ST. PAUL – A recent budget analysis from Minnesota’s fiscal experts has found that our state’s economic condition is heading in the wrong direction. State Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston) said he is not surprised.
“Last session, the majority party squandered an $18 billion surplus, raised taxes by $10 billion, and grew government spending by a jaw-dropping 40%,” said Davids, who chairs the Minnesota House Taxes Committee. “You can’t make that level of spending commitment and expect incoming revenues to keep pace, and they very clearly are not.”
Davids said the state will see a $456 million budget surplus for the upcoming budget cycle. In December, budget analysts thought we’d see a $616 million surplus. A year ago, they thought we’d have a $1.7 billion surplus.
But the real bad news is the projection for the next budget cycle, which has grown from a $5.1 billion deficit to $6 billion – which approaches the largest deficit total in the state’s history.
“Everything is trending downward,” Davids said. “Last year we were looking at a nearly $20 billion surplus, and now we’re bracing for a $6 billion budget deficit. Had any fiscal restraint been shown last session our outlook would be much better. Instead, we will soon face our state’s largest budget deficit.”