I have to say, I am not thrilled with the deal to end the Minnesota Shutdown.  It just smacks of borrowing from Mary to pay Paul.  Already the state owes the K-12 educational system something like $1.4 billion and now the state will owe $2.1 billion.  Additionally, school districts now have to scramble to figure out where that now nonexistent money is going to come from.  They will have to borrow money, resulting in higher costs to them, as they now have to pay interest on those loans.  Where exactly are they supposed to get that money to make the loan payments?  It is your kid’s future that suffers.  There is not plan in place describing how this money will be paid back in the future.  Where will the money come from?  Borrowing against future tobacco money just means it is paid back with interest.  This is a dangerous way to live.  I don’t blame Governor Dayton as he did everything he could to prevent this from happening.  He made tough choices between miserable options.  I do not not consider myself either a Democrat or Republican.  But come on Republicans.  You can do better than this!  Why the slash and burn mentality?  Making spending match revenue doesn’t have to be an exercise in complete and utter misery.  Creativity is what is needed.   What about selling naming rights to state facilities or even parks?  A long time ago, in Chicago, I got my car towed to the tune of $85.  As I was in Chicago to sell T-shirts for their Memorial Day events, I would ask people to buy my T-shirt to help me out as I got towed that day to the tune of $85.  There were many generous people who did just that, they specifically bought a T-shirt from me to help me out.  Why can’t we ask all Minnesotans, from all economic classes, all companies, big and small, to donate to the state coffers to help improve out economic outlook, and in exchange give them a tax break.  No tax increase, no punitive measures.  Just help us out and we help you.   Similar to what we all do when we are trying to pay down a credit card.  Same mentality.  I am shocked that, as fiscal conservatives, you are promoting the idea of borrowing money in the future to pay for a hamburger today.  I know we can do better than this and based on what I am reading today, we will be re-visiting this miserable experience as we try to figure out how to pay down our much larger deficits in the future, based on the deal we made today.  When I hear “I will gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today” just wrecks my appetite.