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02 Jul 2011 17:49

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Politics: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton bummed by state shutdown

  • I remember a family meeting 15 years ago, my uncle Ken Dayton looked at our collective family situation improving over the year before. Therefore, our total taxes paid went up. One of my cousins complained about our taxes going up. My uncle Ken looked him square in the eye and said, ‘We should want to pay more taxes. That means we’re making more money.’
  • Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton • Offering a defense of higher taxes amid a shutdown of the state government this weekend. As you might guess, most Republicans don’t think this way … to put it another way, this train of thought trickles down a bit differently for them. Dayton, a Democrat, is having a tough time getting any leverage with the GOP on budget talks. And it bums him out: “Yesterday was probably the worst day in my six months (as governor),” he said today. “Today isn’t much better. It’s quieter. You know, I take this very, very seriously — the effect on peoples’ lives, their livelihoods, the services that people need. People had their vacations planned and taken away from them. So I can’t say it’s fun right now.” source