Government Shutdown for Michigan

[cmyk]

I’m entirely apolitical, and only care when it effects me (I know, I know – at least I’m not disturbingly into LOLcats ). That out of the way, it appears the government of Michigan is in some sort of crisis, and will most likely “shut-down”. WTF?

As a resident of SE Michigan, 34 yo, white male who is a self-employed CG animator that works out of his own home, has a wife and 2 kids, where most of my income comes from out of state… how will the bum me out? I feel my wallet tingling… :mad:

[Neptunian_Slug]

@cmyk

I’m entirely apolitical, and only care when it effects me (I know, I know – at least I’m not disturbingly into LOLcats ). That out of the way, it appears the government of Michigan is in some sort of crisis, and will most likely “shut-down”. WTF?

As a resident of SE Michigan, 34 yo, white male who is a self-employed CG animator that works out of his own home, has a wife and 2 kids, where most of my income comes from out of state… how will the bum me out? I feel my wallet tingling… :mad:

It doesn’t sound like it effects you. Do you get a government check? If you like going to the casinos, you may have to wait until the gaming inspectors return. I don’t think that the state sells booze in Michigan. If it does, stock up.

This could be liberating for you to find out how much or how little you need the government in your daily life.

[cmyk]

Ha! Very true. I do hope I can depend on the emergency and police infrastructure during this period.

Also, when you say you don’t think the state sells booze, i’m not sure what that means. I get my booze from various liquor stores and even Meijer sometimes. Do you mean these places won’t have any of the usual stock? I’m a huge beer lover, but I do like my vodka and rum every so often… please don’t tell me I have to make a run for Toledo!

[Gfactor]

Probably most significant are:

SECRETARY OF STATE: Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has indicated that branch offices will be closed during the shutdown. Online or mail transactions will not be processed.
STATE POLICE: Although all Michigan State Police posts will be closed to the public, a limited number of troopers will be maintained to provide critical law enforcement services across the state. Administrative and specialized operations will be curtailed, resulting in the cessation of crime lab services, commercial vehicle enforcement, drug and criminal investigations, detective services and disaster assistance. The Michigan State Police Troopers Association said about 237 of its members are scheduled to be on duty Monday if a shutdown occurs. That’s just 15 percent of the union’s total membership.
TRANSPORTATION: All road construction, routine maintenance and administrative operations will stop. The state’s rest areas will be closed. Six of the state’s lift bridges, in compliance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations, will be locked in the ‘up’ position, allowing only water traffic to pass. Those bridges are located in Manistee, Bay City, St. Joseph, Port Huron and Detroit. In some of those areas, local governments might staff the bridges so they remain operational. The Mackinac Bridge, the International Bridge and Blue Water Bridge will remain operational.
TREASURY: Student loan disbursements and financial aid payments, the Michigan Education Trust and the Michigan Education Savings Plan programs would cease during a shutdown. Revenue sharing payments to local units of government will be delayed if the shutdown continues through mid-October. A limited number of staff would be maintained to process critical payments, including cash assistance, unemployment benefits and debt service.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14224970/detail.html

The State wanted to close casinos too, but they got pissed and got an injunction. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/NEWS01/70928025/1002/BUSINESS

[cmyk]

Holy shit, I’m gonna start speeding like a motherf**k. May as well take advantage of the silver linings. Especially since I’ll have to run to Ohio for my ethanol.

Of course, I’m mostly being facetious. Mostly.

[Neptunian_Slug]

@cmyk

Ha! Very true. I do hope I can depend on the emergency and police infrastructure during this period.

Also, when you say you don’t think the state sells booze, i’m not sure what that means. I get my booze from various liquor stores and even Meijer sometimes. Do you mean these places won’t have any of the usual stock? I’m a huge beer lover, but I do like my vodka and rum every so often… please don’t tell me I have to make a run for Toledo!

Is the liquor store run by the state? In PA it is and we wouldn’t be able to buy anything stronger than beer in the event of a government shutdown. I know Ohio is completely privatized so a shut down wouldn’t affect that. I don’t know Michigan’s alcohol distribution system.

[chorpler]

Does that mean that if the shutdown happened around the end of August / beginning of September, all the students who were on financial aid wouldn’t be able to go to college?

