Minnesota Shutdown Means No Beer, No Butts.

[BoomerD]

They don't automatically get extended until the departments come back online? here in california my DMV sticker was due a month ago, i just got the notice today. The cops have been advised of our financial situation and not to pull anyone over with expired tags from the last three months because they couldn't get their act together....... why can't it be the same way in MN?

This was because the previous license fee increase was scheduled to expire on June 30th. The DMV was ordered to not send out license renewals for any vehicle due after July 1st in hopes that he could get that fee increase extended.
Because of this, license registration due dates after July 1st were given an automatic 30 day grace period.
If your license was due in June, you SHOULD have gotten the renewal notice something like 60 days before it was due, because the change wouldn't have affected your license fees.
The registration for my Expedition is due July 15. I got the renewal notice last week. I got it smogged today and the fees paid on-line...still done before the due date...no grace period required.

 

[AstroManLuca]

SO upon further research MN requires a balanced budget for the two year term. Apparently the Legislature gave the governor a balanced budget and he rejected it.... because he wants to tax the rich? That's BS... "the rich can afford it" How the F*** would they know if they can afford it. "oh they'll just have to cut back a bit, but they'll be fine" BS!!!! How about the government cut back a bit!

The exact same thing happened when Pawlenty was governor and both houses of the state legislature were controlled by the Democrats. The Democrats gave Pawlenty a balanced budget that included both budget cuts and tax increases, and Pawlenty vetoed it.

The fact of the matter is neither side is willing to compromise at all. Dayton refuses to sign an all-cuts budget that doesn't include any new revenue, and the Republicans refuse to raise taxes by any amount. Also, both sides are trying to discredit the other while taking part in obstructionist actions in order to maintain control of the situation. Dayton won't let the Republicans pass a partial budget (aka a "lights-on" bill) and he won't let them call a special session because they would pass a budget and force him to either go along with it or veto it.

Initially I was siding with the governor because he was willing to compromise by scaling back the tax increases and still have budget cuts. By comparison the Republican lawmakers weren't willing to compromise at all. But in reality they are pretty much the same. Both the governor and the lawmakers are in a position where they could end the shutdown, but doing so would give the other side too many concessions. It's too bad they're not willing to meet halfway.

IMHO, the governor went halfway and the Republicans only want to go 10% of the way, but that's just me.

 

[highland145]

So if the government is shut down, who is there to prevent the bars from being open?:whiste:

 

[BoberFett]

So if the government is shut down, who is there to prevent the bars from being open?:whiste:

Don't worry, the pigs are still out in full force enforcing the laws of a state which isn't even running.

Ain't government grand?

 

[CPA]

Q: Why is the state going through a government shutdown?

A: Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature are at odds over $1.8 billion in state spending for the upcoming two-year budget cycle. The governor has proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans to support more spending in the coming biennium, but Republicans have rejected Dayton's plan. The Legislature passed a $34 billion budget with no tax increases, but Dayton vetoed it.

The Minnesota Constitution requires appropriations before the state can spend any money, and so far, only funding for the Department of Agriculture has been signed into law.

OH!!!! So the Republicans came up with a budget, but the Democrat-Labor-Farmer (basically a socialist/unionist) governor didn't get what he wanted so he vetoed it. Didn't realize that as Harvey and LK left this little important detail out of their posts bashing MN Republicans.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

My own view of things is that a lot of the reason we're in this mess is inexperience on both sides. We have not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years, and we have NEVER as a state had both houses of the legislature under Republican control. Both sides are trying to leverage their power and somewhat unused to doing so. One example of this is the Republicans' insistence on tying a number of completely non-budgetary measures that they know the Governor would never agree to (such as a total ban on even non-embryonic stem cell research at the University of MN) to their budget. Even Governor Pawlenty always opposed handling things this way.

Meanwhile, Governor Dayton is that most unusual thing in politics: a man with nothing to lose. He is very wealthy and doesn't need to worry about feathering his nest for retirement, plus he has no further political aspirations nor any realistic hopes of moving further in politics. It's not even clear he will seek a second term.

I think we do need a lot of spending cuts, and would support a lot of cuts that are not even on the table (such as reductions in our overgenerous entitlement programs). That being said, the Republican budget includes a lot of shell-game nonsense, such as borrowing against future education funds and tobacco-litigation proceeds, to "balance the budget" now. I don't see that as intellectually honest or sensible. I think we NEED some increase on the revenue side in order to have a true balanced budget, and the tax increase the Governor is now proposing is reasonable.

