Posted on 03/12/2015 10:44:29 AM PDT by Space Moose
Wisconsin and Minnesota have long made fascinating bookends. As longtime readers may recall, the two neighboring states have similar sizes, similar populations, similar demographics, and even similar climates. But they don’t necessarily have similar politics, at least not lately.
In the 2010 elections, the Badger State elected Scott Walker (R) governor and gave control of the legislature to Republicans, while the Gopher State made Mark Dayton (D) governor and, in 2012, elected a Democratic legislature*. The former got to work targeting collective bargaining and approving tax cuts, while the latter raised taxes on the wealthy and boosted in-state investments.
Nearly five years later, one of these two states is doing quite well. Policy.mic had an interesting report this week.
Since 2011, Minnesota has been doing quite well for itself. The state has created more than 170,000 jobs, according to the Huffington Post. Its unemployment rate stands at 3.6% – the fifth-lowest in the country, and far below the nationwide rate of 5.7% – and the state government boasts a budget surplus of $1 billion. Forbes considers Minnesota one of the top 10 in the country for business.
As Patrick Caldwell recently explained very well, Minnesota’s gains come on the heels of tax increases on Minnesota’s top 2% and higher corporate taxes, both of which state Republicans said would crush Minnesota’s economy. As for their neighbors to the east:
By a number of measures, Wisconsin hasn’t fared as well as Minnesota. As the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reports, Wisconsin’s job growth has been among the worst in the region, and income growth is one of the worst in the country. It has a higher unemployment rate than Minnesota. And the budget is in bad shape.
..... As we enter the new year, Minnesota is clearly winning by a long shot.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
Yes, yes I would. Please help.
Wisconsin has/had much more Heavy Industry, something that has been pretty much destroyed in the last 40 years (and especially the last 6) by Liberal/Democrat economic policies.
Minnesota has a large Air Hub, with a moderate number of flights to Europe and Asia. Corp HQ’s are going to go to a hub city, out of convenience.
This was swilled out on MSNBC, and was...
> according to the Huffington Post.
IOW, it’s complete and utter nonsense.
How much of Minnesota's current prosperity came from the prior 8 years of Republican Tim Pawlenty? (Hey, if the Dems can cry "Bush's fault" for years ...)
Compare WI with Michigan.
Notice my tag line. It’s MSDNC!
Hey Space, I don’t believe this article. I think it is a lie.
Scott Walker is using Reaganomics in Wis and it is working great.
Here is a comparison that PMSNBC won’t mention. Wisconsin is one of only 2 states with a fully funded public employees pension system. Minnesota’s pension underfunding is over $16 billion- up 4 billion since 2010
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/03/24/States-Short-Change-Pension-Funds
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/01/20/state-pension-funds-underfunded-by-over-16b/
Yeah. WI had Doyle while MN had Pawlenty.
Space Moose would like help refuting this article.
FReep Mail me if you on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Hopefully this article will give you some good talking points against your cousin.
http://fee.org/blog/detail/minnesota-mythbusting
Thank you to all!!! You are awesome. Thanks again!
I would not want to live in Minnesota. Look at the taxes the clowns have imposed on estates .
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323639704579013040148683248
When we look at figures please let’s use the WSJ. Hell, Obama and his pals all lie.
Biased, economically illiterate trash.
Thank you to all.
A more valid comparison would be Minnesota vs. the Dakotas and Wisconsin vs. Illinois.
In football too. Bucky and The Pack have been whipping the Gophers and Vking's asses for years.
It’s the Barack Obama channel... What do you expect them to say?
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