I wrote last week about the news that Minnesota is likely to face another deficit in the near future. It’s a frustrating situation, but one of the great things about the Internet is how it assists in keeping one’s perspective. Take California, for example. Writer Michael Lewis paints a vivid and depressing picture of the complete clusterfuck that is California’s public finances in a fascinating Vanity Fair article. He describes how state legislators of both parties are incapable of putting the long-term interests of the state before their own political interests. That may not be surprising in itself, but the consequences of such behavior are now trickling down to the local level with dire consequences. The city of Vallejo, for instance, is bankrupt and the city government has been reduced to a skeletal staff. The local fire department can barely cope with the number of emergencies that are called in each day. It’s a city struggling to preserve the most basic elements of the the social contract with its citizenry.
No community in Minnesota is approaching Vallejo-levels of dysfunction, but I worry. Our elected officials have shown little appetite for finding a sustainable solution to our own structural deficit and our cities and towns have been forced to make deep cuts in services. I want to believe that our sense of civic responsibility would keep our worst impulses in check, but perhaps the residents of Vallejo thought the same thing.
Very well written Mark.