St. Paul Spending Isn’t “Out of Control”

by | Nov 18, 2017

The City of Saint Paul is confronting a potential 24 percent increase in its levy in 2018, based on a preliminary budget proposal. The increase is largely the result of a Minnesota Supreme Court decision handed down last summer, which stripped the City of its ability...

October Update: We’ve Got Some Good News & Some Bad News

by | Nov 3, 2017

The October Revenue and Economic Update from Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) contained some good news and some bad news. The good news is that fiscal year (FY) 2017 revenue collections surpassed July expectations. The bad news is that FY 2018 revenues continue...

Tax Cut Driven Budget Problems Escalate in Future

by | Oct 9, 2017

The fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 state general fund budget surplus—projected to be $1.65 billion last February—could easily turn into a $104 million deficit after taking into account the tax cuts and other measures enacted earlier this year, as noted in the first part of...

Big Tax Cuts Jeopardize Fiscal Solvency

by | Oct 4, 2017

Going into 2017, Minnesota was looking at a large budget surplus for the upcoming biennium. By the time the dust had settled at the end of the 2017 special session, the surplus had been reduced by nearly ninety percent. After including the impact of lower than...

While Minnesota Reinvests, Wisconsin Disinvests

by | Sep 28, 2017

Tax cuts enacted in the Badger State in recent years have contributed to a more regressive tax system and recurring revenue shortfalls, as noted in the preceding article in this series. Meanwhile, tax increases in Minnesota have not only made the tax system less...

The Connection Between Public Policy and Prosperity

by | Sep 27, 2017

Since the end of the Great Recession, Minnesota has comfortably surpassed Wisconsin in terms of GDP and income growth, and job creation. Based on newly released 2016 data from the American Community Survey, median household income in the Gopher State is 15.5 percent...