Doug Burgum on Budget & Economy

	Doug Burgum on Budget & Economy

The American dream is being killed by high interest rates

I think, right now, I'm doing what I think that everybody that cares about the future of this country should be doing, which is understanding that, if you care about inflation, which is hurting income, producing low-income people the most, because it's affecting food, price of energy, the price of electricity -- the American dream is being killed by high interest rates. Housing costs have gone up by over 30%. If you care about that stuff, then you should be out campaigning for President Trump. Source: CNN SOTU interview on 2024 Republican Veepstakes , Jun 23, 2024

Balanced the budget every year and passed record tax cuts

In [his Burgum's] 15-second advertisement titled "Why", Burgum says, "First, fix this crazy economy. Second, unleash American energy production. Third, rebuild our military to win the Cold War with China."

His second minute-long ad titled "Change" touts Burgum as a "new leader for a changing economy." It highlights his background growing up in rural North Dakota, using his inherited farmland to invest the seed capital for Great Plains Software. He sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001, and became governor of his home state in 2016.

"As governor, we took North Dakota from billions in the hole to a surplus," Burgum said. "We balanced the budget every year and passed record tax cuts, again, working together. Think what we could do with America."

Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch AdWatch on 2024 Presidential hopefuls , Jun 12, 2023

We've made great progress on our 10-year infrastructure plan

We've made great progress on DOT's 10-year infrastructure plan, investing $318 million so far this biennium to rebuild aging roads and bridges and our executive budget proposes an unprecedented $2.4 billion to accelerate our work. We can also build on the work done on water infrastructure last session by investing over $600 million to advance flood protection and our regional and critical water supply infrastructure across the state. Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the N.D. legislature , Jan 3, 2023

Investing in infrastructure now will save us millions

Now is the time to invest in our future with a backbone of smart, efficient, modern infrastructure. We can save tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars by investing now versus waiting for years to pay cash for aging infrastructure. With a flexible $700 million revolving loan fund, we can support strategic high-dollar infrastructure projects while creating room in our DOT budget and the Resources Trust Fund to support many other smaller yet essential water and road projects. Source: 2021 State of the State Address to North Dakota legislature , Jan 5, 2021

Increased teacher & state employee pay without raising taxes

Working with our legislative partners, you can see from 2016 to the current thing, we've reduced the general fund budget by over $1 billion. In that same timeframe we've increased teacher and state employee pay, we've made key infrastructure investments, we've reduced property taxes and we've done all of this without raising taxes. And so with great collaboration, we've been able to stabilize the state's finances and begin building our reserves. Source: 2020 North Dakota State of the State address , Jan 29, 2020

Right-size government: cutting $1.2B is a great start

Burgum said he and the Legislature share many of the same goals, most notably the desire to balance the budget and fund priorities without raising taxes.

The budget proposal presented to lawmakers by Gov. Jack Dalrymple before he left office last month would reduce general fund spending by about $1.2 billion in the 2017-19 biennium, which Burgum called "a great start."

"But given the revenue uncertainty, we must dig deeper," Burgum said. "Right now is the time to right-size government."

"When I took office 19 days ago, I challenged our cabinet members to spend less time defending institutions and more time reinventing them. They're responding with enthusiasm for this quest," he said.

The governor called for zero-based budgeting starting in the next full budget cycle in order to focus spending on areas with the highest returns. He said the state needs to examine its revenue forecasting system.

Source: Press release on 2017 North Dakota State of the State speech , Feb 8, 2017

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*Other governors on Budget & Economy:*			*Doug Burgum on other issues:*
*ND Gubernatorial:* Kelly Armstrong Merrill Piepkorn *ND Senatorial:* Katrina Christiansen Kevin Cramer Michael J. Steele Rick Becker	*Gubernatorial Debates 2023:* KY: Incumbent Andy Beshear(D) vs.State A.G. Daniel Cameron(R) vs.Ambassador Kelly Craft(R) vs.State Auditor Mike Harmon(R) LA: Incumbent John Bel Edwards(D,term-limited) vs.Jeff Landry(R) vs.Shawn Wilson(D) vs.John Schroder(R) vs.Sharon Hewitt(R) MS: Incumbent Tate Reeves(R) vs.Bill Waller(R,withdrew) vs.Brandon Presley(D) *Gubernatorial Debates 2024:* DE: Gov. John Carney (D, term-limited); vs. Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long (D) vs. County Exec. Matt Meyer (D) vs. State Rep.Mike Ramone (R) IN: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R, term-limited); vs. Sen. Mike Braun (R) vs. Suzanne Crouch (R, lost May 7 primary) vs. Eric Doden (R, lost May 7 primary) vs. Attorney General Curtis Hill (R, lost May 7 primary) vs. Jennifer McCormick (D) MO: Gov. Mike Parson (R, term-limited): vs. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) vs. State Senator Bill Eigel (R) vs. Lt.Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) vs. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D) MT: Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) vs. Ryan Busse (D) vs. State Rep. Tanner Smith (R, lost June 4 primary)	*Gubernatorial Debates 2024 (continued):* NC: Gov. Roy Cooper (D, term-limited); vs. Lt.Gov. Mark Robinson (R) vs. Attorney General Josh Stein (D) vs. Treasurer Dale Folwell (R, lost March 5 primary) vs. Justice Michael Morgan (D, lost March 5 primary) vs. State Senator Andy Wells (R,withdrew) ND: Gov. Doug Burgum (R, retiring) vs. State Rep. Rick Becker (R) vs. U.S.Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R) vs. State Sen.Merrill Piepkorn (D) NH: Gov. Chris Sununu (R, retiring) vs. U.S.Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) vs. Mayor Joyce Craig (D) vs. Acting Gov.Chuck Morse (R) vs. Exec.Councilor Cinde Warmington (D) UT: Gov. Spencer Cox (R) vs. State Rep. Phil Lyman (R) vs. Minority Leader Brian King (D) VT: Gov. Phil Scott (R) vs. Lt.Gov.David Zuckerman (D, withdrew) vs. Selectman Peter Duval (D) vs. Commissioner Esther Charlestin (D) WA: Gov. Jay Inslee (D, retiring); vs. Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) vs. U.S.Rep.Dave Reichert (R) vs. State Sen. Mark Mullet (D) vs. County Chair Semi Bird (R) vs. Hilary Franz (D, withdrew to run for U.S.Rep.) WV: Gov. Jim Justice (R, term-limited) vs. WV Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) vs. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams (D) vs. WV State Auditor JB McCuskey (R, withdrew) vs. WV Secretary of State Mac Warner (R, lost May 14 primary) vs. State Del. Moore Capito (R, lost May 14 primary)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Local Issues Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty [Title9]