The Walker Wisconsin Comeback Mirrors Kansas, not Minnesota's Success!!!

A report comparing Democratically run Minnesota and swirling Republican pit of Wisconsin is getting a lot of attention. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) compared actual economic numbers based on policy pushed by both Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Wisconsin's Scott Walker.

Note: Walker continues to use the GOP's Great Recession against the Democrats like it was their fault, and oddly brags about an Obama economy Republicans criticized as "too slow." See if you can see a moment where Walker's trend line below did not mirror the national trend.

The irony, Walker posted the proof himself:

Minnesota Jobs Beat Wisconsin's: It's clear supply side/big corporate servitude does not serve the public or raise their incomes-provide health care-produce green energy and create jobs. Before we take a quick look at the differences, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the "gold standard" of job metrics, reported...WPR:

Minnesota Passes Wisconsin In Total Jobs ... 2017 Was The First Year In Recent History That Wisconsin Fell Behind Its Midwest Neighbor ... Minnesota nudged ahead of Wisconsin by 3,096 total jobs. Wisconsin still has almost 219,000 more residents than Minnesota, and just a decade ago, it had nearly 98,000 more jobs.

University of Michigan Labor Economist Donald Grimes said what stuck out to him was that Minnesota had added more jobs than Wisconsin every year since 2010. "The fact that it's every year is somewhat remarkable," Grimes said.

Minnesota smokes Walker's Participation Rate: Oh, and what about Walker's biggest bragging point, and a preoccupation of the far-right, the labor participation rate?

Minnesota's labor force participation rate — the percentage of the overall population that is part of the workforce — is 70.5 percent, which is slightly higher than Wisconsin's 68.9 percent.

Walker's war with Milwaukee Killing Jobs: You'd think the former executive of Milwaukee County would show a little more kindness. Also, you would have thought Milwaukee's close proximity to Chicago, creating a possible economic hub, would give it an advantage over lonely Minneapolis-St. Paul:

In addition, job growth in Minnesota's largest city far surpassed job growth in Wisconsin's. Hennepin County, Minnesota, home to Minneapolis-St. Paul, added 110,520 jobs from 2011 through 2017. By contrast, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin added just 17,680 over that same period.

"You need to focus on why Milwaukee is doing so much worse than Minneapolis-St. Paul and how you can be more like Minneapolis-St. Paul," Grimes said.

EPI's Minnesota vs Wisconsin report started this way...

Governor Walker and the Wisconsin state legislature have pursued a highly conservative agenda centered on cutting taxes, shrinking government, and weakening unions. In contrast, Minnesota under Governor Dayton has enacted a slate of progressive priorities: raising the minimum wage, strengthening safety net programs and labor standards, and boosting public investments in infrastructure and education, financed through higher taxes (largely on the wealthy) ... a compelling case study for assessing which agenda leads to better outcomes for working people and their families ... By virtually every available measure, Minnesota’s recovery has outperformed Wisconsin’s.

Urban Milwaukee summarized:

On every economic measure, Cooper found that Minnesota outperformed Wisconsin:

• Job growth was markedly stronger in Minnesota than Wisconsin.11.0 percent growth in total nonfarm employment, compared with only 7.9 percent.

• Wages grew faster in Minnesota than in Wisconsin at every decile in the wage distribution ... rising by 8.6 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively, in Minnesota vs. 6.3 percent and 6.4 percent in Wisconsin.

• Gender wage gaps shrank more in Minnesota than in Wisconsin ... women’s median wage as a share of men’s median wage rose by 3.0 percentage points in Minnesota, and by 1.5 percentage points in Wisconsin.

• Median household and family income grew more in Minnesota than in Wisconsin. Minnesota grew by 7.2 percent from 2010 to 2016. In Wisconsin, it grew by 5.1 percent.

• Minnesota made greater progress than Wisconsin in reducing overall poverty, child poverty, and poverty as measured under the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure. Wisconsin, at 11.8 percent was still roughly as high as the poverty rate in Minnesota at its peak in the wake of the Great Recession (11.9 percent, in 2011).

• Minnesota residents were more likely to have health insurance than their counterparts in Wisconsin.

