Forced to Choose, even in Spain

Here's what "shared sacrifice" looks like in Higera de la Serena, a village north of Seville in Spain.

The town basically has run out of money, according to this New York Times story, so on Sundays villagers volunteer to install tiles, sweep and take on other chores that used to be the function of the local government.

The story calls the town a microcosm of Spain's troubles, but if you read or listened to any of our Forced to Choose coverage, you know it's not much of a stretch to apply it to what's going on in Minnesota and the rest of this country.

The question this raises, of course, is to what degree residents here would respond in the same way. Some cities like Red Wing and Mankato have organized volunteers to take on some tasks, particularly sprucing up parks.

If the squeeze on local government budgets continues, I wonder how much attention people will pay to this idea.

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