Dear Friends,
The Minnesota Department of Management & Budget (MMB) released the new budget forecast this week, and the economic future of our state does not look good. Remember: Despite a $17.5 billion surplus, Democrats raised taxes by $10 billion to grow our government bureaucracy by 40% last session. Republicans warned that this out-of-control spending spree would lead to future deficits. Now, MMB is predicting a $2.3 billion deficit in 2025.
Minnesota family budgets are being stretched thin. Prices are higher for everything these days, especially gas, groceries, and energy bills. A new CBS report found that families in Minnesota are spending nearly $13,000 more in 2023 just to maintain the same standard of living that they had in 2021.
This is unsustainable. With a historic surplus, I pushed last session for permanent, meaningful tax relief to support our families. Democrats also seemed in favor of relief, at least during the campaign season when they promised $2,000 rebate checks for all. But after their spending spree, those rebate checks were reduced to a mere $260 to only some Minnesotans. It was also announced this week that those $260 rebates will now be taxed by the IRS because Democrats failed to pass them ahead of a federal deadline.
The economic outlook of our state is very uncertain right now. We must rein in government spending before it outpaces revenue. It is clear that our state government is in desperate need of commonsense and balance in order to turn things around. Families make sacrifices when their budgets are being stretched thin. It’s time government does the same.