• Minnesota has had stronger overall economic growth, stronger growth per worker, and stronger population growth than Wisconsin (12.8 percent vs. 10.1 percent), stronger growth per worker (3.4 percent vs. 2.7 percent), and stronger population growth (5.1 percent vs. 1.9 percent) than Wisconsin. In fact, over the whole period—as well as in the most recent year—more people have been moving out of Wisconsin to other states than have been moving in from elsewhere in the U.S. The same is not true of Minnesota.

 Now, tell me why Democrats are still having a hard time shaping a common easy to understand message? 

State Rep. Bernier to Constituents worried about Schools: "We want more money, we want more money and we don't like this or that."

Our Republican one party authority apparently will no longer tolerate dissent.

Check out this rude and irresponsible response by Rep. Kathy Bernier. Time for someone to grow up and find work elsewhere, maybe with a little help from the electorate:

State Rep. Kathy Bernier (R-Lake Hallie) walked out of a Monday meeting with representatives of three local school districts, upset when an Eau Claire School Board member stated that Wisconsin’s economy compared unfavorably with Minnesota’s.

“Fundamentally, Minnesota is beating us,” said Wendy Sue Johnson, citing a Jan. 20 article written by state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), who also attended the meeting. “Our (school) funding formula is broken,” Johnson added.

It looks like Minnesota is a bigger sore spot than Scott Walker is letting on. I'm pretty sure Bernier is also very frustrated defending the indefensible failure of supply side lunacy. 

Weirder still, Bernier has received similar complaints everywhere else, but instead of getting the message, she just got mad:

Bernier then got up to leave the “Breakfast with Our Legislators” session. “It is not helpful to compare Minnesota and Wisconsin,” Bernier said, remarking that this is what she experiences with Altoona, Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls each time she attends the districts’ breakfast.

Bernier later said she hears the same theme when she meets with representatives of the three districts: “We want more money, we want more money and we don’t like this or that.”

“This vile political speech is not helpful,” Bernier said before leaving. “Sweeping partisan statements coming out of a non-partisan member just ticked me off.”

Johnson said, “It’s clearly disappointing when our representatives are not willing to engage in conversations about the issues.”

Minnesota's Democratic Party projected Surpluses vs Wisconsin's Republican projected shortfalls.

As Minnesota out distances Wisconsin in almost every way, Republicans should be forced to answer the question why Wisconsin can't keep up. Oh sure, they'll bore us with old talking points that in no way compares to the way Minnesota is beating us. Scott Walker can't pull out his only bragging point about the unemployment numbers since Minnesota's is even lower. 

Growth may be slower in Minnesota, but that's because the state has already recovered, while Wisconsin is still trying to gained back the jobs lost during the Bush Great Recession. 

But Walker's Republicans will say Minnesota's surplus is bad, because it means they've overtaxed their citizens. SJ: 

While Wisconsin's budget, enacted in July, sets the state up for a $210 million structural deficit, legislators across the Mississippi are arguing over how to spend a $1.9 billion surplus.

Give that surplus money back!!! That's what George W. said when he became president, paving the way for tax cuts. Instead of using those surpluses to pay the nations debt and replace our crumbling infrastructure, he wiped out what Mitch Daniels called "surpluses as far as the eye could see." And for good measure, plunged the nation into trillion dollar wars. 

Projected surpluses should be used to replenish and rebuild, improve and save, not give back as tax cuts. The money we invest now will be money our kids will not have to raise later on in the form of taxes. Tax cuts now just gives the bill to another generation. 

Some of Minnesota's extra money must go to its budget reserves, but the remaining $1.2 billion is up for grabs. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, is calling for the money to be spent on road and bridge improvements and expanding early childhood education. 

But Minnesota Republicans argue a surplus that large is a sure sign the state has overtaxed its citizens. 

Wisconsin legislators will have a $210 million projected shortfall to account for going into the 2017-19 budget.

Walker tricked: Business loves Quality of Life, Smart Employees, Recreation, a Safe Place for Families! Cost of government, not so much.

I know, another story showing Wisconsin losing to Minnesota. But now we're talking about something Republicans can't stop talking about and can't live without; lower taxes. Minnesota has lower taxes, and they didn't have to stop funding their state parks, their university system, public schools and halt road construction. All false choices sold to willing "Stand with Walker" dupes.

