From Beth:
Road construction is expensive and annoying, but important. It creates jobs for thousands of Minnesotans and also helps ensure safe travels. Both of these benefits are being washed away in the wake of the recent shutdown. Thousands of road construction employees have been laid off, pot holes have been left unfilled and are turning roads into obstacle courses, and projects like Highway 610 in Maple Grove have been abandoned.
This goes to show that the shutdown has unexpected, growing costs and go even beyond construction. The exact shutdown price tag has yet to be calculated, but we know what can be expected in the bill:
- Delay costs: Extra expenses associated with construction project delays
- Lost revenue: Lottery sales, taxes, fishing licenses, campsite rentals
Minnesota taxpayers will be required to pay delay costs and other costs associated with the shutdown and we will never be able to recoup the millions of dollars lost in state revenue.
The shutdown must end soon. Otherwise we may be facing costs which are too much for us to manage.
Photo credit: Flickr
