Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy issued the following statement on the announcement that the state budget now has a $1.2 billion surplus:
“Today’s state budget forecast is great news for Minnesotans.
This budget surplus presents an opportunity to continue investing in our future and provide stability for working people who are still struggling to sustain their families.
However, lawmakers need to resist the urge to handout election-year tax cuts. We need only look at the disastrous outcomes the ‘give it back’ tax cuts had more than a decade ago. Minnesotans still have yet to fully recover from Republicans’ draconian 2003 budget cuts.
Instead of giveaways to corporate CEOs and employers who choose to pay low wages, lawmakers should embrace policies and investments that support working people. We can ensure all Minnesotans are paid fairly for the work they do and have time for family. We can invest in schools so that every child can attend pre-K. We can improve our state’s infrastructure, boost our job creation tools, and strengthen the public services that vulnerable Minnesotans depend on.
Minnesota is moving in the right direction. Governor Dayton and DFL legislators’ 2013 decision to make taxes fairer for working people and begin investing in Minnesota continues to keep our state on strong fiscal ground. Let’s keep building a better Minnesota.”