Tax and spin: Most families in Wisconsin, it turns out, would save on taxes by moving to Minnesota: Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, has pursued the sort of agenda that might cause Walker to break out in hives: expanding union membership, increasing school funding and  — most notably — implementing a tax hike on the wealthiest Minnesotans. 

As it turns out, "Wisconsin has some of the highest residential property taxes in the country"

The result is that across every income bracket, homeowners in Wisconsin pay a higher share of their income to property taxes than those in Minnesota, according to data compiled by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank that studies tax policy … for all but the top earners,  property tax rates are low enough to make up for higher income tax rates. 

Of all the things that could have been changed by Wisconsin Republicans, they left one thing out:

Unlike Minnesota and all but seven other states, Wisconsin is required to tax all property equally, be it commercial or residential. That means Wisconsin can’t shift any of the tax burden from homeowners to owners of other types of property, as many states do (including Minnesota). As a result, Wisconsin’s high property tax essentially wipes out any savings most taxpayers would see due to the lower income, sales and excise taxes compared to Minnesota. In fact, the only group that faces a higher tax burden in Minnesota than in Wisconsin are families with household incomes over $200,000. 

And despite helping small businesses in Wisconsin, we're not seeing the intended result. Guess what, it's all about the quality of life, strong schools and recreation, all things of no interest to Walker or Republicans:

David Ross, president and CEO of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, says that’s partly because moving a business can be risky, if for no other reason than political ideology can change with each election. Instead, what’s reliable is a quality work force — the main incentive for businesses to locate in an area, as is quality of life. 

Ross said “The cost of government is certainly, within a state, an important factor to keep in mind. (But) people want to live in a community where there’s a strong public school system, where it’s a safe place to raise a family, where there’s strong recreation. I think those states that are focusing on cost of government are in a bad place. We’re promoting much more lifestyle and a place to live, not just a place to work. ... So I am not impressed with the position of Walker.”

Wisconsin will have a long road back, to even catch up.

Ouch! Minnesota is America's Top State for Business, the opposite of Walker's Wisconsin.

Yea, another embarrassing, and for Scott Walker, a badly time repudiation of his austere cuts and borrow policies from just a month ago:

CNBC: Minnesota is 2015's Top State for Business: Leave it to the North Star State to chart a new course to competitiveness. Minnesota is America's Top State for Business in 2015, reaching the pinnacle of success by way of a much different route than our eight previous winners.

Minnesota's ranking in the top half for all but two of our 10 categories of competitiveness. Indeed, the birthplace of Spam, Scotch Tape and the supercomputer marks a new first this year. Never since we began rating the states in 2007 has a high-tax, high-wage, union-friendly state made it to the top of our rankings. But Minnesota does so well in so many other areas—like education and quality of life—that its cost disadvantages fade away.

Rather than just seeking the lowest taxes or the highest incentives, companies are increasingly chasing the largest supply of skilled, qualified workers. So states are touting their workforces like never before, giving the Workforce category—where Minnesota finishes a respectable 13th—greater weight in our study.

I know Republicans will read this and weep, not believing their own eyes, desperately holding onto their stolen half burned recall Walker petitions:

The state's path to the top is marked by a carefully crafted and still controversial strategy by Gov. Mark Dayton, the first Democrat to hold the office in two decades. The hallmark of his plan: a big tax increase. Dayton began calling for higher taxes ... with the state facing a $6.2 billion budget gap. By 2013 he managed to push through a whopping $2.1 billion tax increase, primarily targeting smokers and wealthy people (one of whom is Dayton himself, an heir to the Target retail fortune). Last year Dayton did approve a $508 million middle-class tax cut. But the rate for top earners remains among the highest in the nation, at 9.85 percent.

This year, with a state budget surplus of nearly $2 billion, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and apparently no exodus of millionaires, Dayton has been taking a victory lap of sorts. "More Minnesota businesses are expanding, so more Minnesotans are working. They are earning more money, which means they are paying more taxes," Dayton said. "It is Minnesota's economic successes, not tax increases, that have produced our present budget surplus," he said.

Dayton has championed tax breaks and subsidies for businesses ... Even so, Dayton has won few friends in the business community ... Republicans and business leaders warned the strategy would ultimately backfire.

Get ready for it; when state revenues blossom, pay off debt, and increase the public's investment in infrastructure and education, Republicans don't see that the reward for good economic policy, they see that as over taxation. That's what the Bush tax cuts squandered; "surpluses as far as the eye can see" and paying of the national debt; we had to give back those excessive tax dollars. Oh, and government gets bigger.

