My life has been filled with amazing and diverse experiences that have brought me to the juncture that I am at today. I have lived in Minnesota almost my entire life and have been proud of the quality of life that we have in Minnesota.
It is those experiences that fuel my support for Governor Dayton and the stance that he has taken.
Bear with me – on my little story here – there are multiple points I am trying to make.
For the purpose of this story I use the phrase “the poorest amongst us” to generically mean those in need of some type of assistance – those who look to others, or nonprofit agencies or our government just to make it through each and every day of their life. Whether it be long-term, or just during a time of crisis – they need help from others - because they have to, not because they want to.
Economics
It is my economic history that has made me an outspoken liberal Democrat. I have been through the entire gamut of financial situations in my lifetime. During my formative years I raised in a household that was very poor – we would have been labeled “the poorest amongst us”. My sister has even told me that those days are not worth remembering because we were so poor. My parents gradually moved up to lower middle class and that’s where they were until the day they died – money was always a nagging irritant until the day they died.
When I first started out as a working adult, I was married, working a total of 16 hours a day at two full-time jobs (making about a dollar an hour at each job) and on food stamps – we were poor. Over time we moved up to the middle class (which included working a full-time and a part-time job) and saw the opportunities that even a little more money can give you – better food, a modest home of your own, a better car and a yearly vacation camping in a state park. At one time in my life I was rich and saw the additional opportunities that even more money can bring – regularly eating out, a vacation home, new cars with names like Porsche and Volvo, and multiple vacations a year that included trips to places like Germany, Ireland, Austria, Australia and the best ski resorts in the world.
Now the pendulum is swinging back – I am middle class again – I don’t eat out much, I have a seven year old car, and I take one nice vacation every three years. Over the past three years – because of the US economy, I have seen an economic loss of about $5,000 a year due to reduced wages and increased costs (not whining, I’m not a whiner – just stating a fact that is common to many people in our country) and I don’t see that improving any time in the future.
In the future, based on what I see happening in our politics, I see a high possibility that I will be poor again and in need of some type of assistance.
Geography
I use to live in an affluent suburb of Minneapolis. We didn’t see “the poorest amongst us” in the suburb that I lived in. The agencies that provided services for those in need were not in the suburb I lived in. They didn’t shop where I shopped, they didn’t go to religious services where I went, their kids were segregated into different classrooms, so I didn’t see them when I went to my son’s school (that was general knowledge – it’s not an assumption, the richer you were, the better teacher you got – in this suburb – and economic de-segregation was not a change the school district was willing to make – I tried).
I know people who were born in the suburbs, educated in the suburbs, married and moved into the same or more affluent suburb and to this day have very seldom seen “the poorest amongst us” – those in need of assistance. Because of their geographic worldview - they can’t comprehend what is happening to other people in our country. Their geographic worldview is their neighborhood or suburb.
During that time, I was politically active, volunteered in the most economically challenged areas of Minneapolis and donated as much as I could to foodshelves and homeless shelters – but even then, my exposure to the “poorest amongst us” was limited.
Now I live in a Republican stronghold of Minnesota. I live in a small town outside of Minneapolis. I see the “poorest amongst us” every week, at the grocery store or the hardware store. I see elderly people who buy one chunk of cheese and then count out coins to pay for it – having less than a dollar in change left afterward, if they are lucky. I see people using “food stamps” (cards) at the grocery store. I see little kids who look like I did when I was their age and very poor. I see cildren, adults and the elderly desperately in need of dental work – when people I know are paying $9,000 for implanting two teeth.
I am still politically active, I still donate to the local and regional Foodshelves, I still donate to the homeless shelters and every time I write one of those checks I say to myself, “What is happening to our country?”
Politics
In the small town that I live in, it’s not a good thing to be a Democrat (big D). As a liberal Democat it's almost impossible for me to comprehend what goes on around me on a daily basis. It’s a constant frustration, even in non-election years. One in three people in the area I live in are Democrats – I live in Michelle Bachmann’s district. Our district currently has the highest foreclosure rate in the state of Minnesota.
