The government of the U.S. state of Minnesota began a broad shutdown Friday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal to balance the state budget.

Fort Snelling and other Minnesota State Parks are closed due to the state government shutting down on Friday going into the July 4 holiday after Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders failed to reach a budget deal in St. Paul, Minnesota Friday July 1, 2011. State parks and campgrounds have closed ahead of what is usually their busiest stretch of the year for the July 4 holiday, and dozens of highway rest stops were shut down for one of the biggest travel days of the year.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
After intensive negotiations between Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders for more than a week, the two sides failed to agree on a budget plan for the new fiscal year which began Friday. As a result, a wide range of federal agencies, except those considered critical, were closed since midnight.

Roughly 23,000 of 36,000 state employees will be furloughed due to the budget impasse. State parks and highway rest areas will be closed for the Independence Day holiday weekend.

"The major difference remains the same," Dayton said during a press conference Thursday night at the state Capitol in St. Paul. "It is the difference between my balanced approach of significant spending cuts combined with tax increases only on the very wealthiest Minnesotans versus the Republicans' all-cuts budget."

Dayton insisted that the budget blueprint should include both spending cuts and tax increases to close a 5-billion-dollar deficit. In a letter to lawmakers in May, the governor proposed raising taxes for individuals with 150,000 dollars in annual income, and couples earning 250,000 dollars. The proposal would raise taxes on 1.9 percent of Minnesotans, he said.

But Republican lawmakers refused any form of tax increases, resulting in a stalemate of budget talks. The budget fight in Minnesota is in many ways similar to that in Washington, where the White House and Congress are struggling to reach a debt deal.

The deal has to be reached before early August when the federal debt is expected to reach its legitimate cap or the government may default on its debt obligations. Republicans said that raising the debt ceiling is only possible if Democrats agree on significant spending cuts without raising taxes.

At a White House press conference Wednesday, Obama called for a balanced deficit reduction plan, which should include both spending cuts and revenue increases. He urged both parties to make compromises and not to play politics.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet