At the Minnesota Budget Project, we often use graphs and numbers to describe and analyze the critical policy issues before us.
But today, we did something very different. Our team joined hundreds of other Minnesotans at the Capitol to demonstrate our support for a balanced approach, including revenues raised fairly, as policymakers seek to reach agreement on how to meet our state’s needs.
Today’s event reminds us of the power of coming together. Participants filled out signs saying what they thought the state should invest in, and what they believe is at stake in this budget discussion. They expressed their support for child care, health care, services for people with disabilities, a clean environment and transit, just to name a few. But what I saw them write most often was “Invest in Our Future” or “Invest in People.”
That is what this discussion is all about. Not about abstract figures or dollars and cents, but about what kind of state we want to be, and the real impact that our public investments have in the lives of Minnesotans.
The hundreds of folks I saw today, coming from diverse backgrounds and with a range of issue concerns, demonstrated a common hope that Minnesota will continue to be a state that invests in people, in opportunity, and in the future. And they demonstrated their belief that people coming together, getting involved and telling their stories, will make a difference in the budget discussions happening inside the Capitol.
-Nan Madden
