Like many of you, I have serious concerns about the direction of our state and our current financial footing. On February 29, we received a new budget forecast that projected a $3.7 billion surplus for 2025. That seems positive on the surface. However, when you dig a little deeper, it becomes concerning.
First, this surplus only exists because Democrats imposed a staggering $10 billion in tax increases last session, placing a heavy burden on Minnesota families and small businesses struggling with inflation and economic uncertainty. We had a $19 billion surplus. Democrats spent all that; the only reason we are in the black is because of the additional $10 billion in taxes.
Second, and even more troubling, is the forecast’s projection of a $1.5 billion structural deficit in our budget. That’s a jargony-sounding phrase, but what it means is Minnesota is spending $1.5 billion more every budget cycle than we are bringing in.
Many of us warned our Democrat colleagues last year about the dangers of this sort of unrestrained spending. In spite of those warnings, they chose to drain the historic budget surplus in a mere 5 months, without providing any substantial relief to Minnesota taxpayers.
The consequences are now becoming clear. Despite soaking Minnesotans with bigger and bigger tax hikes, we still face perpetual structural deficits in the coming years – unless we change course.
That is where our Repair Minnesota agenda comes in, which aims to fix mistakes and reverse the consequences stemming from bills that Democrats approved during the 2023 legislative session and get us back on solid footing.
Bipartisan cooperation and compromise are the surest way to create sound budgets. Unfortunately, the Democrats’ single-party control last session resulted in rushed, partisan legislation with damaging unintended consequences.
One of the first bills we passed this year was a tax corrections bill to fix mistakes in last year’s bill, including an accidental $352 million tax increase. We are also continuing our work on addressing the school resource officer urgency, which we are facing because of a short-sighted change Democrats made last year that caused SROs to be removed from schools. There many more examples.
Our schools exemplify the problems with the Democrats’ hasty, mandate-heavy approach. Over 60 new mandates accompanied the historic increase in education spending, chewing through half of it and leaving many districts predicting budget shortfalls. Despite record funding, schools have less flexibility than ever on how to use it effectively. The sheer volume of bureaucratic red tape ties administrators’ hands from addressing each school’s unique needs. From learning loss to the achievement gap, these one-size-fits-all requirements prevent districts from tackling their most urgent challenges.
Our Repair Minnesota agenda aims to address these issues by removing those stifling mandates and giving schools their autonomy back. Funding should empower schools, not shackle them. After all, parents and local leaders know what works best for their kids – not bureaucrats in St. Paul.
Reckless spending has consequences. Minnesota faces rising deficits, struggling schools, crumbling roads and bridges, and overburdened taxpayers. As we proceed through this 2024 session, I hope my colleagues will take a more cooperative approach this year to enact fiscally smart policies. We must repair the damage from last year, get our spending problem under control, empower local communities, and refrain from imposing even heavier tax burdens on hardworking Minnesotans.
Together, we can put Minnesota back on solid financial footing for future generations. But we must act now.