Jul. 1 2011 – 6:21 pm Source: Forbes By Richard Ungar – The Policy Page
A telephone help line service for the elderly will not be ringing today in Minnesota. Blind residents reliant on state funding for reading services will remain in the dark for as long as the government’s lights are turned off. Poor families who receive subsidies for childcare are on their own. The St. Louis Park Emergency Program’s food shelf will have bare pickings for those who depend on the program for sustenance. The Community Action Center of Northfield will likely be forced to close down its homeless shelter without the state funding upon which it relies to house the homeless. And yes, 23,000 state workers will be trying to figure out how to care for their families without a paycheck for the duration along with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 construction workers who will be laid off as the state shuts down dozens of road and highway projects. These are but a few of the consequences of the shutdown of Minnesota’s government.