The Minnesota Budget Project conducted an analysis of census figures released last week for Fiscal Year 2006. Analysts found the state\'s overall ranking has dropped to 19th – down considerably from 5th place in Fiscal Year 1995.
Minnesota ranks 32nd among states using a more comprehensive measure of the size of state and local government that includes all sources of funding - taxes plus all other sources of revenue, such as federal aid and tuition at public colleges and universities. This measure represents total public-sector investment in the state.
"These numbers tell us what anti-tax types don\'t want you to know: Minnesota has become an average-tax state and is not making the valuable public investments in education and infrastructure that helped produce its great quality of life," said Dane Smith, president of Growth & Justice, a progressive voice on state economic issues. "At the same time we\'ve been dropping in overall public investment, our taxes are becoming less fair and our economy is under-performing the nation for the first time in decades."
"Our state is falling behind in investments that are important for the state\'s economic future," said Nan Madden, director of the Minnesota Budget Project, an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits that provides independent research, analysis and advocacy on budget and tax issues. In 2006, Minnesota ranked 34th in the nation in state and local total education spending and 19th in state and local highway spending.
The best way to make comparisons between states is to use measures based on percentage of income, rather than per capita, Madden said. Per capita rankings do not recognize that states with high incomes, such as Minnesota, tend to have higher labor costs.
Per capita rankings also do not take into account the fact that states have different average incomes. For example, a $500 tax is a bigger slice of the household budget for a family making $30,000 than for a family making $60,000. (The comparisons in this analysis include the District of Columbia.)
For additional information, go to the U.S. Census Bureau, State and Local Government Finances: 2005-06, www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate.html.
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The Minnesota Budget Project conducted an analysis of census figures released last week for Fiscal Year 2006. Analysts found the state\’s overall ranking has dropped to 19th – down considerably from 5th place in Fiscal Year 1995.
Minnesota ranks 32nd among states using a more comprehensive measure of the size of state and local government that includes all sources of funding – taxes plus all other sources of revenue, such as federal aid and tuition at public colleges and universities. This measure represents total public-sector investment in the state.
"These numbers tell us what anti-tax types don\’t want you to know: Minnesota has become an average-tax state and is not making the valuable public investments in education and infrastructure that helped produce its great quality of life," said Dane Smith, president of Growth & Justice, a progressive voice on state economic issues. "At the same time we\’ve been dropping in overall public investment, our taxes are becoming less fair and our economy is under-performing the nation for the first time in decades."
"Our state is falling behind in investments that are important for the state\’s economic future," said Nan Madden, director of the Minnesota Budget Project, an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits that provides independent research, analysis and advocacy on budget and tax issues. In 2006, Minnesota ranked 34th in the nation in state and local total education spending and 19th in state and local highway spending.
The best way to make comparisons between states is to use measures based on percentage of income, rather than per capita, Madden said. Per capita rankings do not recognize that states with high incomes, such as Minnesota, tend to have higher labor costs.
Per capita rankings also do not take into account the fact that states have different average incomes. For example, a $500 tax is a bigger slice of the household budget for a family making $30,000 than for a family making $60,000. (The comparisons in this analysis include the District of Columbia.)
For additional information, go to the U.S. Census Bureau, State and Local Government Finances: 2005-06, www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate.html.