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However, there are some statistics we can use to help gauge the cost of the crisis. Due to lack of compliance officers, for instance, the Department of Revenue loses $52 million in taxes for every month the government is closed. The state is also losing $1.25 million a day in lottery sales. The Department of Transportation is forfeiting between $40,000 and $50,000 a week from uncollected MnPass tolls. In the first week, the state will lose $80,000 from the closure of Giants Ridge golf course and convention center. State park closures are costing the state an estimated $200,000 a day.
Other agencies can name their losses but not pin a number on them. The Department of Administration is losing revenue by not collecting parking fees. The Department of Health is losing revenue by not raising money from various licensing fees, as is the Department of Education.
Of course, even if these agencies had the staff to compute their lost funds, the full economic impact of the shutdown can’t be known until it’s over “such as employee costs, planning costs and payments that needed to be made that otherwise would not have occurred,” Pollard said. Unexpected costs have already emerged — for example, vandalism at shuttered state parks.
While the details are fuzzy, one thing is clear. Even with government barely functioning, the shutdown will almost definitely cost Minnesota more than it saves.
Source: The Fix, Post Politics
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