"Back-to-back billion-dollar surpluses show that the level of taxes on individuals and business owners is too high," the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said at the start of this year's legislative session. "The best way to grow and expand the state's economy is to reduce uncompetitive business taxes." Republicans sought to undo the tax increases this year, while Dayton proposed increasing the gasoline tax.

In our study, Minnesota finishes in second place for Education, thanks in large part to some of the best-performing K–12 students in the nation. 

In Quality of Life, Minnesota finishes third. Crime is low. The air is clean, and in the home of the Mayo Clinic, people are healthy ... fifth place in Economy, sixth place in Technology & Innovation and ninth place for Infrastructure. Those strengths are enough to outweigh Minnesota's 35th-place finish for Cost of Doing Business and 32nd for Cost of Living.

Here's another story getting some attention. 

Obama trashes Walker supply side jobs & business disaster, compares Minnesota's "Middle Class Economics."

If only Obama and the Democrat Party would talk like this all the time, in every media interview.

Obama makes it official, Walker is the best example yet of failed supply side economics, comparing him with "just across the river:"

Democratic Minnesota in much better place than Walker's Wisconsin.

From a Cap Times editorial, Minnesota's $1 billion surplus, and Wisconsin's growing deficit:

Walker loses to Minnesota, in Political Test of Ideologies.

One of the best articles yet comparing Minnesota's blue success with Wisconsin's red failure, appeared in the LaCrosse Tribune over the weekend. By every measurement it's embarrassing. And we reelected this guy? What are the consequences of the differing governing styles and legislative agendas? It will take your breath away:

Walker’s tax plan reduced the highest rate for the wealthiest Wisconsinites from 7.75 to 7.65 percent and brought slight relief to all income levels. Dayton’s plan created a new rate of 9.850 percent for the top 2 percent of Minnesota’s wealthiest. His plan also increased tax credits for renters — the opposite of Wisconsin, where those tax credits were reduced. Dayton also signed a $508 million tax cut in 2014 of which $232 million was aimed at the middle class and $232 million was earmarked for the elimination of some business taxes.

Minnesota has increased its minimum wage to $9.50 an hour and has it indexed to increase with inflation. Walker has said he does not support raising the minimum wage.

Dayton also signed a $508 million tax cut in 2014 of which $232 million was aimed at the middle class and $232 million was earmarked for the elimination of some business taxes.

While Wisconsin faces an estimated $2 billion deficit — including a $750 million deficit in transportation spending — Minnesota has a $1.2 billion surplus. Minnesota has the luxury of being able to invest in its state; Wisconsin faces some challenging spending decisions.

It doesn't stop there either...

Under Walker, Wisconsin has been a leader in cutting education spending. ranked No. 2 in the nation — behind only Alabama — with a $1,038 spending per student decrease. Minnesota was one of a handful of states that actually increases spending during that time.

Minnesota took Medicaid money and created its own health care marketplace, reducing the number of uninsured residents. Wisconsin rejected federal money ...  That cost the state an estimated $206 million over the past two years and an estimated $460 million through 2020.

The business-friendly policy embraced by Walker has resulted in private-sector job growth that continues to lag behind the national average. The latest 12-month period numbers that ended in June show Wisconsin 32nd in the nation in job growth. Minnesota was 26th. Minnesota’s jobless rate in November was 3.7 percent. Wisconsin’s was 5.2.

Forbes ranks Minnesota as the ninth best state for business, No. 7 in economic climate and No. 2 in quality of life. Wisconsin is ranked 32nd, 27 and 17 on the same measures. 

The cost of doing business in Minnesota is 0.2 percent below the national average. Wisconsin is 1.7 percent above the average. The median household income in Minnesota is about $60,000. It’s just below $52,000 in Wisconsin.

Clearly the ideology of both governors and legislatures steered the course. Walker is one of the nation’s most conservative governors who has eagerly embraced policies and ideas driven by the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC. Wisconsin has become a national laboratory for ALEC policies. 

