –except for “vital services.” Apparently one of these vital services includes continuing to pay the politicians who didn’t get the job done. Meanwhile, other government workers will need to use their vacation time if they want to get paid.