Minnesota State Government Shutdown Last Summer Saved Minnesota Taxpayers $5 Million!

Okay, I am going to give you all a lesson in media bias here...not that you need ANOTHER one but this one is pretty funny. The crux of this concerns the government shutdown that occurred in the state of Minnesota last summer when the Republican controlled state legislature refused to raise taxes on the people to address state budget deficits and the liberal state Governor vetoed any legislation that did NOT raise taxes. The Democrats in Minnesota positioned the state government shutdown as the apocolypse...that the state would never recover from the huge losses of shutting down the nanny state.

Well, from the article at TwinCities.com, look at what actually the net result was of the government shutdown:

Minnesota budget officials said today that a 20-day government shutdown in July cost the state nearly $60 million but saved it about $65 million in salaries that weren't paid to state employees.

In a report released today, the Minnesota Management and Budget department said the state lost almost $50 million in revenue and spent about $7 million preparing for the shutdown and $3 million in recovery costs. Those cost estimates could rise, it said.

But that was more than offset by savings in payroll costs for about 19,000 state employees laid off during the shutdown.

So there you have it. Cold hard facts that the state government shutdown actually SAVED the Minnesota taxpayers $5 million dollars!

So, how did the media present the potential cost of the government shutdown back in July? Let's take a look at some of the headlines from various Leftist media back in July scaring the people of Minnesota, threatening a huge cost to everyone because the damn Republicans were holding their ground:

Minneapolis Star and Tribune: " Shutdown cost will bring sticker shock"

MyFox9: "Minnesota Government Shutdown Costs Taxpayers Millions"

Kare11: "Analyst warns about 'great costs' of gov't shutdown"

Hell, look at the headline from the article above from TwinCities.com that actually proves that the shutdown saved the taxpayers money:

"Officials: Minnesota government shutdown cost nearly $60 million"

So, let's just say that I'm a lazy voter in the state of Minnesota and I'm an even lazier news reader....I run across the headline above and don't read the article....I'm going to have a negative view of the shutdown right? Once again, the media carries the water for the liberals - once again the American people (in this case, the people of Minnesota) get lies and distortion in their news.

Here's the end run of the government shutdown in Minnesota last summer. The liberal Governor, Mark Dayton, bet his entire political capital that the government shutdown would cause a catastrophe for the people and cost the state huge dollars - and next year, he could use that fodder to catapult Democrats back into control of the state legislature. His bet was a bad one. The shutdown had little effect unless you were one of the unionized state workers and in the end, the shutdown SAVED the taxpayers money.

So, when the 2012 elections come around, how do you think the media will portray the Governor's tactics of using the state shutdown as a political ploy?

Officials: Minnesota government shutdown cost nearly $60 million


Minnesota budget officials said today that a 20-day government shutdown in July cost the state nearly $60 million but saved it about $65 million in salaries that weren't paid to state employees.

In a report released today, the Minnesota Management and Budget department said the state lost almost $50 million in revenue and spent about $7 million preparing for the shutdown and $3 million in recovery costs. Those cost estimates could rise, it said.

But that was more than offset by savings in payroll costs for about 19,000 state employees laid off during the shutdown.

The report did not include lost productivity and other, unspecified "indirect impacts." The shutdown angered and inconvenienced many Minnesotans, delaying road construction projects, shutting down state parks and the lottery and cutting off the flow of alcohol to some bars.

Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said that except for those state employees, the shutdown was essentially a wash because a court-appointed master ordered that many programs were essential and had to be funded during the shutdown. State spending continued at an 80 percent clip.

"The broad economic impact didn't really occur," Schowalter said. "The biggest story was the human impact, and the impact on the state's reputation."

The shutdown came after Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP legislative majorities couldn't agree on how to close a $5 billion budget shortfall.