An analysis done by Menzie Chinn, a University of Wisconsin economist, measured private nonfarm job growth in four states — California, Wisconsin, Kansas and Minnesota — that elected new governors in 2010. Wisconsin and Kansas are ALEC-friendly. Minnesota and California are not. Minnesota was ranked 46th and California ranked 47th on an ALEC-economic index that measures taxes, public employees per capita, minimum wage and right-to-work law — among others. Yet those states grew more jobs than Kansas (ranked 15th by ALEC) and Wisconsin (ranked 17th).

Chinn compared ALEC rankings to all 50 states and found the same correlation. States that received a higher ALEC ranking on how it was expected to perform economically based on 15 policy areas had worse economic growth when it comes to creating jobs.

Minnesota eyeing High Speed Rail Line through Superior/Duluth.

The recent news about Minnesota's projected $1 billion surplus, not to mention their low unemployment and great jobs numbers, angered a lot of "stand with Walker" losers about some peoples loyalty to Wisconsin. Their typical comeback is, "if you like prosperity so much, why don't you move there."

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware of the time it will take for Walker's plan to show any results, surely more than the 6 months they gave President Obama when he tried to bring us out of the Great Recession.

As a life long Wisconsin resident it's unsettling to watch the Republicans retool the state, wiping out nearly a century of progress, just so we could put in place a boiler plate template of Louisiana or Mississippi.

Now comes word that Minnesota might bring high speed rail to northern Wisconsin. WPR:

The Northern Lights Express would run along existing BNSF railway track from the Twin Cities to Hinckley, Minnesota, at which point it would cross the border into Wisconsin and stop in Superior and Duluth. Superior Planning and Ports Director Jason Serck said that passenger rail could boost the city’s economy. “Exposing people to Superior and getting them to get out of the train, see Superior, essentially spend money, is something we see as beneficial,” he said.

Not quite as exciting as the proposed link tying Chicago to Kenosha, Milwaukee and then Madison, but a great idea never-the-less. No amount of jobs or business development could change Walker's mind on that morally outrageous proposal. Yet take a look at what a planned northern route connecting the Twin Cities to Superior and points north might do:

1. Offer 2 1/4 hour service between Minneapolis and Duluth  with top speeds of 110 mph;

2. Spur approximately $2 billion in development along the  155 mile corridor;

3. Encourage about 13,800 jobs; and

4. Provide an environmental sound alternative to automobiles that can be used for business and tourism.

5. Local cities and counties in the corridor have invested more than $2 million
Under President Bush's administration, NLX was designated one of eight top priorities for development by the National Passenger Rail Study Group, headed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. 

Not a bad plan for jobs and business. Think what might have happened regionally in southeastern Wisconsin and Illinois with a similar high speed rail system.

Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation is working with Minnesota as needed on the plan. The plan’s project manager Dave Christianson said the Northern Lights Express said it may cost up to $1 billion to build in the Twin Ports.

“About 30,000 riders a year would probably come out of Superior. It would be up to Douglas County and the city of Superior to develop the station,” he said. Christianson said they’re looking mostly for federal dollars and seeking congressional support for the project. 

Ironic Hypocrisy:  Funny thing, Republicans opposed Obama's stimulus and high speed rail idea because the jobs were temporary, yet they love the Keystone XL pipeline jobs, with a predicted life span of one year.

Fact # 2: Democrats make things better, Republicans don't. Minnesota sees $1 billion Surplus!

Republicans continue to rely on the one thing that keeps Americans from sharing in the good economic news, state and nationwide; low wages. The country is doing great, it’s just the wage gap that’s killing us, a fact not missed by Republicans who can use voter discontent to their advantage.

That said, the economy is doing quite well thank you. And yet, Scott Walker is quick to ignore the successful recovery of our colder neighbor to the west, Minnesota. Perhaps he doesn't want to make that simple but obvious economic comparison? Perhaps he also doesn't want you to know how disastrous his health care decisions were to state taxpayers.

And for "stand with Walker" defenders of our low deer kill numbers, saying we're just like Minnesota, why shouldn't we be the same when it comes to economics?

Job killing Keynesian Economics vs Supply Side Voodoo Economics: Here's a quick video report:

Gov. Mark Dayton and Minnesota lawmakers got a jolt of good budget news Thursday, as state forecasters predicted a $1 billion surplus heading into next month’s legislative session.

