XPost: mn.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics
XPost: alt.society.liberalism

Minnesota’s budget pinch is even tighter now and the resulting finger
pointing is as sharp as can be.

An economic forecast released Thursday shows state officials have less
money to work with in setting the next two-year budget, the primary task
of a legislative session nearing the half-way point. Lawmakers also have a larger deficit to worry about down the road if they don’t make big cuts or
find new sources of revenue.

This is before finance officials consider potential federal budget funding rollbacks.

Minnesota finance officials say lawmakers have $456 million in extra money
at their disposal, which is down substantially from a prior estimate just
a few months ago and isn’t a lot of slack in the context of a budget that
will top $66 billion.

Worse yet: A future potential deficit has grown even bigger to nearly $6 billion.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Erin Campbell said added to
that is uncertainty over the impact of possible federal changes that could
slim state allowances. That, she suggested, should lead to caution.

About one-third of the state’s overall budget is propped up by federal
money.

“That’s an enormous amount of money,” Campbell said. “If federal action
meant that we would lose those resources, the impact of the state budget
could really be devastating.”

It was clear who Democrats were ready to blame for the dip in the forecast compared to one released last fall.

“The only thing that’s changed since November is Donald Trump’s chaos to
the economy,” Gov. Tim Walz said.

“Donald Trump is wrecking our economy,” said House DFL Leader Melissa
Hortman.

“Trump, [Elon] Musk and Republicans in Congress have got to pull their
heads out of their asses,” said DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy.

Budget officials also noted that on-and-off tariffs out of the White House could potentially hit the state’s economy.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/03/07/a-downbeat-minnesota-budget- forecast-initiates-lawmaker-blame-game

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