The Whining States of America

All it takes for the collapse of society is for enough of us to tune out, do nothing, and make no waves.

In Minnesota the partisan budget-deficit divide appears unbridgeable.
In Washington D.C. the GOP negotiation leaders, meeting with Democratic leaders, to prevent the financial default of the U.S. Treasury, just walked out on any further meetings and pronounced their ultimatum about taxes - no increases, regardless of debt and deficits.

Today's news stories have it that Minnesota's government could shut down on July 1. The federal government is heading toward shutting down on or about August 2nd. This morning an NPR reporter got my attention with a mention of social security payments halting after August 2.

Last night on the PBS Newshour, we saw the likes of Grover Norquist, famous for a remark about drowning a shrunken government in a bathtub. He was talking about any Republican office holder who dares to vote for any tax increase. Norquist is famous, since the presidency of the first George Bush, as the source of tax pledges across the country by Republican candidates. Pledges that they will never agree to any tax increase anywhere. This is what Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona and Representative Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader, said as they abandoned deficit negotiations led by Vice President Biden. Any tax increases must be "off the table."

And immediately after the Newshour, on "Almanac" from Twin Cities Public Television, GOP leaders from both legislative houses, Zellers and Koch, said the same thing. Governor Dayton must abandon his income tax proposal for a new bracket affecting only the highest two percent of earners, or there can be no budget agreement.

It has all the markings of a Republican No-Tax Cult. Coast to coast. Pawlenty to Bachmann. Walker to Romney to Palin. Analysis doesn't matter. Hardship, suffering, loss of jobs and income. Don't try to explain anything to me. No tax increases anywhere, period!

To my fellow Americans and my fellow Minnesotans, I say "Stop the whining and pay your taxes. Your citizenship and your freedoms require service and payment." We are all in one leaking boat in a storm.