It appears likely that if the shutdown continues for another month or so, Metro Transit (which provides bus and light rail transport within the Twin Cities) will cease operations. That will, in my view, be the strongest factor in motivating the citizens of the state to pressure state government to get a deal done. Hopefully it will happen long before that . . .

 

[shortylickens]

When I grew up in Minnesota the politicians were all about personal liberty. What happened in the last 10 years?

 

[Genx87]

Yeah, those modern roads suck. Guess we should just privatize them all. Same with parks, fuck 'em.

You beeen around here lately? Modern roads? Where? We have a metropolitan area with nearly 3 million people being serviced by 2 lane highways.

 

[Thump553]

Good analysis, Don Vito. I've been pretty surprised how long your shutdown has lasted. We had one in CT about twenty years ago but both sides kissed and made up because there was a huge public outcry when the public beaches and parks were closed for a very hot July 4th weekend.

 

[PokerGuy]

Looks like the governor has caved, he's saying he's going to "agree with something I don't agree with -- your proposal". The gop proposal is nothing but smoke and mirrors as well, neither side has come up with anything useful. It's like a microcosm of the national picture.

 

[Genx87]

http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/125567238.html

Looks like we may be close to an agreement.

But I was telling people once the beer and cigarettes stopped flowing. This shit would get fixed real quick. Less than a couple days since these stories started circulating

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Looks like the governor has caved, he's saying he's going to "agree with something I don't agree with -- your proposal". The gop proposal is nothing but smoke and mirrors as well, neither side has come up with anything useful. It's like a microcosm of the national picture.

Politically this is a smart way to proceed IMO. His "acceptance" is conditioned on some things that the Republicans will likely find unacceptable, yet he can still take the position that he reached out to them.

 

[AstroManLuca]

OH!!!! So the Republicans came up with a budget, but the Democrat-Labor-Farmer (basically a socialist/unionist) governor didn't get what he wanted so he vetoed it. Didn't realize that as Harvey and LK left this little important detail out of their posts bashing MN Republicans.

And you reveal your true colors as well, placing all the blame on the governor when both sides are equally to blame.

People who think like you are the reason this shit happens. OBVIOUSLY both sides share the blame for this. Like I said, our former Republican governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed budgets sent to him by the Democratic legislature. We flirted with a shutdown then too, and it's only by chance that one has happened now and didn't happen then.

But I suppose in that situation you'd blame the legislators for "not giving the governor a bill he was willing to sign." Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.

As Don Vito said, the Republican proposals are band-aids that will just make things worse in the long run. They're "balancing" the budget by delaying some payments to public schools, which will eventually come due regardless. So not only is it going to make future budget challenges even harder, it will hurt schools in the meantime.

I don't totally agree with Dayton either; he's done his share of blocking, posturing, and obstructing throughout this mess. But it's not like one side is saner than the other. They're both completely incompetent and I hope every last one of them gets voted out of office.

 

[Lithium381]

i don't blame the republicans for what is happening right NOW, but i would place equal blame on dems and GOP on how we ended up here

 

[brencat]

Doing paperwork is not a benefit of government, it's red tape. It's government for governments sake. This is the very thing that sensible libertarians are against. We're not all against public schools and roads. What we are against the fact that a large part of government is a pointless bureaucracy whose only function is to stamp a piece of paper and in doing so (or in this case, not doing so) stands in the way of the economic activity.

This!!!!

Finally a clear cut example of how government, once it gets too big and intrusive, manages to make people dependent on it for normal day to day economic activity that should be able to function perfectly fine without it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The word I am getting (I know some people in the legislature) is that this is a done deal and the Governor has essentially agreed to the Republicans' last proposal. We shall see . . .

 

[EagleKeeper]

The word I am getting (I know some people in the legislature) is that this is a done deal and the Governor has essentially agreed to the Republicans' last proposal. We shall see . . .

From Yahoo

Dayton announced in Minneapolis that he will agree to an offer legislative Republicans made just before the shutdown started, if they agree to drop a list of policy changes and a plan to reduce the state workforce by 15 percent.

Looks like he is still trying to negotiate a graceful way of getting something rather than rolling over completely.

 

[Harvey]

I do have to laugh at the article that warns cigarettes will run out in September.

IF THE GOVERNMENT IS STILL SHUT DOWN COME SEPTEMBER, CIGARETTES WILL BE THE LAST THING ON ANYONE'S MINDS.

Who comes up with these lame articles? Seriously. Article seems to imply that the government is the provider of these things, and these are the only things the commoners care about.

