Politics / Performance
Governor Dalton of Minnesota / Governor Brown of California

How a real Billionaire Governor turned his state's economy around.

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

How a real Billionaire Governor turned his state's economy around.

www.huffingtonpost.com/…

How did this billionaire Governor turn his state around? Turns out he did it the same way Gov. Brown did in California.

1. Raised taxes on the rich and those who earned over $150,000

Minnesota’s top income tax rate 4th highest in the country and has the 5 lowest unemployment rate in the country.

2. Increased the minimum wage to $9.50 an by 2018

3. 2012-2013 census figures showed that Minnesotans had a median income that was $10,000 larger than the US. average.

4. Forbes ranked Minnesota ninth best state for business

5. Turns a budget shortage into a $1billion dollar surplus.

When Gov. Dalton took office in 2011 he was left with a budget shortage of $6.2 billion dollars and an unemployment rate of 7% from Rep. Gov Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty added only 6200 jobs in two terms.

Gov Brown took office with a budget shortage. He raised taxes and increased the min. wage

During his first four years in office, Gov. Dayton raised the state income tax from 7.85 to 9.85 percent on individuals earning over $150,000, and on couples earning over $250,000 when filing jointly — a tax increase of $2.1 billion. He’s also agreed to raise Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2018, and passed a state law guaranteeing equal pay for women. Republicans like state representative Mark Uglem warned against Gov. Dayton’s tax increases, saying, “The job creators, the big corporations, the small corporations, they will leave. It’s all dollars and sense to them.” The conservative friend or family member you shared this article with would probably say the same if their governor tried something like this. But like Uglem, they would be proven wrong.

As of January 2015, Minnesota has a $1 billion budget surplus, and Gov. Dayton has pledged to reinvest more than one third of that money into public schools. And according to Gallup, Minnesota’s economic confidence is higher than any other state.

Dayton’s astonishing lack of charisma and articulateness. He isn’t a class warrior driven by a desire to get back at the 1 percent — Dayton is a billionaire heir to the Target fortune. It wasn’t just a majority in the legislature that forced him to do it — Dayton had to work with a Republican-controlled legislature for his first two years in office. And unlike his Republican neighbor to the east, Gov. Dayton didn’t assert his will over an unwilling populace by creating obstacles between the people and the vote — Dayton actually created an online voter registration. The reason Gov. Dayton and Gov. Brown were able to radically transform states economies into is simple arithmetic. Raising taxes on those who can afford to pay more will turn a deficit into a surplus.

Trickle -down economics doesn't work California and Minnesota have proven it.

I don't understand why people don't get it. It's math. Share this with Trump voters. Dayton is a real billionaire and could teach Trump a thing or two.