Minnesota Clueless on Shutdown Cost

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.” (More Minnesota stories.)