Republicans, who have increased the wage gap to historical levels, while rejecting minimum wage increases, are now complaining lower and middle class Minnesotans can't share in the recovery...clueless much?:

Republicans, who assume control of the state House of Representatives in January, seized on some of the warnings to note that not all Minnesotans have shared in the economic rebound. “We know that Minnesota families really haven’t seen the sort of economic benefit or surplus in their own family budgets, and this is something that’s really concerning,” said Rep. Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, who takes over as House speaker in January.

Ouch, this hurts supply-siders who see any revenue as "over-collected" taxes, instead of money to fix roads and improve education. Gov. Dayton's economy is "sputtering," which it isn't: 

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said that the surplus represented money the state “over-collected” and should be returned to taxpayers. “Our economy is still sputtering,” he said, Gov. Mark Dayton said the accompanying warning signs also mean “we have to be prudent, for sure.”

Speaking of returning money to the taxpayers: Give it back in the form of low income credits and improved infrastructure:

Dayton said he likely will seek an expanded tax credit of $175 million that would help as many as 170,000 Minnesota families cover the cost of child care. Other priorities include boosting broadband Internet access in rural Minnesota, securing state funding for early childhood education scholarships, and devoting more resources to maintaining and improving the state’s roads and bridges. 

WTF Moment. While every GOP governor celebrates their various state "comebacks," like Walker's projected deficits and lousy jobs numbers, Democrats aren't allowed that luxury...

Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, chastised Dayton and Schowalter for what he called an unwarranted “celebration” of the surplus.  

Here are the glorious details of Democratic governance. Remember, none of this came from breaking up the unions; dividing and conquering labor and voters alike:

Unemployment rate down to its lowest level in eight years, 3.9 percent (WI is 4.6). 

Long-term unemployed has been cut by more than half since its peak in mid-2010 and has dropped across age, gender and racial lines. 

The budget forecast showed a $373 million surplus for this fiscal year, which ends in June. That is after $183 million is diverted under state law to the budget reserve that has now grown to $994 million.  

Projections of tax revenues were reduced by $412 million, or 1 percent ... offset by projections of lower spending on health care.

Budget officials said that a different composition of enrollees receiving medical assistance in 2015 will result in more than $440 million in savings on health and human services.

Blue Minnesota vs Red Wisconsin; Minnesota has surplus, Wisconsin doesn't.

We kinda knew this would happen, didn't we?

Democratic economic policies work, when given the chance, while the Republicans "fiscally conservative" policies stink up the place as usual. Who can forget the Great Recession, right? Check out the analysis at Jake's Economic TA Funhouse between Minnesota's projected surplus and Wisconsin's projected deficit.

I thought the following details were worth highlighting from a more partisan prospective:

Star Tribune: Minnesota tax collections beat expectations for the final three months of the fiscal year, and Minnesota is now expected to finish the fiscal year with $168 million more in revenues than projected state finance officials said. The update will undoubtedly factor into the governor's race.

Desperate to a point of being laughable, minority Republicans struggled to find something to whine about:

Jeff Johnson's firm grasp of the surplus problem...Democrats!

Republicans contend the economy is sputtering while Dayton has tried to present a more-upbeat picture. House GOP Leader Kurt Daudt accused Dayton and Democrats of trying to distract Minnesotans from other issues such as the federal health care overhaul or a planned new government office building for state senators that opponents view as wasteful. "The reality is: Governor Dayton and Democrats continue to put themselves and their extreme special interests before the best interests of hardworking Minnesotans."

Yea, Democrats are just distracting Minnesotans with the good economic news. God their funny. 

It’s better than Wisconsin’s projected $200 million shortfall, or the $2 billion deficit in the next fiscal budget, which is best explained at Jake’s Economic TA Funhouse (where I found this story). 

Minnesota's progressive path to economic strength proof conservative policies a failure.

On WPT's Joy Cardin Show, Scott Walker did his best dance around the great progressive economic results coming from Minnesota's Governor Dayton and his Democratic legislature. Excuse after excuse, Walker fumble this one, bring up Illinois as a better example. Illinois is kicking our ass when it comes to new jobs. Maybe he thought we wouldn't somehow notice.



This Minnesota vs Wisconsin story is rich with campaign ammunition for Scott Walker's Democratic challengers-use it:

NY Times: Wisconsin elected Republicans to majorities in the Legislature and selected a bold and vigorous Republican governor, Scott Walker. Minnesotans elected one of the most progressive candidates for governor in the country, Mark Dayton of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. 

