Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Legislative News and Views - Rep. Bud Nornes (R)

Back to profile

Thanksgiving wish as we await economic news

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Dear Neighbor,

 

Here’s wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving!

 

Joyce and I just returned home from visiting family in California. It was interesting to see the wide variety of scenery between here and the coast, but the bottom line is we are glad to be back in Minnesota. We have a great state and many of the reasons we can be thankful come into focus when you return from traveling.

 

So, in addition to thinking about how thankful I am for friends and loved ones, I will count my blessings for living in Minnesota this Thanksgiving.

 

We are still about three months from starting the 2014 session, but one item of interest closer on the horizon is the state’s next economic forecast, due next week. This will be the first full, biennial forecast issued since Democrat majorities in the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton set our state’s new budget.

 

The budget Republicans led to enactment in 2011 erased a $5 billion shortfall and generated $3 billion in revenue above projections over two years – without raising taxes. Democrats took a different approach. They increased spending by more than twice as fast as the economy is growing and raised taxes and fees by more than $2 billion in the process.

 

The upcoming forecast will be the first “report card” for the path taken with the current budget. I am eager to see what it indicates and will pass along my thoughts when we receive the details.

 

Until then, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

 

Sincerely,

Bud