Minnesota Budget Project At 25: Ensuring Everyday Minnesotans Are A Priority At The Capitol

By Nan Madden, Minnesota Reformer:

How policymakers raise state revenues and where they direct our collective resources has a profound impact on whether opportunity and prosperity is available to all Minnesotans. Decisions at the Capitol influence how well children are thriving; whether families have what they need to be safe, healthy and financially secure; whether we have clean air and water; and many other elements of a high-quality standard of living.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, the Minnesota Budget Project is taking time to look back on and recommit to our work to ensure policymakers center the Minnesotans who are too often left out of the state’s prosperity and democracy, particularly Minnesotans living on lower incomes and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Minnesotans.

In 1997, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) created the Minnesota Budget Project to be our state’s member in an emerging national network of nonpartisan research and policy organizations now called the State Priorities Partnership. Then, as today, this network seeks to ensure that the needs of low- and moderate-income people were being met through state tax and budget policy. MCN was well positioned to build the capacity to produce high-quality research and get it into the hands of those influencing policy change: policymakers, advocates, nonprofits, the media and engaged members of the public.

Since then, the Minnesota Budget Project has researched and advocated for tax, budget and economic policies to make Minnesota a state where everyone can thrive. We ensure nonprofits, other organizational partners and community leaders have information and skills to advance policy changes to build a more equitable future.

We’ve engaged on some of the most important fiscal and economic issues before our state, supporting budget choices so that more Minnesotans have affordable health care and child care, strengthening wage and job quality standards and standing up for a sound budget process in which all Minnesotans’ voices can be heard.

Tax policy has been core to our work from our founding, in pursuit of two major goals. First, that Minnesota raises the revenues needed to sustainably fund public investments that build a stronger, equitable future. Second, that the state has a progressive tax system — one in which those with the most resources pay a greater share of their incomes to support public services than those who are struggling to get by.

Our collaborative efforts have delivered significant tax policy outcomes that continue to benefit Minnesotans in every community. One example is our work in the cross-sector coalition Invest in Minnesota that was created in response to the recession and large state budget deficits of the early 2000s. Uniting nonprofits, organized labor and faith-based organizations, Invest in Minnesota documented and fought back against deep cuts to public services and made the case instead for progressive revenues. This contributed to the passage in 2013 of nation-leading tax reform that raised new revenues fairly, ended a decade of frequent budget deficits, and delivered essential funding for the things Minnesotans need to thrive, including education, affordable child care, and affordable health care.

In addition, the Minnesota Budget Project has led collaborative efforts that have expanded tax credits that boost the incomes of Minnesotans trying to get by on low incomes. Today, Minnesota has some of the strongest income-targeted state tax credits in the country, including the Renters’ Credit and Working Family Tax Credit. These innovative policies improve the daily lives of people and families all across the state and make our tax system more fair.

Essential to this work is understanding how discriminatory policies and racism continue to erect barriers to BIPOC Minnesotans’ attaining economic security and creating wealth for their families. Minnesota has some of the nation’s largest economic disparities between white people and people of color. It’s urgent that we unleash the power of the tax code to dismantle racial disparities through smart tax and tax credit policy changes.

Looking ahead to January, 201 newly elected legislators and the governor will grapple with substantial challenges as well as choices for vital investments. Twenty-five years of this work has shown us the path to a more equitable future: Continued pursuit of a progressive and fair tax system that raises the revenue to fund the things Minnesotans need; and directing our collective resources to affordable child care, health care and other investments in strong families and communities.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..