Weigh In!

In the face of this daunting economic challenge, both the Governor and the leaders of the legislature from all parties have called on Minnesotans to offer our best ideas. Five foundations came together believing that a search should be launched for ideas that could offer hope that out of this fiscal challenge could come better ways to meet the needs of our state; ways that would better prepare us to succeed in an uncertain future. They contracted with Public Strategies Group to lead the search to find practical ways to improve public services and that cost less. The Citizens League is now convening a public dialogue around these ideas.

Think of the content as a collection of ideas, not an integrated proposal. Some of these alternative approaches will strike people as provocative, perhaps radical, shifts; others will seem just straightforward, even simple ways to improve results at affordable levels of investment. The key objective here, and the reason that foundation leaders proposed this work, is to make the Minnesota budget conversation more public, better informed, and furnished with policy designs and analyses aimed at the largest financial commitments the state makes.

Now, we want to hear from you. Select a topic area to the right to learn more about our ideas, and to tell us what you think.