Liberal in the Land of Conservative

Clark: Minnesota must do more to spur job growth

A disappointing report on the economy from the US Labor Department should prompt lawmakers and the Governor to take action, says Sen. Tarryl Clark, after the US Labor Department announced that the national unemployment rate had risen to its highest level since the summer of 2006.

“Minnesota has fallen behind the rest of the nation in both job and income growth,” said Clark. “With smart investments, we can reverse that trend and begin improving the state’s economic outlook.”

Despite a long held reputation as a national leader in economic prosperity, Minnesota has slipped in several key economic indicators over the past several years. In 2006, new job growth in the state lagged behind the national average. Adjusting for inflation, the state’s median household annual income dropped almost $7,300 between 2000 and 2005.

One of the more troubling trends has been Minnesota’s rising unemployment rates. In June, the state’s unemployment rate rose higher than the national average for the first time in more than 30 years of record keeping. The most recent figures show Minnesota’s unemployment rate has grown from 3.8% to 4.6% in the past twelve months.

“State government has been losing ground to other states on the investments needed to compete.” said Sen. Clark. “The effect of years of rising college tuition and health care costs, trimmed economic development and job training programs, and a neglected transportation system are combining to worsen Minnesota’s economy.”

Recently, Governor Pawlenty released a proposal intended to assist entrepreneurs starting small businesses in greater Minnesota. The Governor has proposed spending $20 million on a new program called the Strategic Entrepreneurial Economic Development program, or SEED, to train and support prospective entrepreneurs in select areas of the state, along with a $50 million bonding proposal to help local governments pay for infrastructure and redevelopment needs. The Governor will ask Legislators to consider his proposal during the 2008 Legislative session.

“It’s positive that Governor Pawlenty is showing some concern about Minnesota’s economy, but this proposal has some weaknesses that need to be addressed,” said Clark. “First of all, it picks ‘winners and losers’, such as excluding Stearns County but including some other surrounding counties. And at $20 million statewide for SEED, the overall effect will be so modest that measuring its success will be difficult. Additionally, the state’s infrastructure needs are so vast that $50 million would hardly begin to address the need out there. Just in terms of bridges alone, there are over 1,000 that are structurally deficient.”

“We need to take a broader approach to spurring job growth in the state,” said Sen. Clark. “Let’s do more than create new programs with cute acronyms and logo designs. Let’s catch up on some of the basics first. By investing in public education, making higher education more affordable, fixing our roads and bridges, shortening commuting and delivery and transport times, and holding down property taxes for homes and businesses we can do more to ensure Minnesota’s economy.”