Copyright startribune
Minnesota’s small businesses and those raking in billions a year face a common problem: The government shutdown is snarling operations and starting to cost them money. Hit hardest are the workers missing paychecks. The federal shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has left workers charged with administering small business loans, supervising air traffic and regulating life science companies furloughed or working without pay. Medtronic received Medicare approval for novel technology treating hypertension on Tuesday, weeks later than expected due to federal worker furloughs. Delta Air Lines president Glen Hauenstein told investors the congressional impasse is snarling air traffic control towers and resulting in lost revenue for the airline, though still less than the $1 million daily losses seen in the last shutdown. A spokesman said the flagship carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport “implores Congress to immediately pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government,” which is a reference to a Republican-backed measure also supported by associations representing federal workers, small business owners and others. Democrats in Congress have refused to vote to end the shutdown unless Republicans agree to extend federal health insurance subsidies so that 24 millions American families don’t lose coverage. As it stretches into its second month with no immediate end in sight, real world ramifications are starting to stack up, from the benefits and assistance distributed by the federal government to the dense interplay between government and commerce. For the biggest businesses, smooth operations often depend on the participation of government workers. It’s thanks to federal employees such as air traffic controllers “that Delta is able to carry more than 500,000 daily customers on 5,000 daily flights. A system under stress must be slowed down, reducing efficiency and causing delays for the millions of people who take to the skies every day,” a Delta spokesman said in a statement. The spokesman said the airline will delay or cancel flights if necessary to ensure safe air traffic control. Passengers may spot Delta employees helping assist the Transportation Security Administration, and the airline has arranged a limited number of meals for transportation sector workers amid the shutdown, he said. Meanwhile, the smallest businesses in Minnesota are facing some of the most daunting shutdown-caused obstacles. Small business loans powering startup companies have screeched to a halt, and contractors working for the government are doing so without pay.
