Minnesota Management and Budget forecasts red ink

Minnesota’s office of Management and Budget released its economic forecast today, showing a deficit at the end of the current two-year budget cycle.

St. Paul—Today, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the 2017 November Budget and Economic Forecast. Projections show a deficit of $188 million for the current biennium, and a projected negative balance of $586 million for the 2020-21 biennium. Deficits are due to a reduced U.S. economic growth forecast and impacts of enacted legislation during the 2017 session. Unknowns in federal policy and the current economic expansion, one of the longest in U.S. history, create significant risk for this forecast. 
  
MMB Commissioner Myron Frans, State Economist Dr. Laura Kalambokidis, and State Budget Director Margaret Kelly will present the forecast at 12:15 p.m. today in room 15 of the Minnesota State Capitol. After presenting the forecast, they will be joined by Governor Mark Dayton. 

John Phelan is an economist at Center of the American Experiment.