ST. PAUL - State Representative Steve Jacob (R-Altura) said there was a minor positive and a major negative unveiled in Minnesota’s most updated state budget forecast.
Minnesota’s economic experts found that our state projects a positive balance of $3.7 billion for the remainder of the current fiscal year but also finds a $1.5 billion deficit for the upcoming budget cycle.
“If you’re a fan of instant gratification, you’ll take positives from the surplus projection for the remainder of this fiscal year,” Jacob said. “But if you care at all about our state’s long term fiscal health, you’ll see we’ve got a big problem staring us in the face. If the Democrats wastefully spend the surplus that exists in this current budget cycle, that problem is going to worsen substantially.”
Jacob noted the Democrats’ deficit could have been avoided by using common sense while enacting their budget last session. At that time, Minnesota had a nearly $20 billion budget surplus. By the time session ended in May, the Democrat majority spent every bit of that amount, raised taxes by an additional $10 billion so they could continue their spending spree, and ultimately crafted a budget that increased state spending by 40%.
As part of the forecast presentation, Jacob said Minnesota’s budget experts found that spending will significantly outpace income revenues during FY26-27.
“This means any new and permanent spending the Democrats approve this year will only increase the deficit projection their decisions have created,” Jacob noted. “It’s my hope they will recognize that we are nearing the edge of a fiscal cliff and will finally stop their reckless spending.”