There’s a standing joke amongst Democrats in my area about election Sunday. This is because during the past three presidential elections it is the Sunday before the election that the Catholic priests in the churches around our area give their sermon on saving the unborn babies. My Republican neighbors (whom I seldom talk with, except at block parties) will echo the Republican talking points, or the “prosperity” preaching they regularly hear at their religious service – some, at the same time that their house is in foreclosure.
When I was door-knocking for Democratic candidates during the past elections – it was not uncommon to be called a “Communist” at least once a day. I would go home and say to myself, “What is happening to our country?”
Conclusion
LONG-TERM Implications of the Republican Budget in Minnesota
Here are just a few of the LONG-TERM changes that will be a result of the Republicans budget – This is just some of them, a few of them, and these changes will be around for years, maybe decades – longer than the discomfort of a short-term State shut-down.
• Under their proposal, health care systems would only receive an estimated $930 per patient per year to provide health care
• repealing health care coverage through Medical Assistance for over 100,000 Minnesotans.
• $50 million in cuts that threaten the supply of affordable, high quality child care. $50 million in cuts that threaten the supply of affordable, high quality child care.
• a 17.5 percent cut to Office of Justice Programs that would result in drastic cuts to domestic violence services statewide.
• proposed elimination of a $952,000 state grant, which would result in the cancellation of the Caregiver Respite program and loss of $2.1 million a year in federal matching funds. Caregiver Respite enables many older or sick adults to live at home instead of institutional settings.
• proposed $1.6 billion in cuts to health and human services, including limiting access to chemical health treatment.
• cuts that would eliminate school-linked mental health services.
• proposed a 17.5 percent cut to the state Department of Public Safety's Office of Justice Programs, which houses the Youth Intervention Program.
• proposed the elimination of the entire general fund allocation to metro area transit, $130 million over the next two years, and a devastating $7.6 million cut to Greater Minnesota transit. More than 100,000 people - seniors, students and working adults - depend on transit every day just in the metro area.
• proposed a 16 percent cut to the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership, jeopardizing training opportunities.
• proposed a 14 percent cut for higher education - which will result in the lowest level of funding in over a decade.
• proposed a 65 percent cut to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Department of Human Rights' mission: to make Minnesota discrimination free. Our vision: That we will eradicate discrimination and empower every person in Minnesota with the ability to enjoy all of the benefits of society regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, age, sexual orientation, familial status, and public assistance status.
Economically there is the possibility that the “pendulum will swing” for any of us. During that time, regardless of our current financial situation, it is important to remember there are “the poorest among us” – those who need some type of assistance - and those numbers are growing every year. Prosperity preaching and the rhetoric of the Republican Party are not going to make our state or country better economically. Everyone needs to be aware of those who are need of assistance and everyone needs to have basic compassion for those who are need of assistance.
Geographically, we need to understand that what you see in your neighborhood may not reflect the economic condition of the rest of the state or the rest of the country. Making political decisions based on your limited “world/state/neighborhood view” is detrimental for all people in the state or country.
Politically, we have to start taking into account representation of all the people – not just the wealthy and the corporations. Our citizenry is diverse and our legislation must address the issues that affect all of our citizens, not just the fortunate few who have money to influence our politics.
The pendulum is swinging! Each and every one of us who makes less than a million dollars a year has the potential of becoming “the poorest amongst us” – in need of some type of assistance. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or Republican - the possibility is the same.
Dayton is asking for 7,700 Minnesotans who EARN a $1,000,000 a year or more to pay more taxes.
The Republicans are saying that “Dayton gave up.” on the negotiations. As far as I’m concerned he stayed strong to his convictions and his focus on all citizens of Minnesota and for that I support Mark Dayton.
My Final Comment:
What is happening to our country? Why do Republicans have sympathy for the rich and not for “the poorest amongst us”? Based on my life experience their sympathies are misplaced. Based on my life experiences, I don’t think it would be too much to ask the wealthy to give up one ski trip a year for the benefit our state.