Dear Friends,
This week, we received great news from the Minnesota Department of Management & Budget: Minnesota's economy is on the mend and bringing in more tax revenue than anticipated.
The 2012-2013 biennium went from a $5 billion dollar deficit to a $2.8 billion dollar surplus. What was once a $4.4 billion dollar deficit for the 2014-2015 biennium has now shrunk to just $627 million. There is now a $782 million dollar surplus projected for the 2016-2017 biennium.
This is further evidence the improvements Republicans made in 2011-12 are producing results. We erased a $5 billion shortfall, paid off the entire 2011 K-12 funding shift, replenished reserve accounts, and got our economy headed in the right direction. Unemployment is down, more people are at work and our bottom line is becoming more stable.
Democrats appear ready to move forward with their proposal to raise taxes by $3.7 billion in order to fix a $627 million dollar budget gap. If the Democrats were looking to the budget forecast for an excuse to raise taxes, they did not find it. We can balance our budget without raising taxes, but to the DFL it seems there is never enough state spending.
Have a great weekend,
Glenn Gruenhagen
State Representative, District 18B