You know those photos that amusement parks snap as you come down to the end of a log flume or roller coaster? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They catch the rider at a moment when they’ve just been waaay up high, and are in the process of falling waaaaay down, into the water (for the log flume) or back to the end of the ride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your only frame of reference isd the photo, you have no idea that seconds later, the riders and their “log” are plowing up a plume of water. But seeing as the tracks head inexorably downward, you know where it’s going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have to suspect when a DFLer gets those photos, the response is “You’re not in the water right this second<\/em>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to last week’s budget forecast, MInnesota’s DSA-led DFL has led Minnesota from a nearly $18 Billion surplus to…<\/p>\n\n\n\n …well, the snapshot released last week caught the state’s budget at a $2.4B surplus<\/a> – but, like that log flume photo, it’s that high because that’s when the snapshot was taken on the way down:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Higher estimates in health and human services and education raise total spending in FY 2024-2027, resulting in a negative structural balance in the next biennium.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n That “negative structural balance” could be up over $2 Billion. And that’s provided the economy doesn’t really <\/em>tank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Who has two thumbs, predicted this, and is currently typing this post? This guy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare and contrast with Iowa<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iowa led the \u201ctax-cutting wave\u201d in 2022, with the most<\/a> comprehensive and aggressive tax reform in the United States. This will gradually replace the nine-bracket, progressive income tax with a flat tax, bringing the top rate, which was close to 9 percent, down to a flat 3.9 percent by 2026. Not only will Iowa have eliminated the progressive income tax, it will also have reduced the top tax rate by almost 60 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iowa\u2019s corporate tax rate, once the highest in the nation at 12 percent, is also being cut: Starting in January 2024, the corporate tax rate will be 7.1 percent, and the rate will continue to be lowered until it reaches a flat 5.5 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics of Iowa\u2019s fiscal reforms warn against alleged \u201ceconomic recklessness.\u201d Mike Owen, deputy director of Common Good Iowa, a progressive think tank, told the Economist<\/em> that \u201ca crash is coming\u201d and that programs such as education and health care will suffer as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This doesn\u2019t add up. Thanks to fiscal prudence, Iowa\u2019s budget is in strong shape. For the last few years, Iowa\u2019s budget has been in surplus, ending fiscal year 2023<\/a> with a $1.83 billion surplus, which was $86.3 million higher than originally estimated. The fiscal year 2024 surplus<\/a> is projected to be $2.12 billion, rising to $2.99 billion in the fiscal year 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Common Good, like the rest of the non-profit\/industrial complex, is getting less official graft out of the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No such problem in Minnesota. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You know those photos that amusement parks snap as you come down to the end of a log flume or roller coaster? They catch the rider at a moment when they’ve just been waaay up high, and are in the process of falling waaaaay down, into the water (for the log flume) or back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,320,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minnesota-politics","category-mndfl","category-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86640,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86639\/revisions\/86640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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