Beer — the great motivator

I spent all day Thursday working on a story about beer. MillerCoors beer to be exact and how it was told to get out of the state due to a shutdown snafu that meant their licenses were expired.

Unfortunately for me, and for you, since it means you didn't get to read the masterpiece I produced on the topic, the story didn't run because the state came to an agreement that day so it was old news before it was even printed.

I think the real takeaway from this situation is that threatening someone's beer suddenly gets work done.

It wasn't threatening the funding to school districts that caused an uproar. Nor the shuttering of many social services or state parks. It was beer that hit home for the population. It was beer that finally get people mad enough to tell Dayton to end the shutdown at all costs.

It seems like joke, but it gets at a vital point in our society. We just don't get things done unless it affects us personally and negatively.

The positive outcomes of educated youth are fuzzy and in the future. What happens to people who need social services isn't really a concern for most people unless those people are family. But, in hard economic times, where routine is a soothing balm for overworked and underpaid masses, the prospect of having to choose a different brand of beer to spend our money on really gets under our skin.

Of course it is more complicated than that, but maybe it is something to remember as budget crises become more and more common.