Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) released the following statement on the state budget forecast indicating a $2.4 billion surplus dulled by a looming $2.3 billion deficit beginning in 2025: 

“Yesterday we learned that Minnesota will have a short-term surplus that will be followed by a $2.3 billion deficit. This news just proves what we’ve been concerned about all along—uncontrolled spending leads to ongoing deficits.

Minnesotans should be appalled at this mismanagement of money. Not only did Democrats squander a $17.5 billion surplus last year, but they also increased taxes by $10 billion. Now we see that those tax increases, which were ridiculous to begin with, will not even be enough to sustain the Democrats’ spending. This puts the future at risk for Minnesota families, who have already endured property tax increases, insurance increases, and now they’ll be looking at even more tax increases down the line.

This just confirms our concerns: long into the future, Minnesota families will be forced to bear the financial burden of Democrats’ runaway spending. This is unsustainable, and Minnesotans cannot afford the price of Democrat control.”