Minnesota Government Shutdown: Day 6 and Counting

For the second time in a decade, the Minnesota government is shut down. Legislatures failed to come to an agreement over how to fix the $5 billion projected deficit and six days later, they’re still battling it out. Democrats, led by Governor Mark Dayton, propose a plan that would raise taxes on just the richest Minnesotans who make more than a million dollars a year. That translates to a mere 7,700 or 0.3% of taxpayers. In a move which surprised absolutely no one, the Republicans objected and instead preferred “very damaging cuts to health care, K-12 and higher education, state and local public safety, mass transit, and other essential services” because clearly protecting their own wealthy friends and campaign donors makes more sense than actually allowing money to reach those who need it.

The effects of the state shutdown have already been felt by many Minnesotans especially the 23,000 state workers who found themselves out of a job on Friday. State parks and highway rest stops have all been shut down and gaining licenses has suddenly started to come with an even longer wait than usual. The worst blow, perhaps, comes in the form of the shutdown of most of the social service agencies. However, Governor Dayton filed a request to allow a handful of social services to be considered essential so they can resume despite the shutdown.

Thus far, attempts to resolve this standoff have failed. Governor Dayton met with Republican leaders Senator Amy Koch and Representative Kurt Zellers on Tuesday but the meeting has yet to yield any positive results as both side seem unwilling to yield on their key points. Minnesota Republicans—like Republicans on the federal level—are trying to cram through spending cuts with no consideration for means to raise revenue. A one-sided plan will not be a successful one and we applaud Governor Dayton for standing ground.