There’s no better person to talk to on budget forecast day than Jim Schowalter

Jim Schowalter is the former MMB Commissioner. He joins Blois Olson to discuss the budget forecast for the state of Minnesota. Blois asks about the relevance of macroeconomic trends/data like GDP and unemployment numbers. Jim says that the employment numbers are concerning for the future and that the numbers are a little weaker than last year. Blois references some economic factors he noticed during the Great Recession and asks Jim about the operationality of the budget team. They also discuss the uncertainty around the gubernatorial race/potential elect and how its impacting the state government now.