Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson issued the following statement on today’s state budget forecast:
“Minnesotans learned today that their state government continues to be on sound financial and economic ground.
Nearly every week for the past two years, Republicans tried to scare Minnesotans into thinking the DFL budget would flatline Minnesota’s economy; they were completely wrong.
Just two years ago, Minnesota was saddled with budget deficit of more than a billion dollars and a 5.5% unemployment rate.
Thanks to the wise decisions Governor Mark Dayton and DFL lawmakers made in 2013, new revenue and investments in education and job creation are paying off. The state is now running a billion dollar surplus this year with a projected surplus next year and an unemployment rate that has shrunk to 3.9%.
This forecast is proof that investing in key priorities and fairly raising revenue when needed works; lawmakers should continue that trend in 2015 as the Legislature addresses our aging and underfunded transportation infrastructure.”