When Minnesota's economy really tanks, blame the children

Photo by dubswede

At least we will. Minnesota's economy will completely fall apart in about seven months and we can only point our fingers at the obvious: those nasty little scoundrels heading back to school. For what, you ask? To start learning early! How dare they.

Now our Labor Day weekend will be completely destroyed, our weekend of relaxation will be interrupted by cranky resort owners who have to work without child labor, and we will never climb out of this recession. Go figure.

Minnesota law currently prohibits schools from starting before Labor Day, but with it falling later in September, schools might have more flexibility. Members of the House K-12 Education Finance Division approved legislation that would allow school districts to change their start date for the next two years to avoid falling behind in the year of academics, says Minnesota Public Radio.

Labor Day is September 7 this year and September 6 next year.

So why does everyone have their swimsuits in a bunch? More from MPR:

Resorts owners oppose the measure. So does Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, who said the bill would would make bad economic conditions worse.

"The tourism and hospitality industry is a critical player in this state's economy and tax collection," Anzelc said. "So give those people a chance."

Supporters of the bill don't really care about the economy. It's all about the kids. The chief author of the bill, Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, said academics are more important and school districts will have the choice to stay with the same schedule.