Smart Fiscal Management Contributed to Surplus

The November 2016 state economic forecast projected an official general fund surplus of $678 million in the current biennium and a $1.4 billion surplus for the upcoming FY 2018-19 biennium, as noted in a recent North Star article. The presence of surpluses is a...

Minnesota Tuition Hikes Surpass U.S. Average Since 2000

State support for higher education in Minnesota has declined over the course of the 21st century and—as a result—tuition has skyrocketed, as demonstrated in part one and part two of this series. While these trends are not unique to Minnesota, the decline of state...

Declining State Aid Translates into Soaring Tuition

State support for higher education declined by over 40 percent from fiscal year (FY) 2000 to 2015, after adjusting for inflation and changes in enrollment, as reported in the first part of this series. However, the burden of state funding cuts did not fall so much on...

State Support for Higher Education Drops Dramatically Since 2000

A conservative interest group recently claimed that higher education has become a tremendous suck on state resources. A close examination of public higher education revenue in Minnesota tells a different story. Since the turn of the century, state support for higher...

Don’t Base Large Tax Cuts on an Uncertain Forecast

The ink was hardly dry on the November 2016 forecast when conservatives started calling for big tax cuts. After all, there is a $1.4 billion surplus projected for the upcoming FY 2018-19 biennium—what better time to go on a tax cutting spree! However, a closer...