All boats don't sink equally

An across the board state budget cut along the lines of 5 percent would impact some Minnesota counties more than others. That's because some have a larger percentage of their total wages that come from state government jobs.

Unfortunately, Blue Earth and Nicollet counties are both in the top 10 of counties affected most by such a cut.

The biggest loser as a percentage? Stevens County in western Minnesota. State workers made $23.2 million in wages in 2007, according to state and federal payroll records. That sum made up nearly 14.4 percent of all wages public and private paid that year. A 5 percent cut in state wages would take $1.16 million or so out of the Stevens County economy.

Nicollet County would rank second as the biggest loser in state employee wages. With 12.5 percent of total wages coming from the state, a 5 percent cut in state spending would take nearly $3 million a year out of the Nicollet County economy, and crossover into the Mankato/North Mankato economy.

Blue Earth County would rank 6th biggest loser with 8 percent of all wages coming from state jobs. But the region's large total payroll would make a 5 percent cut in state employment significant for the economy. State employees in Blue Earth County took home almost $96 million in wages in 2007. A five percent cut would drain $4.8 million from the economy.

Stay tuned for more on the boats sinking unequally. We'll next look at which legislators represent these districts.