Dear Neighbors,
Today, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the February Economic Forecast, which showed a $1.9 billion budget surplus. The surplus is a result of higher revenues, lower spending and Minnesota’s strong economy. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is 3.6%, the 5th lowest in the country and lowest in Minnesota this century. The forecast also showed that Minnesota’s long term budget outlook remains strong with a balanced budget into at least 2019.
The positive budget forecast shows that the DFL budget of the last two years, which focused on putting working families first, has strengthened Minnesota’s economy. Many in the GOP ran on the mantra of “not a penny more” in spending. It will be interesting to see, considering that they currently plan to increase spending by a billion more than the last budget, how they will choose to spend this additional revenue.
I firmly believe that we should invest in our future and focus on fixing problems across the state. We should be fixing potholes in Saint Paul and in Spicer, funding higher education for students in Minneapolis and Morris, investing in workforce development in Saint Cloud and Saint Peter. We should use our budget surplus to close the achievement gap through early childhood education, support our K-12 institutions, and ensure our workforce of coming generations are prepared for the economy of tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Tim Mahoney