WHY DO WE CARE?

We are average Joe Citizens of the state of Minnesota. The government shutdown has not meant lost wages or many problems for us. We really, "do not have a dog in this fight" so to speak. So why are we so concerned?

We are concerned because we care deeply for our state, our Minnesota. We are so proud of our state because our ancestors settled here and helped establish it. We honor their wisdom and their decisions made over 150 years ago - this is the place on earth that they wanted to establish their roots and work on their visions for the future. Some of my and my husband's ancestors were community and state leaders. So we, can be proud that what we have today is because of something they worked so hard for. This makes it double hard for us to watch what is happening. It seems that today's leaders are doing their best to tear apart and dismantle what our past leaders worked so hard to establish.

As former Vice President Mondale stated, "Minnesota has always been a special place - we have held ourselves more accountable than other states." We have been a state of clean government where we have cared about the less fortunate and we have always striven for doing a good job and doing it in an efficient manner. That is why we are losing sleep at night because each morning we see headlines declaring Minnesota as the "only state in the nation" that is shut down and for the longest period of time. Our bond rating has been lowered which is like telling businesses that might want to come here - we are not the state that works like we were.

Our former leaders like Orville Freeman, Hap LaVander, Luther Youngdahl, Elmer Anderson, Hubert Humphrey, Harold Stassen, Floyd B. Olson, John A. Johnson (and yes, some of our ancestors( would be apalled at what is going on. We owe it to these people's memories to do the right thing!

Representative Bob Gunther was quoted in the Mankato Free Press as saying, "you will not see me wearing a button that says not one penny more." Gunther and other moderate legislators are on the right track. They understand how to restore our state to a moving forward mode. We appeal to him and others of his ilk to get together and get a budget deal done. If such a coalition can be formed, it will be a strong basis to move forward on reforming Minnesota's tax system so that we will not be constantly facing these same issues every two years. end