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How the State Can Grow Jobs
While the federal government has taken swift action on an economic recovery plan, Minnesota's state government is falling flat. Today fellow progressive think tank Growth & Justice presented a few ideas Minnesota's policymakers should latch on to. Their latest report Smart Economic Development for Minnesota by Matt Kane, Policy Fellow for Infrastructure & Economic Development presents smart approaches for economic growth.
The report finds:
- A new sports stadium for the Twin Cities fails the test for smart economic development.
- The state's Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) program, which offers state and local tax breaks to selected businesses that locate or expand in 10 designated zones throughout Greater Minnesota, falls short of the mark for smart approaches.
- The state should invest in education and skills training to better the lives of Minnesotans and improve the skills and knowledge that they bring to their jobs.
- Public sector investment in transportation, done well, is a smart economic development strategy and one that the State of Minnesota should emphasize, perhaps even more than it does now.
Kudos to our friends over at Growth & Justice for the solid report.
Posted in Economic Development