Gli effetti del fallimento del Minnesota

La crisi dei conti pubblici del trentaduesimo stato degli USA potrebbe compromettere la fornitura di birra.

Minnesotans will have to head to the Rockies to get Coors Light if something isn't done about their state's government shutdown that may soon lead to scores of beers being pulled from store shelves.

MillerCoors, the maker of Miller High Life and 38 other beers, found itself caught in typical government red tape when it was informed that it had overpaid a state-mandated registration. Minnesota makes brewers register every three years for each product that they sell in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The cost is only $30 per brand, a drop in the bucket to such a brewer, which might be why it accidentally overpaid.

By the time the state notified MillerCoors of the error, and the company had resubmitted the registration and signed a new check with the proper amount, Minnesota's government had been shut. The state employees who could have approved the registrations were at home, possibly drinking beer, as they had been laid off since the state could not legally pay them.

Minnesota, however, did not lay off alcohol enforcement officials who have instructed MillerCoors to devise a plan to get their cases of Coors, Blue Moon and other brands off the shelves in supermarkets and liquor stores.