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State Representative Dean Urdahl
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4344
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OP/ED COLUMN
Budget work leads to another state surplus
By Rep. Dean Urdahl
We received news of a second consecutive state budget surplus today. What we are doing in St. Paul to get our state economy back on track is working.
Our economic turnaround is remarkable. We eliminated a $5.1 billion shortfall last year and have generated a combined $1.2 billion in surplus funds the last two forecasts ($876 million in November and $323 million now).
That's a $6.3 billion improvement since last year, largely because the budget we passed in 2011 limited government growth, provided long-term spending restraint and created opportunity for private-sector job growth. We reduced our projected government spending increase from 22 percent to 6 percent. Now, we have less government and more money.
Speculation was this new budget forecast from Minnesota Management & Budget would show a flat bottom line, or maybe even reveal a shortfall of $200 million or so. But the budget we enacted last year continues to perform beyond initial projections.
Again, what we are doing is working. Our state's 5.7-percent unemployment rate is considerably better than the 8.5-percent national average. This difference is greater than normal, a key indication Minnesota's economy is getting back on track more quickly than others. This positive economic growth may have been stifled had we raised taxes by billions of dollars as some proposed.
I am very pleased this improving outlook allows us to pay back at least $318 million of the K-12 school shift. We still have a long way to go for a full payback, but it is good we are able to begin the process.
Government reform remains a top priority this session at the Capitol in order to put our state on even better fiscal footing for the future. The last two budget forecasts should serve as tangible evidence the difficult choices we made in 2011 are paying dividends. This should provide us with even more incentive to stay the course to help us reach full economic recovery and better withstand the impact of future downturns.
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News Items
- Mid-session review - (Posted: Mar 19 2013 12:00AM)
- State continues budget turnaround - (Posted: Feb 28 2013 12:00AM)
- Education issues at the forefront - (Posted: Feb 22 2013 12:00AM)
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