Minnesota raised taxes by $2.1 billion, the largest increase in recent state history. Democrats introduced the fourth highest income tax bracket in the country and targeted the top 1 percent of earners to pay 62 percent of the new taxes, according to the Department of Revenue. A month after Mr. Walker’s inauguration in January 2011, he catapulted himself to the front ranks of national conservative leaders with attacks on the collective bargaining rights of Civil Service unions and sharp reductions in taxes and spending. 

Three years into Mr. Walker’s term, Wisconsin lags behind Minnesota in job creation and economic growth. As a candidate, Mr. Walker promised to produce 250,000 private-sector jobs in his first term, but a year before the next election that number is less than 90,000. Wisconsin ranks 34th for job growth. Mr. Walker’s defenders blame the higher spending and taxes of his Democratic predecessor for these disappointments, but according to Forbes’s annual list of best states for business, Wisconsin continues torank in the bottom half.

Along with California, Minnesota is the fifth fastest growing state economy, with private-sector job growth exceeding pre-recession levels. Forbes rates Minnesota as the eighth best state for business.

Higher taxes and economic growth in Minnesota have attracted a surprisingly broad coalition. Businesses complain about taxes, but many cheered Mr. Dayton’s investments in the Mayo Clinic, the new Vikings stadium, the Mall of America and 3M headquarters.

The lion’s share of Minnesota’s new tax revenue was sunk into human capital. Dayton invested 71 percent of the remaining funds in K-12 schools and higher education as well as a pair of firsts: all-day kindergarten and wider access to early childhood education. Minnesota was one of the few states that raised education spending under the cloud of the Great Recession. 

By contrast, Mr. Walker’s strategy limited Wisconsin’s ability to invest in infrastructure that would have catalyzed private-sector expansion, and he cut state funding of K-12 schools by more than 15 percent. Per student, this was the seventh sharpest decline in the country.

Health care presents another difference.  When Mr. Walker refused to establish a state health insurance exchange or to expand Medicaid, Mr. Dayton is on course to improve Minnesota’s already low uninsured rate. He expanded Medicaid to cover an additional 35,000 people and accepted Washington’s offer to pick up the cost ... Meanwhile, Minnesota’s tradition of innovative medical care and nonprofit insurers produced premiums in its insurance exchange that are, on average, the lowest in the country, well below premiums in Wisconsin. 

The lesson from the upper Midwest is that rigid anti-tax dogma fails to deliver a convincing optimistic vision that widens economic opportunity and security. The excesses of liberalism may lurk, but Minnesota is building a modern progressivism that plows a hopeful path.

Kaiser Family Research and Minnesota paper say Wisconsin could have done more to Lower ObamaCare Rates.

There are reasons for the different, higher rates in Wisconsin, compared to Minnesota. 

Minnesota still have a state high risk pool, where Wisconsin is ending them. Medicaids expansion in Minnesota will dump fewer risky people into the Marketplaces. 

Yet there are other reasons for the difference, documented here:

NEWiProgressive: Over the weekend an analysis by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which includes yet to be published Kaiser Family Foundation research confirmed Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s October report documenting vast differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin in the cost for health insurance on the individual insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.

The Citizen Action report released in late October, A Tale of Two States: Why Wisconsin’s Health Insurance Individual Marketplace Premiums are Dramatically Higher than Minnesota’s, shows that two critical decisions made differently in the two states explain a substantial portion of the rate disparity.  The full report can be downloaded here.

An important note about possible rate leveling:

To some extent, the premium differential between the Twin Cities and western

Cick to enlarge...interactive map at St. Paul link above.

Wisconsin should moderate in 2015, Coleman said.

By that point, Minnesota likely will have closed its high-risk pool and healthier individual market consumers in Wisconsin will have merged into the individual market operating under Affordable Care Act rules.

Back in Stillwater, insurance agent Dennis Conger said he's heard a lot of the explanations being offered for the difference between rates in the two states. But the extent of the variation remains surprising, Conger said, though he admits to lacking full information about how insurance companies are setting premiums.

WMC president Kurt "BS" Bauer says Minnesota's Republican Party not happy over their states Jobs and Business Success!!