[Gfactor]

A partial state shutdown would mean most government operations would cease, including gas pump inspections, liquor deliveries, lottery ticket sales, the issuance of driver’s licenses and construction on state roads.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14224970/detail.html

IIRC from previous news coverage, the state controls wholesale liquor distribution. So the thing to do is to stock up. Once the corner 7-11 runs out, it can’t replenish.

Ah, here’s a story:

If the state government shuts down, Thursday’s delivery could be one of Sam’s last liquor deliveries for a while. He explains, “The state is the liquor business. They run the liquor business. They purchase. They warehouse it." Private workers deliver the spirits. But, Zbikowski says, “My driver told me it could be that he shows up next week and the doors are shut."

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81526

[Epimetheus]

What is this crisis that would cause such a thing?

[Neptunian_Slug]

@Epimetheus

What is this crisis that would cause such a thing?

Governor and legislature can’t agree on a budget. In many cases temporary budgets are passed. But on some occasions, one of the parties believes that they can get more mileage out of a shutdown by making the other side look bad. So there is no temporary budget and the government has no money to operate.

[Taters]

Yeah, and it’ll be political suicide for all those deemed “responsible” by the voters.

The same thing happened with the federal govt several years ago, and many civil service employees were furloughed in November. Some did not get to return to work until the end February. The majority of these workers were NOT paid. I was fortunate, I was only furloughed for a week.

All those deemed responsible by the voters were voted out of Congress.

[flodnak]

@Neptunian Slug

But on some occasions, one of the parties believes that they can get more mileage out of a shutdown by making the other side look bad. So there is no temporary budget and the government has no money to operate.

This happened in Pennsylvania this summer. The shutdown lasted a whole day before both sides figured they’d made their point and got back to work. :rolleyes:

Michigan may also find the crisis is not particularly long-lived.

[alphaboi867]

@Neptunian Slug

Is the liquor store run by the state? In PA it is and we wouldn’t be able to buy anything stronger than beer in the event of a government shutdown…

Actually we can. We just had a government shutdown a few months ago and the state stores stayed open regular hours. There wasn’t any reason for them to close. They aren’t part of the regular budget as they don’t get a single penny from taxes. The LCB is completely funded from liquor revenues. It has a near-total monopoly on the sale of wine & spirits in Pennsylvania and generates a profit for the Commonwealth. It’s utterly bizzare that MI’s liquor distributor will close as it’s highly unlikely it’s funded from the state treasury. How could it not run at a profit? :dubious:

[Neptunian_Slug]

@alphaboi867

Actually we can. We just had a government shutdown a few months ago and the state stores stayed open regular hours. There wasn’t any reason for them to close. They aren’t part of the regular budget as they don’t get a single penny from taxes. The LCB is completely funded from liquor revenues. It has a near-total monopoly on the sale of wine & spirits in Pennsylvania and generates a profit for the Commonwealth. Every control state’s liquor authority runs at a profit.

No kidding. Its been a long time since I have bought booze from he LCB stores.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

Minnesota went through this a couple of years ago. If I remember right, it dragged on for maybe 2 weeks.

The biggest inconveniences for us? The state parks were closed. The office that issues permits for oversized loads on the freeway was closed (My SO was unable to ship equipment for his job.)

[SCSimmons]

@cmyk

Holy shit, I’m gonna start speeding like a motherf**k. May as well take advantage of the silver linings. Especially since I’ll have to run to Ohio for my ethanol.

Of course, I’m mostly being facetious. Mostly.

Well, just be careful where you speed … City and county-level law enforcement agencies shouldn’t be affected by something like this.

Have at it on the interstates, though!

[cmyk]

@SCSimmons

Well, just be careful where you speed … City and county-level law enforcement agencies shouldn’t be affected by something like this.

Have at it on the interstates, though!

Yupp! I-75 and I-94. That black and silver streak you see, will be my Jetta.

[DSYoungEsq]

Fortunately, the shutdown has already ended.

[ASAKMOTSD]

@cmyk

Yupp! I-75 and I-94. That black and silver streak you see, will be my Jetta.

Please wait, someone from the State Police will be right with you now…

This mock shutdown has been brought to you by the State of Michigan Treasury Revenue Generation Service. Had this been an actual shutdown, you would have been advised to drive however fast you like. This concludes the mock shutdown.