A Robust Minnesota Economy?

MINNEAPOLIS, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There will be more people of color in Minnesota's future, a fact that bodes well for realizing a more robust economy in the state. So says a new report, Minnesota's Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model. Commissioned by the state's philanthropies*, the report makes clear that realizing the potential of the state's growing diversity requires adopting an equity strategy that would grow new jobs and businesses while bolstering long-term competitiveness. Equity means fair and just inclusion for all into a society where every Minnesotan can participate and prosper.

Equity is an economic imperative and Minnesota's diversity is an asset for growth. Inequality, the opposite of equity, has cost the state. Minnesota's Tomorrow documents that the state's gross domestic product would have been $16.4 billion higher in 2011 if there had been no racial gaps in income.

"And this inequality deficit will grow: a conservative estimate places the toll at $18.3 billion in 2015," said Jennifer Tran, senior associate with PolicyLink.

Recent and projected demographic shifts in the state mean that people of color are growing as a share of the workforce and population, and in Minnesota racial gaps in income, poverty, employment, education, wealth and health are unusually high and persistent. The report states that in 1980, just 4 percent of Minnesotans were people of color. Today that figure is 17 percent, and by 2040 it will be 29 percent.

"Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the country, the second largest Southeast Asian population and an explosion of growth in youth populations of color, which are critical for the state's stability and growth," said Stacey Millett, senior program officer at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. "This is a huge opportunity and asset for the state."

The report presents examples of work currently under way across the state to dismantle racial barriers and expand economic opportunities that can serve to inform broader strategies for growth and inclusion in Minnesota. These include:

• The City of Minneapolis' resolution to promote racial equity in employment, requiring the city to make sure that people of color have a fair shot at government jobs, promotions and contracts
• The Minnesota Food Association's Big Rivers Farms Training Program, preparing immigrant and people-of-color participants to become independent, small-scale, certified organic vegetable farmers
• Nexus Community Partners' Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI), training community members and leaders from communities of color and underrepresented communities to serve on decision-making bodies

The report also presents equitable growth policy recommendations focused on growing good jobs to prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow. To secure a prosperous future, Minnesota needs a new growth model that puts equity in the driver's seat. The report lifts up the following policies that help put Minnesota on the path of equitable growth:

• Grow good jobs: Given the growth in Minnesota's low-wage sector and stagnant wages, Minnesota needs to focus on creating jobs that pay family-supporting wages, offer benefits, provide opportunities for upward mobility and are accessible to communities of color
• Prepare youth and workers of color for tomorrow's jobs: As people of color become a growing portion of the state's workforce, Minnesota must invest in an education and workforce system spanning from cradle to career that will prepare low-income youth and workers of color for success
• Dismantle racial barriers and increase access to opportunity: Taking down barriers — such as obstacles to homeownership — that prevent Minnesotans of color from participating in economic in civic life will be essential to building an equitable economy

The report can be found on the websites of PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity.

*The report was produced by PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and funded by Northwest Area Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, Nexus Community Partners, Twin Cities LISC and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation