Now, according to the conservative mantra, with Minnesota raising taxes on the wealthy, increasing spending, boosting the minimum wage, and implementing Obamacare, the state should have turned into a black hole of enormous deficits, huge job losses, and rampant unemployment. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, during Walker’s tenure, Minnesota has blown Wisconsin out of the water when it comes to job growth. From March 2011 to March 2014, Minnesota has created 20,000 more jobs than Wisconsin. And the gap is widening even faster with Minnesota creating 14,000 more jobs than Wisconsin since only July of this year. Minnesota’s unemployment rate, at 4.5%, is actually lower than it was before the recession and is currently a full point lower than Wisconsin’s.
And it’s not only jobs; the numbers also show that Minnesota outpaces Wisconsin when it comes to wages and personal income growth. Just looking at manufacturing jobs, the most recent numbers show Minnesotans making $600 more per month, with wage growth over the past year more than doubling Wisconsin’s. That’s $7200 more per year. Not exactly chump change.
And if there is any question as to whether Minnesota’s plan is working, just look at their budget. It was only a few months ago that Minnesota had the enviable problem of debating what to do with their $1.2 billion surplus. Let me repeat that: a $1.2 billion surplus.
