Dear Friends,
On this day 77 years ago, Pearl Harbor was attacked. This “date which will live in infamy” resulted in the deaths of 2,403 Americans and ultimately led to the United States entry into World War II.
As we remember this sad day in American history, I’m hopeful you will not only take some time to remember those who lost their lives that day, but also remember all of our past and current servicemen and women who put their lives on hold to protect our country’s interests. Freedom isn’t free, and the attack on Pearl Harbor is a tragic reminder of that fact.
STATE BUDGET FORECAST ANNOUNCED
Minnesota’s economic experts say a $1.544 billion budget surplus is expected for our state’s next two year budget cycle, which is positive news. According to Minnesota’s economists, the good fiscal news is due to higher than expected revenue collections and lower than expected state government spending.
Of the roughly $1.5 billion surplus, I expect lawmakers to have just over $1 billion to redirect next session after $491 million is added to budget reserves as mandated by state law. Minnesota now has more than $2 billion sitting in this reserve account.
There's no doubt that the policies we’ve helped put in place over the past four years led to this good fiscal news. Next session we should be looking at more ways to return this money to the taxpayers.
Moving forward, we need to use some common sense as we determine how to utilize this surplus and our focus should be tax relief policies that allow Minnesotans to keep more of their hard-earned money.
In addition, the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget cycle shows a projected budget surplus of $456 million.
Also, if you’re interested in the annual Army/Navy football game, you can find it tomorrow afternoon on CBS. As a former Army officer, it’s fair to say I have an interest in this game. Our twin sons are West Point Graduates, class of 2000, Lieutenant Colonels each with 4 Iraq & Afghanistan deployments.
GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!
Have a good weekend,
Bob