Minnesotans Want Responsible Budget That Provides For Broad Prosperity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2012
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org

MINNESOTANS WANT RESPONSIBLE BUDGET THAT PROVIDES FOR BROAD PROSPERITY

St. Paul, MN – TakeAction Minnesota released the following statement on the heels of today’s state budget forecast:

“This morning’s forecasted budget deficit is the sadly predictable outcome of over ten years of imaginary thinking about Minnesota’s budget by those who have protected big corporations and the super-rich at the expense of everyone else in our state.

“A responsible budget solution must account for the cost of inflation and delayed payments to our public schools. Ten years of no-new-taxes governing has left our state in sore need of reality-based budgeting.

“One month ago Minnesotans voted for a new approach to solving our state’s budget problems because the old approach has failed. Voters want a more fair individual income tax and a more modern corporate franchise tax. They want our legislature to invest in broad prosperity. New, progressive tax revenue is essential if we hope to sustain Minnesota’s communities and Minnesotans’ quality of life.

“Our state is changing. Demographically, we are becoming more racially diverse. Economically, we are becoming less secure and less equal. Our next biennial budget must be laser-focused on expanding and strengthening Minnesota’s middle-class. Our lives are made possible by the investments our parents and grandparents made in our schools, roads, hospitals, and land. Over the next two years, we need to grow those investments making sure they are equitable, sustainable, and focused on our common future.”

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TakeAction Minnesota is a statewide network of more than 14,000 individuals and 28 organizational members working together to raise the voices of Minnesotans in their own communities to advance social, racial and economic justice. The organization has offices in St. Paul and Duluth.