Coalition of Minnesota Associated Builders and Contractors — Minnesota Insurance Federation of Minnesota Minnesota Beverage Association Minnesota Business Partnership Minnesota Retailers Association Minnesota Trucking Association |
LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS; IT’S THE ONLY OPTIONView the “THANK YOU for holding the line of state spending” newspaper ads Why is the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses urging state government to live within it's means? Because we have to. The global recession has caused a tremendous pain for people throughout Minnesota, across the country and around the world. Trillions of dollars in wealth – home and business equity, retirement funds, stock market investments – disappeared. Unemployment is up. Consumer spending is down. And, consequently, budgets at all levels of government are being squeezed. While economists tell us the recession has ended, the recovery has been extremely slow. The boom times we enjoyed over the past 25 years won’t return any time soon. Consumers remain cautious – particularly baby boomers, whose spending habits pulled us out previous recessions. Approaching retirement, boomers will focus on replenishing savings accounts and retirement funds, not buying houses, consumer and durable goods. In addition, with many of the largest and fastest growing markets are on the other side of the world, Minnesota faces intense competition for business investment and job creation. Being competitive requires a reasonable tax burden – and a well–educated workforce, 21st century infrastructure and a high quality of life. Throw in rapidly rising health care costs and a massive federal deficit, and it?s clear that structural reforms are essential. Put simply: Simply spending more, year after year, isn’t an option. To create jobs and have a strong economy, we need to spend tax dollars wisely and redesign public programs – because we can’t afford not to. |
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