During my travels over the holiday weekend, I passed the Minnesota rest stop and information center on I-90 on five separate occasions. Each time I became a bit more irritated.Leaving the state, driving west was not nearly as bad as coming into the state from the east. The entrance ramps to the Beaver Creek Travel and Information Center were blocked off by five large, orange garbage tubs (the kind they use in construction zones) and the sign on the barricade announced that the rest stop was closed.What a way to welcome holiday travelers to our fine state!For anyone not in the know, the state shut down last week, and as Minnesotans we began surviving off emergency funds.In May the officials that we elected last fall failed to deliver an agreeable budget for the next two years of operations in the state of Minnesota. That prompted the legislative bodies to go into a special session. This, in my opinion, means the elected get paid double time to juggle their summer vacations and legislative responsibilities.The idea behind special sessions is to give governing bodies the ability to finish business that was not completed during the regular session. Usually, this pertains to large bills or as was the case in Texas, re-districting measures.This time around, it all came down to money.Schools, nursing homes, street departments, businesses, health care – everyone wants more money, but our governor swore not to raise taxes. So where does the additional money come from? Apparently, the people we put in charge (elected officials) have failed to come up with solutions. It appears they were so unwilling to compromise they decided it would be better to just shut the state down rather than do the job we, as taxpayers, pay them to do.It irritates me that the government can just quit on us like this. Could a doctor, garbage man or McDonald’s worker just decide to stop working? I don’t think so. I believe they would be relieved of their positions and replacement workers would be hired. Yet our elected officials had no problem planning for such an event.I visited the Minnesota government Web site and found press releases dating back to the middle of June that detailed how the state would handle a shutdown. To me, lawmakers and administrators would have made better use of their time coming to agreeable terms on the budget instead of budgeting for a government shutdown.The biggest losers in all this are not the travelers unable to buy a Coke or visit a public bathroom but our state services that rely on state funding to function and the workers in these facilities that will not be going back to their offices after the holiday. The following is a list of funds by agency that will not be given out during the shutdown.EducationüState and federal funding for libraries will be delayed.üState funding for early childhood programs, including ECFE, will be delayed.üState and federal adult basic grants and aid will be delayed.HealthüSuspend grants to local public health agenciesPublic SafetyüSuspend issuing new drivers licenses and driver testing.üAdministrative support and training for troopers will be reduced.üMost vehicle title processing will be delayed.üInternal investigations delayed.Transportation üSlow or no response on all maintenance activities.üRest areas will be closed, affecting July 4th holiday travelers.üSuspend message boards and traffic information for motorists.On June 30, in a press release Governor Pawlenty made a grand gesture by pledging to sign the environment, agriculture, employment and economic development bill."I will be signing this bill after thoroughly reviewing it. I’m pleased we were able to come to this agreement and keep our state parks and other important services operating. Even though it is not yet signed, I have instructed that parks should remain open. I hold out hope that we can come to an agreement on the rest of the budget issues before us."I am sure it was nice for campers to be able to pitch a tent on their reserved campground over the weekend. Nevertheless, camping is not at the heart of this problem. Our government is having some major issues and we, as taxpayers, need to make them responsible for the actions, or in this case lack of action.Budgets are hard for companies, families and governments, but we need to make sure our future politicians demonstrate that they have the financial background that can help save the state of Minnesota. Without that change, we will probably be facing this problem again in two years when it is time to set another budget.Story ideas or comments can be emailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.