Remember the story about Minnesota kicking Wisconsin's ass for job creation and business? Well, believe it or not, Kurt Bauer, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, explains why Minnesota Republicans envy Wisconsin, and say their state is going in the wrong direction? Amazingly, Bauer reveals Minnesota Republicans want their state to be more like us, despite the our lousy record. They even hope the unemployment rate increases to prove their point. Ideology over jobs, business and consumer certainty? From Upfront with Mike Gousha: 

Walker relying on Obama economy for reelection, but still can't shake losing to Minnesota badly.

It took me awhile to edit this down so it made simple easy sense for my conservative friend in Milwaukee. The research is provided by Politifact:

Minnesota state Rep. Joe Atkins: "Minnesota is kicking butt relative to Wisconsin on everything from employment and job creation to school test scores, educated work force and a host of other factors and rankings"

In an interview, Akins got perturbed by what he said were Gov. Scott Walker’s attempts to lure companies across the border by portraying Wisconsin as the better place to do business.

Here's where the simple truth could really harm Walker's chances for reelection, if a smart Democrat would make the comparison first, and second, repeat it often:

Unemployment rate: The latest monthly figures, for July 2013, show Minnesota at 5.2 percent, nearly one-quarter lower than Wisconsin’s 6.8 percent.

Job creation: Atkins cited the latest month-to-month U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, which show the number of people employed in July 2013 vs. July 2012 … show that in Minnesota, an additional 55,000 people became employed, compared with 25,800 more in Wisconsin … that to be an increase of 2 percent for Minnesota, more than double Wisconsin’s growth of just under 1 percent.Congress’ Joint Economic Committee shows that since the recession, Minnesota job growth was 0.1 percent while Wisconsin lost 1.5 percent of its jobs.

Private-sector employment growth: Both Walker and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, took office in January 2011. Dayton was ranked 15th among governors, with a 2.01 percent growth rate during his tenure; Walker was ranked 40th at 1.07 percent.  

School test scores: the class of 2013, among states where more than half the students took the ACT, Minnesota ranked first and Wisconsin tied with Iowa for second.

Educated workforce: Minnesota’s education attainment about one-fifth higher than Wisconsin’s. Minnesota, 31.9 percent of residents had a four-year degree or higher. In Wisconsin, 26.2. Minnesota kicked butt in the sense that it outperformed Wisconsin on all four measures, and by comfortable margins. 
 
Business climate: The latest Forbes ranking of states for business, released in December 2012, listed Minnesota 20th and Wisconsin 44th overall. In terms of economic climate, Minnesota ranked 20th and Wisconsin 29th. And CNBC's "top states for doing business" ratings for 2013 ranked Minnesota 15th and Wisconsin 22nd.

Competitiveness: The Beacon Hill Institute, a free-market think tank ranked Minnesota third and Wisconsin 18th.

Economic growth: A U.S. Commerce Department report released in June 2013 showed Minnesota’s gross domestic product increased 3.5 percent in 2012. That was more than double Wisconsin’s 1.5 percent.

Business climate: In November 2012, Site Selection magazine ranked Wisconsin 13th on its list of top 25 states. Minnesota didn’t make the list.

CEO survey:  by Chief Executive magazine ranked Wisconsin the 17th best state for doing business, with Walker’s election cited as a key reason. Minnesota ranked 30th, with Gov. Dayton’s support of tax increases cited.  

Business taxes: The Tax Foundation’s "2013 state business tax climate index," rated both states as among the worst, with Wisconsin at 43rd and Minnesota at 45th.

Business climate: In an April 2013 report on small business the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked Wisconsin 39th in business climate and Minnesota 40^th … the chamber put Minnesota 15th, with high ratings for "talent" and infrastructure; and Wisconsin 44th, with low ranks for short- and long-term job growth.

Comparing the two states for business, Atkins said: "Minnesota is kicking butt…"

For a statement that is partially accurate, we give Atkins a Half True.

Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, in a sea of red. Scott Walker vs Mark Dayton.

I miss Ed Schultz during the week, and his fight for the middle class. Ed knows Wisconsin. That's why the following clip is so important.

Ed's got a new frame; he's decided to look at a Democratic state, Minnesota, and compare it to the surrounding Republican controlled states. It was a refreshing but important angle that I hope catches on.

Ed compares Walker's Wisconsin to Minnesota: