Minnesota Clueless on Shutdown Cost
... BECAUSE IT LAID OFF ALL THE WORKERS WHO COULD CALCULATE IT
By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff
newser.com
( They laid off all of YOUR kind, Dave! )
Posted Jul 7, 2011 1:21 PM CDT
(NEWSER) – Minnesota’s government shutdown is sure to cost the state millions of dollars, but no one’s sure exactly how many millions, because the very number-crunchers who’d figure it out are now out of work, the Washington Post observes. Only “essential” government personnel are still at work, and that doesn’t include the bean-counters, said a budget office spokesman, though he added that, “Nobody believes the state is saving money.”
Some figures are available—and they’re not pretty. The state will, for example, lose $52 million in taxes each month, and $1.25 million in lottery sales each day. Lost state park admissions add up to another $1 million a week. And that's before even touching unexpected costs from incidents like this one. “It’s going to be a slow force on the economy,” one laid-off state economist tells the AP. He’s not predicting a recession, but “it’s clearly not good the longer it goes on.” |
