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Minnesota will have a projected $1.5 billion surplus for the next two-year budget period, state officials announced Thursday, setting the stage for a spirited debate over taxes and spending in the legislative session that starts in January.
The healthy surplus gives Democratic Gov.-elect Tim Walz and the Legislature more room for spending initiatives, tax cuts or some combination of both, and all sides made it clear that they have different ideas. The forecast also gave retiring Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton a chance to contrast the state’s fiscal picture now with how it looked when he became governor.
Now lets compare to a neighboring state (Wisconsin) that is red, both politically and financially.
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After years of fiscal mismanagement, Wisconsin is facing a massive budget deficit based on new information from Gov. Walker’s administration. Years of massive tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations like Foxconn have added to the state’s budget woes. Latest figures from the Walker administration and the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reveal that Wisconsin is facing a structural deficit of $3.5 billion going into the next budget – a figure that is already expected to rise much higher in the coming months.
There are examples across the country of what happens when you cut taxes for the wealthy while you starve education and infrastructure maintenance. Wisconsin is but one. Our national government is maybe the worst example. The "starve the beast" model of conservative fiscal policy has been a dismal failure. Intentions were good, but the stark reality is that in the end the beast is going to need to be fed and the result is massive fiscal deficit.
Instead the typical "we are good, they are bad" mantra - how about looking at some details?
Dayton said the main reason for the turnaround is that Minnesota employers have added over 318,000 jobs in the past eight years, and unemployment has dropped from 6.9 percent in 2011 to 2.8 percent today.
The pool of people paying taxes has increased. That increases tax revenue.
State finance officials say federal tax cuts this year helped spark a burst of economic activity.
Oh... tax cuts are responsible. Kinda flies in the face of the "tax cuts for the wealthy are bad" mantra.
Minnesota has had 99 straight months of job growth. The state has also had near-record job low unemployment and more job vacancies than people to fill them.
Again - the tax pool is larger, more people are paying taxes instead of siphoning off money from government redistribution programs.
“We do feel like folds are happy with the economy,” said outgoing House Speaker Rep. Kurt Daudt. “They are happy with the economic growth, but we also know if we start increasing taxes on Minnesotans at a time we don’t need to because we have a surplus, that’s going to hurt Minnesota.”
So the cuts in taxes and the growth in jobs did what it was supposed to do - increase tax revenue. Please note that it was not increasing taxes that raised revenue.
Understand that this "surplus" in a forecast. It is not actual. This last quote is the other part of this issue. If they get drunk and start a spending binge - there will be no surplus.
Instead the typical "we are good, they are bad" mantra - how about looking at some details?
Dayton said the main reason for the turnaround is that Minnesota employers have added over 318,000 jobs in the past eight years, and unemployment has dropped from 6.9 percent in 2011 to 2.8 percent today.
The pool of people paying taxes has increased. That increases tax revenue.
State finance officials say federal tax cuts this year helped spark a burst of economic activity.
Oh... Trump tax cuts are responsible. Kinda flies in the face of the "tax cuts for the wealthy are bad" mantra.
Minnesota has had 99 straight months of job growth. The state has also had near-record job low unemployment and more job vacancies than people to fill them.
Again - the tax pool is larger, more people are paying taxes instead of siphoning off money from government redistribution programs.
Didn't seem to work for a state (Wisconsin) run by a republican congress and republican governor (Walker).
Instead the typical "we are good, they are bad" mantra - how about looking at some details?
Dayton said the main reason for the turnaround is that Minnesota employers have added over 318,000 jobs in the past eight years, and unemployment has dropped from 6.9 percent in 2011 to 2.8 percent today.
The pool of people paying taxes has increased. That increases tax revenue.
State finance officials say federal tax cuts this year helped spark a burst of economic activity.
Oh... Trump tax cuts are responsible. Kinda flies in the face of the "tax cuts for the wealthy are bad" mantra.
Minnesota has had 99 straight months of job growth. The state has also had near-record job low unemployment and more job vacancies than people to fill them.
Again - the tax pool is larger, more people are paying taxes instead of siphoning off money from government redistribution programs.
Why doesn't Wisconsin benifit from Trump's "greatness"? Is it part of Canada or something?
1. Minnesota. The North Star State's top tax rate of 9.85% is one of the highest in the U.S. But what makes Minnesota really stand out—and not in a good way—is its income tax rate of 5.35% even for the state's lowest earners.
1. Wisconsin has been adding jobs, too. Thus your statement, "The pool of people paying taxes has increased. That increases tax revenue," is true of Wisconsin as well. So why do they not have a budget surplus as well?
2. Wisconsin is also part of the US, just like Minnesota. So, why have they not benefited from the federal tax cuts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRob4JC
Instead the typical "we are good, they are bad" mantra - how about looking at some details?
Dayton said the main reason for the turnaround is that Minnesota employers have added over 318,000 jobs in the past eight years, and unemployment has dropped from 6.9 percent in 2011 to 2.8 percent today.
The pool of people paying taxes has increased. That increases tax revenue.
State finance officials say federal tax cuts this year helped spark a burst of economic activity.
Oh... tax cuts are responsible. Kinda flies in the face of the "tax cuts for the wealthy are bad" mantra.
Minnesota has had 99 straight months of job growth. The state has also had near-record job low unemployment and more job vacancies than people to fill them.
Again - the tax pool is larger, more people are paying taxes instead of siphoning off money from government redistribution programs.
1. Minnesota. The North Star State's top tax rate of 9.85% is one of the highest in the U.S. But what makes Minnesota really stand out—and not in a good way—is its income tax rate of 5.35% even for the state's lowest earners.
States do not print money. Do you have an alternative to taxation? Maybe the Somolia plan?
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