Budget Forecast - $1.6B Surplus
Today, Minnesota Management and Budget will release their February forecast, which shows a $1.6 billion dollar surplus for the state of Minnesota.
This is thanks to the hardworking Minnesota taxpayers— showing us that Minnesota's economy is bouncing back as long as government doesn't stand in the way.
Unfortunately, the House Democrats and the Governor have been pushing for unnecessary tax hikes that would hurt struggling businesses and families. This would hamper our economic comeback, and make it harder to bring back jobs and paychecks to where they were before COVID-19.
Today's news should end any notions of tax increases this year.
Businesses and family budgets are still hurting all across our state, and now is not the time to raise taxes across all income levels. With the end of the need for lockdowns due to COVID-19 in sight, it's time to end the governor's unilateral powers and allow Minnesotans to get back to living. It's time.
Hwy 14 MnDOT Meetings
The Minnesota Department of Transit will be having multiple meetings on the upcoming work on Highway 14.
Update Vaccine Timeline & Guidance
Over 783,000 Minnesotans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccine. But hundreds of thousands of seniors, teachers and others in the current priority pool are still waiting.
On Thursday, the path forward was made more clear to get the remaining Minnesotans who want to take the vaccine access. Minnesota will not move on to the next category of eligible recipients until 70% of seniors 65+ get a vaccine.
At current levels of supply, we are expected to hit that mark before the end of March before moving on to other priority groups; vaccine is expected to be available to the general public this summer. This timeline does not take into account increased manufacturing efficiency of current vaccines to increase supply and also does not take into account the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that is expected to become available soon.
For weeks Republicans and many health experts have have been pushing Gov. Walz for a focused approach on seniors for vaccination.
The new announcement and plan is a step in the right direction, as it is finally committing to prioritizing those who are most vulnerable to COVDI-19. Vaccinating our seniors will lead to a dramatic drop in deaths and serious cases of illness.
Vaccinating these vulnerable groups should allow us to continue safely reopening our economy in the coming weeks as cases and deaths continue to drop.
Unfortunately, the Walz Administration had been sending mixed messages and has needlessly complicated the rollout with complex and invasive signup forms that could prove to be barriers for older Minnesotans.
Earlier this week, AARP Minnesota sent a letter criticizing the Walz administrations handling of vaccine distribution, saying it left many Minnesota seniors feeling "frustrated and confused."
|
