As a patriotic gesture.

We have a budget crisis in Minnesota. So, we are no different than most other states. And we’re like the rest of ‘em in another respect. There’s a political impasse on how to solve the problem. The same kind of impasse that we have in Washington. The majority Republicans in the Legislature want to cut spending and to muddle through without any tax increases. The Democratic governor, meanwhile, has no problem with some spending reductions. But he also wants a tax increase on the richest 2 percent of Minnesotans. If the stalemate isn’t solved by tonight, state government will shut down. As far as I’m concerned, let’s shut it down. Rather than give in to the Republicans. It’s time for rich people to bail out our state and our nation. They’ve gotten by far too easily. And if that means a new dimension to class warfare, so be it. After all, we’ve got class warfare now. The rich lord it over the poor and middle classes. Have for a long, long time. That’s the nature of our selfish capitalist system. Making the rich richer. Making the poor poorer. Keep widening the gap. Well, it’s immoral. Obscene. It’s gotta stop. We aren’t a poor nation. If we pooled all of our resources, we probably qualify as the richest nation in the world. But we have millionaires and billionaires with far too much money. They can afford higher taxes. And they should pay up. As a patriotic gesture. Serving the common good. –Jim Broede