Matt Entenza and Minnesota 2020

 In June of 2007, Matt Entenza founded Minnesota 2020, a progressive, non-partisan think tank. Minnesota 2020 is committed to advancing public policy debate in Minnesota, focusing on economic development, health care, education, and transportation. 

From 2007 to the spring of 2009, Matt led Minnesota 2020 to become a much-needed progressive voice on the key issues Minnesota faces, challenging failed conservative policies and offering new solutions to help Minnesota prosper again. Minnesota 2020's work has been featured on every major television station in Minnesota, in nearly every major newspaper, and on radio stations across the state.

The following showcases some of Minnesota 2020's major contributions to policy debate.

• Chasing Smokestacks, Stranding Minnesota's Small Business: Rural Minnesota's Crisis - In the first report released by Minnesota 2020, veteran journalist Lee Egerstrom took failed state economic development programs to task while analyzing the economic challenges of rural Minnesota.

• Minnesota's Slip Toward Mediocrity: Less Investment, Less Return - Under the Pawlenty administration's "no new taxes" policy, Minnesota's national ranking has slipped from near the top of the nation to somewhere in the middle, due in part to a dramatic increase in Minnesota's unemployment, and to stagnant economic growth.

• Minnesota Can Lead In Health Care Innovation - If We Have the Will - In a series of editorials, Matt Entenza, as spokesperson for Minnesota 2020, advocated for health care reform, rural access to medical care, and expanding access to MinnesotaCare. He stressed the importance of providing coverage for children and reforming long-term care and challenged Governor Pawlenty's lack of leadership on improving health care for Minnesotans.

• Made in MN - In a struggling economy, Minnesota 2020 found that buying locally made goods and services could help stimulate regional economies. Matt toured the state to promote small Minnesota businesses and encouraged Minnesotans to consider supporting local vendors, many of whom Minnesota 2020 featured in a Buy Local gift guide.

• A Chilling Call to St. Paul: School Superintendents Speak Out About Minnesota's Failed Funding System - Since 2001, local communities have had to pick up more and more of the tab for K-12 education. A Minnesota 2020 survey found that "nearly 100 percent of state school superintendents believe Minnesota's education funding system is a failure," and 60 percent reported that quality of education is declining due to under-funding.

• Road Report: A Survey of Minnesota's County Highway Engineers - Increasingly, Minnesota counties are turning to "unprecedented borrowing, reduced road maintenance and snow plowing, and closed routes" to compensate for the pressure of decreased state funding for infrastructure. Nearly three-quarters of county engineers reported that the roads and bridges they maintain have deteriorated as traffic demands increase.

• New Fees in the Era of "No New Taxes" - Under the Pawlenty administration, state "fees" have risen by nearly 21 percent. Many of these "fees," however, are just taxes masquerading under a different name," enabling Tim Pawlenty to maintain his "no new taxes" illusion. Later, in his budget release press conference, Governor Pawlenty acknowledged the report's findings and stated that fee increases in the new budget would be minimal.

• Bleeding Communities Dry: How LGA Cuts are Hurting Rural Minnesota - In a report based on a survey of 43 greater Minnesota mayors, Minnesota 2020 reported that from 2002 to 2008, inflation-adjusted per capita state aid to Minnesota cities declined by 47 percent, forcing cities to both increase property taxes and cut essential services. A large majority of the mayors surveyed indicated that LGA cuts hurt economic development; nearly half indicated that in the absence of adequate revenues, they would cut public safety.

• Stopping the Freefall: Stabilizing Minnesota's Housing Market - In the spring of 2009, Minnesota 2020 recommended a plan to get credit markets flowing again and insure buyers against losses in value to their purchases. Called the Minnesota Home Values Guarantee Program, it is similar to the Land Values Guarantee Program developed by the Farm Credit Bank of St. Paul during the farm crisis of the 1980s but would work in reverse: stabilize home values first, making it easier for lenders to restructure troubled loans once property values start to rebound. The Minnesota Legislature took up Minnesota 2020's proposal to create several bills that are, as of this writing, still working their way through committee.

To learn more about Minnesota 2020's contributions to the public policy debate, visit www.mn2020.org.