Most popular blogs of 2015 forecast issues of 2016

Looking over the 2015 blogs garnering the most reads over the last year provides a road map of sorts for the 2016 Legislative Session. Affordable health care, fair taxes, expanded opportunity for families – these issues will be part of the debate among policymakers as they consider what to do with the $1.2 billion budget surplus this spring, just as they were last year.

Specifically, the most-read 2015 Minnesota Budget Bites blogs were:

• Budget deal triples out of pocket costs, raises premiums for working Minnesotans
• Minnesota’s tax system fairer; proposed legislation would take us backward
• Governor Dayton invests in Minnesota’s students
• Health and Human Services budget combines some good investments with harmful changes
• Child poverty map demonstrates need for more state investment in economic opportunity

These blogs address the essential issue of what policy choices are needed to expand economic opportunity in Minnesota. As such, we’re not surprised they were popular in 2015, and will continue to be a primary focus of ours in the year ahead.

– Laura Mortenson