Accessibility menu
State Representative Joe Schomacker
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5505
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
DESPITE MINOR IMPROVEMENT, REP. SCHOMACKER SAYS SIGNIFICANT STATE BUDGET DEFICIT REMAINS
ST. PAUL – State Representative Joe Schomacker (R-Luverne) found a glimmer of hope in the latest state budget forecast, but noted that our massive budget deficit problem has not gone away.
“The good news is that projections have stopped going backwards, and we’ve collected $1.1 billion more than expected from the previous budget forecast,” Schomacker said. “The bad news is that an immense deficit remains and must be eliminated by mid-May.”
State economists say the current budget deficit now totals $5.1 billion, down from a November projection of $6.2 billion. Schomacker noted that while Minnesota expects to collect $2.7 billion in the latest analysis, it also expects to spend nearly $9 billion over the same period.
“Things are improving, but it’s not nearly enough when state government continues to spend at an unsustainable rate,” Schomacker said. “Taxpayers cannot afford a 29 percent projected spending increase. Incoming revenues are projected to be 8.8 percent higher than during the last biennium, so there’s no reason why we can’t show some restraint and live with a budget that recognizes this increase.”
Schomacker said House committees will begin debating ways to eliminate this projected shortfall. He added that one of the best ways to improve Minnesota’s economy, both now and in the future, is to develop policies that put more people to work.
“Our number one goal is to create more jobs in Minnesota,” Schomacker said. “It’s nice to see that our revenue collections numbers are growing slightly. But if legislators can approve laws that will encourage business owners to expand and hire the Minnesotans who are now without a job, we will raise our revenue numbers substantially because more people will be working and paying current Minnesota taxes.”
News Items
- REP. SCHOMACKER SAYS HEALTH CARE COMMITTEES BEGIN ANALYZING GOVERNOR DAYTON’S HEALTH BOARD - (Posted: Feb 6 2013 10:11AM)
- REP. SCHOMACKER NOTES ANOTHER POSITIVE ECONOMIC BUDGET UPDATE - (Posted: Jan 18 2013 10:02AM)
- REP. SCHOMACKER FINDS GOOD NEWS IN LATEST STATE BUDGET FORECAST - (Posted: 2012-03-07 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.