Ted Mondale Response
2
Question 2: Overall, Minnesota's economy is the
strongest it has been in years. On the agenda are issues such as
living wages, labor shortages,
welfare-to-work, and the changing economy in Greater
Minnesota. What do you feel the most pressing challenges will be?
How will you address them?
Economic growth is essential if we hope to secure a successful future
for the families of Minnesota. We must ensure the high-skill,
high-wage jobs which serve as a vital support in the maintenance of
healthy families.
Investment in education represents a significant step in our quest for
economic development - we will need a skilled workforce if we hope to
attract the businesses and jobs of the future. I believe this will
be our greatest challenge for the economic future of the state. But
Minnesota must be aggressive if we hope to ensure a healthy economy
in the twenty-first century. Below are the areas I feel we must
concentrate on for our economic growth.
First, we need to step up research efforts at the University of
Minnesota, and work to develop stronger links between the university,
the agricultural sector, and the high-tech business sector.
Second, as the global economy develops, we must work to increase
exports. If we fail to achieve this end, we will remain vulnerable
to international economic fluctuations.
Third, we need to provide for the economic health of Greater Minnesota.
The good news is that recent economic growth in Minnesota has not
been limited to the Twin Cities region.
The Blandin Foundation recently pointed out that half of the state's job
growth has been outside of the seven-county metro area. In order to
secure economic vitality in this region, we need to provide for more
housing stock, better transportation, boost telecommunications links,
improve health care access and provide better job training.
And finally, we need to wire the state, and provide for a state of the
art communications infrastructure. Only by making these improvements
can we ensure economic growth in the twenty-first century, and draw
the sort of high-skill, high-wage jobs we need to sustain our
families.
