“Obsolete on arrival,” says Minnesota Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka about the latest economic forecast showing a 188-million-dollar state budget deficit. Gazelka contends federal tax reform will erase any deficit through economic growth — and he says the Minnesota Legislature should then re-examine whether *state* taxes are driving people and businesses away. Gazelka says, “That’s something that we always have to look at for our future: Does it make sense that we would reduce spending somewhere so that we could provide more tax relief?”
Governor Mark Dayton says the state is *not* spending too much — that investments are necessary in “vitally important” programs such as education.