The Minnesota Budget and Inflation

The Minnesota state budget is a policy document which reflects programmatic priorities of the state in terms of size, direction and rank order. Major causes for budget increase are inflation and increased state conversion of what were once local government programs into joint programs. Accompanying greater state support is more state regulation through the use of uniform statewide standards. The two most important Minnesota services are education and welfare. Concern for property tax burden by the legislature has resulted in a comprehensive property tax relief program. Because these programs are very costly, Minnesota, except for property and sales, is a high tax state