Once again, Gov. Tim Pawlenty didn’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a national headline at the expense of ordinary Minnesotans.

I met with some of those Minnesotans last night in Chatfield. The group was deeply concerned about the future of their town. Main Street businesses that can no longer afford to reinvest and renovate their properties because property taxes are just too high. Families that leave for the cities because health care is simply too expensive on local salaries. Gov. Pawlenty’s unallotment decisions are not good news for the folks in Chatfield or people living in any number of towns and cities across Minnesota.

Of course, the governor’s cuts today are not surprising. They are simply the ultimate example of his Sam’s Club values: Do everything as cheaply and quickly as possible and never look back at the consequences.

And Minnesotans are left with the fallout: a budget deficit that remains unfixed, tax burdens shifted to homeowners and Main Street businesses, underfunded hospitals, and elimination of important services like mental health services for kids and adolescents and emergency heating and food aid — problems that don’t go away just because the funding has been eliminated.

We need to turn back to the values that have made Minnesota a great place to live: honoring hard work, looking beyond narrow self-interest, creating opportunity for the next generation, understanding that our success as a state depends on the success of everyone, not just a few.

Bottom line: Minnesotans have been offered a false choice of cutting services or raising taxes. We have alternatives. Just this year, I initiated and passed legislation to start what’s called a Social Innovation Fund in Minnesota. The fund aims to ensure more accountability from nonprofits who receive state dollars — measuring results, extending the reach of successful ideas, encouraging programs to become self-sustaining rather than reliant on ongoing government funds.

I also was proud to work with counties from across the state to make sure basic services are delivered more efficiently and more effectively, with less duplication and overhead.

Unfortunately, Gov. Pawlenty chose to strike the funding for that important innovation, setting us further behind.

Gov. Pawlenty’s old way of doing business is hurting Minnesota. We need fresh ideas and creative leadership in the Governor’s Office and we need it now more than ever.

House Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, is chairman of the Health and Human Services, Policy Committee.