[Buahahaha!!! I guess you've never seen a tobacco junkie jonesing.

In other words... artificial restrictions/taxes imposed on certain goods unfairly are good reasons. You don't see, say, Oreos or some shit being unable to be purchased, even though they're no more "necessary" than cigarettes or beer.

Unfairly? My aren't you presumptuous? There are plenty of reasons sales and access to alcohol are regulated, including issues involving public health and safety, as they have been for decades.

Prove that Minnesota's laws are "unfair," or you're blowing smoke. The good news is, in Minnesota, it won't be tobacco smoke for much longer. :biggrin:

OH!!!! So the Republicans came up with a budget, but the Democrat-Labor-Farmer (basically a socialist/unionist) governor didn't get what he wanted so he vetoed it. Didn't realize that as Harvey and LK left this little important detail out of their posts bashing MN Republicans.

No. I didn't leave anything out. The basic story is old news, and to be specific, unless you're mouse challenged, you can find all the coverage you want showing Governor Dayton offered to make substantial cuts in spending, but he refused to go along with a budget that did not include any increase in taxes, even on the wealthiest of the wealthy and greediest of the greedy.

He's in the office, and that's his position. It's your problem if you don't agree with it, but calling him, or me, or anyone else names like "socialist/unionist" just proves your egregious Tea Tard ignorance.

As posted, there are reports that they've reached some sort of agreement so this may all be moot by now. I just loved the irony of the situation.

 

[Zivic]

No. I didn't leave anything out. The basic story is old news, and to be specific, unless you're mouse challenged, you can find all the coverage you want showing Governor Dayton offered to make substantial cuts in spending, but he refused to go along with a budget that did not include any increase in taxes, even on the wealthiest of the wealthy and greediest of the greedy.

He's in the office, and that's his position. It's your problem if you don't agree with it, but calling him, or me, or anyone else names like "socialist/unionist" just proves your egregious Tea Tard ignorance.

As posted, there are reports that they've reached some sort of agreement so this may all be moot by now. I just loved the irony of the situation.

you're an idiot... the GOP proposal included an ~12% increase in spending... WAY more than should have been proposed. Dayton veto'd it... then HE shut the gov't down ...... then HE proceeded to travel the state trying to sell his plan. It's obvious HE didn't hear the cheers and support he thought he would and that is why HE came back and is agreeing to the 6/30 proposal.

Our gov't is out of hand and our governor vetoing a 12% increase in spending budget as it is not enough should be a clear and obvious example of what is wrong.... I just don't see how anyone cannot see that.

Dayton was just looking for a reason to increase taxes.... this I do not understand.

 

[PokerGuy]

he refused to go along with a budget that did not include any increase in taxes, even on the wealthiest of the wealthy and greediest of the greedy.

Would you mind explaining to me how one could possibly craft any type of tax increase on "the greediest of the greedy"? Is there some sort of special designation someone puts on their tax forms saying they are greedy? Or, like most class-warfare dimlibs do you just assume that someone who has a lot of wealth is by definition "the greediest of the greedy"?

 

[EagleKeeper]

he refused to go along with a budget that did not include any increase in taxes, even on the wealthiest of the wealthy and greediest of the greedy.

The greediest of the greedy are the ones that want to take from those that have something and give it to those that doe not and refuse to try to make something better for themselves.

Those people are the ones that feel the playing field should be continually made level except for where they are standing.

 

[CPA]

Up, as Governor concedes to original Republican budget.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Up, as Governor concedes to original Republican budget.

Still has smoke & mirrors.

Delaying payments is not closing the budget gap; it is kicking the can down the road.

They learned well from the US Congress

 

[Harvey]

The greediest of the greedy are the ones that want to take from those that have something and give it to those that doe not and refuse to try to make something better for themselves.

Those people are the ones that feel the playing field should be continually made level except for where they are standing.

My, aren't you presumtuous to assume that everyone in need refuses "to try to make something better for themselves" or that those who have benefitted disproportionally from our society should contribute nothing to the common good, regardless of how fairly and/or honestly (or not) they acquired their wealth?

Damn, you sound like a shill for the Koch suckers... err... brothers! :thumbsdown:

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Still has smoke & mirrors.

Delaying payments is not closing the budget gap; it is kicking the can down the road.

They learned well from the US Congress

Agreed 100% - it's just smoke and mirrors. Tim Pawlenty was consistently guilty of the same shenanigans when he was Governor here, and that is a large part of the reason we're in this hole now.