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State Representative Andrew Falk
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4228
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
NEWS COLUMN
A RECOVERY EFFORT MORE THAN A CENTURY IN THE MAKING
Minnesota’s economy is still struggling from the setbacks of the ongoing global recession. More than 220,000 Minnesotans are unemployed in the longest, deepest recession since Herbert Hoover was in the White House.
Our state is no stranger to difficult economic circumstances. For generations our parents and grandparents have met Minnesota’s many challenges with courage – and often one of Minnesota’s solutions to the state’s most grim economic challenges has been a smart, strategic bonding bill.
Take for instance the Panic of 1857. As Minnesota pursued statehood, banks and businesses across the country hit freefall, sending the American economy into a deep and troubling recession. Minnesota’s founders knew our state would have no chance of long-term economic prosperity without state-of-the-art railroad systems to support trade, and attract new settlers and industries.
For that reason, Minnesota’s first legislature passed a bill immediately authorizing the sale of bonds to invest in needed rail infrastructure. It gave the state the ability to make a down-payment on infrastructure we needed immediately, to be paid off over time like a mortgage.
Republicans and Democrats incapable of even sitting in the same room together during the state constitutional convention just months earlier agreed responsible bonding authority was essential for Minnesota’s recovery and long-term economic prosperity. Ever since, our state has used bonding as a tool to continue building and repairing the capital assets necessary to maintain Minnesota’s competitive economy and high standard of living.
The railroads of yesterday are now the roads, bridges, clean water infrastructure, public spaces, and state-of-the-art colleges and universities Minnesota’s economy depends on. Many of these assets are in need of attention and repair. Not to mention, they’re projects that can put thousands of Minnesotans back to work.
According to State Economist Tom Stinson, passing a jobs-targeted bonding bill (HF2700) early this session is one significant thing we can do to start turning unemployment checks into paychecks. Conservative estimates show this bill alone will put a projected 10,000 Minnesotans back to work. Many of those jobs will be in the construction industry. But others will be jobs that support those projects – in transportation, design and architecture, and more.
The bonding bill won’t put every Minnesotan back to work. But it will get thousands of Minnesotans spending again at our local businesses, infusing desperately needed consumer resources back into our state’s economy. What’s more, the infrastructure built and maintained by this year’s bonding bill will pay off in long-term economic growth for decades to come.
Often I hear from constituents that state government needs to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. I couldn’t agree more. That’s exactly why this carefully-crafted bonding bill is essential for Minnesota. Passing it early will get projects moving forward by spring and capitalize on historically low interest rates. We can get these projects done faster, cheaper, and at a greater value to our overall economy especially when bids are coming in between twenty to thirty percent lower than anticipated. That’s an investment worth making.
This year’s bonding bill has already passed the House and Senate in the first two weeks of session. That’s unprecedented. I’ll continue doing everything I can to put it on Governor Pawlenty’s desk as soon as possible. The sooner we finish our work on this important bill, the sooner Minnesotans will be back to work.
Please contact me with your questions, concerns, and ideas. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Andrew Falk
State Representative
District 20A
(651) 296-4228
rep.andrew.falk@house.mn
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