Hey Minnesotans…time to take big, calculated risks. To use a baseball metaphor we need to forget about bunting to get to one base and instead start swingin’ for the fences.
Budget shortfalls are slamming many states like Minnesota due to revenue shortfalls and a reduction in federal money. Fortunately there are some states where the tax base and regulatory climate is one that is attracting business. Undoubtedly these states also enjoy other variables that make companies want to startup within them, or move to, and capitalize upon that business climate.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has released their second report of its kind, “Enterprising States: Recovery and Renewal for the 21st Century” (PDF) and Minnesota is not high on most lists in this report. The report has four primary sections with pretty solid measures for each:
| Top Growth Performers | Entrepreneurship & Innovation | |
| Top Export States | Top Taxes & Regulation States | |
| Workforce & Training | Infrastructure |
The worrisome aspect is that Minnesota doesn’t rank highly in anything but median family income and educational attainment. While both are good, the former is likely due to the high concentrations of people working for out-State companies and the latter since education is such a priority in our State. Due to the current budget crisis and slash-n-burn mentality by most politicians, quality of education will likely erode quickly.
The executive summary had some troubling things to say that are probably obvious on the surface:
“In the past, states could look to Washington for assistance. Now, whatever the intentions or real achievements of the stimulus package, future increases in federal spending seem likely to be meager at best. This presents a new, and perhaps unprecedented, challenge for the states. With Washington effectively forced to the sidelines, states will now have to address fundamental economic issues relating to growth and employment on their own. Most will have to do so without significantly increasing their own spending.”
No kidding.
Where is the sense of urgency by organizations who can (and should) be focused on making a difference? With, for example, the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) focusing on Science,Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initatives like getSTEM—ones unlikely to have impact on state economics, job growth or positioning within US Chamber listings for YEARS—one wonders how Minnesota will even be capable of accelerating in to the future.
Shortfalls, like Minnesota’s $5 billion dollar one, are not unique and a lot of the growth up-the-Chamber-charts by other states might just be like the old saw about “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic“:
“For many states the short-term prognosis is dire. Altogether, 44 states and the District of Columbia are projecting budget shortfalls for 2012 amounting to $112 billion. The upcoming fiscal year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, will be “one of the states’ most difficult budget years on record. Retiree benefits for state employees add yet another strain, with the states facing a $1.26 trillion shortfall.”
Wow…pretty bleak. With 70 million baby boomers retired within the next 10 years shortfalls will be even worse unless we focus on high tech, medical, nanotech, energy and other areas where we’re likely to get the biggest bang for our buck in value creation.
Minnesota needs to take risks and a lot of them. We’ll fail a lot on the way toward success, but it’s time to cut any of the fringe budget stuff and focus on the top handful of initiatives likely to vault our state forward.