Minnesota: A Foretaste Of The Feast To Come

Minnesota is closed.

As of 12:01 AM July 1, the state has shut down.  A disagreement over how to balance the budget between the Democrat governor and the Republican Senate has caused a stalemate.  Without a budget, the state government officially closed Friday morning.  State parks, rest areas, road construction and other services were shuttered.

State employees were sent home.

The battle just got real for a whole bunch of people; a WHOLE bunch.

And how does the situation in Minnesota reflect the national scene?

Dayton and Republican legislators have been stalemated since January over how to balance the budget and close out the projected deficit. Dayton largely won election on a promise to preserve cherished state services by increasing taxes on the richest 2 percent of Minnesotans. But Republicans won control of the Legislature for the first time in decades with a pledge not to raise taxes. The deep rift ignited a political fistfight that spilled past the regular legislative session in late May and dragged the state to the current precipice.

Because in Minnesota they have an executive who thinks that he was elected to raise taxes and a legislature that feels they were elected to cut spending.  Both think that they are operating with a mandate.  A blink by either means the other “wins”.

In the federal government we have the same conditions.  We have an executive who feels he rode into office with a clear mandate to raise taxes; and to raise ’em on the wealthiest of our citizens.  And the federal government, just like Minnesota, has a legislature that is emboldened with THEIR win and isn’t about to back down on their promise to cut spending; no tax increases.

I think folks will watch Minnesota.  We’ll see how they resolve their differences and what tactics they use to get to their solution.  Are we going to see politicians screaming in the streets or are we going to see the people’s business get done with decorum?

It’s my hope that the business side of things will win out over the emotional “teachers and cops and firemen” screed we get from the Left every time budgets have to be tightened.  When budgets are out of whack, it’s normal to look at both sides of the lager; revenue and costs.  It’s also important to take into account the relative weight of each when deciding which side to fix.

A nation watches Minnesota.

6 responses to “Minnesota: A Foretaste Of The Feast To Come

  1. The really frustrating thing is the utter lack of common sense.

    The MN/DOT spent the better part of Thursday barricading the Rest Areas on the interstate highways and knocking on trucks, to wake up the sleeping truck drivers to tell them to leave. They didn’t just lock the building, you can’t even park there during the shutdown.

    A Boy Scout working toward becoming an Eagle Scout was on mile 17 of a 20 mile hike at Itasca State Park and was told to leave. He’ll have to start over another day.
    Not to mention the fact that all the State Parks are closed, on one of the busiest camping weekends of the summer, costing an estimated $12 million per week in lost tourism revenue.

    The Minnesota Zoo is closed to the public, although there will be a few employees there to care for the animals. The Minnesota Zoo generates around $50,000 per day of income during the summer.

    The State Lottery is shutdown. The Lottery generates $3.00 for every $1.00 it spends, it is one of the most profitible branches of the state government. The shutdown could cost the state $2.3 million in lost lottery revenue.

    But the real kicker? There is a balanced budget proposal laying on the Governor’s desk. The proposal funds state government at the highest level ever. All the governor has to do is sign it. But he won’t, he wants increased taxes and increased spending. And he wants his way.

  2. I really don’t understand why the middle class continue to say the rich need to pay their share or they make more they should pay more. They already DO pay more because they make more. I see more potential by asking the 50% of people who pay nothing in taxes to just pay SOMETHING.

  3. The AP reports: “Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders say they don’t plan talks over the Fourth of July weekend on a budget impasse that has shut down the Minnesota government. Dayton said Friday he thinks lawmakers should spend the weekend in their legislative districts, hearing from their constituents. He says he’ll probably contact GOP leaders on Tuesday.”

    Nice, they get the weekend off – hope they all had reservations at a state park….

  4. Liberals are very smart in politics. Class envy has worked very well to get and keep power . However they are dunderheads when it comes to economics . When you over tax the rich, they do two things . First they cut back on whatever activity increases their taxes . Usually that means less investing or expanding their businesses . Which as all of us know results in fewer jobs and less tax revenue to the almighty State . The other thing is they just leave their State . An example would be Ohio . They are just getting rid of their inheritance tax . Many rich have left Ohio over the years because of the death tax . The only problem with Ohio is that the repeal doesn’t kick in until 2013 .

    So if you are old, sickly and rich , what do you do ? If you are out of State you may want to wait a year and a half before moving to Ohio. If you reside in Ohio, you have a very powerful incentive to live, if you do not wish to move.

  5. lost revenue

    Yeah, that IS a kick in the jimmy. The fact that they shut down the aspects of the government that MAKE money is just silly. In fact, they could stay open and just spend what they bring in, they don’t need to continue to go in debt.

    MJ, you’re right. Not only do the rich pay more in taxes, but they pay a larger share of their inncome in taxes.

    He says he’ll probably contact GOP leaders on Tuesday.

    That’s gross, especially given how they have the budget on his desk.

    Class envy has worked very well to get and keep power .

    Fer sur!

    “Tax the rich!” is a very powerful weapon.

  6. pino ,

    Democrats use class envy because it works . Since every year a new group of young comes up and fall for it . It’s only when a life long liberal opens their eyes and rejects the BS they have believed, that hope comes into the world . We hear that John Lennon saw the light before he died . Supposedly he liked Reagan . Then we have David Mamet , American playwright and author . His 2008 essay ” Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’ ” is fun to read . Also on the same subject is his book ” “The Secret Knowledge “.

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