You doubt Minnesota's economy? I'll take the other side of that bet.

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Last month, CNBC caused a stir by ranking Minnesota the fifth-best state for business. The listicle excited DFLers in power and irked conservatives who insist that Minnesota's relatively higher taxes are hurting the economy.

In the ranking, Minnesota scored higher on infrastructure and workforce but lower on the cost of doing business (including taxes). States like Texas also ranked high overall, but for different reasons. It seemed like a reasonable thought experiment to me, but I also don't care to debate CNBC's methodology. The indignant reaction from Republicans, however, was notable.

Minnesota conservatives are increasingly centering their message on a sense of pessimism about the state's economic future, but the evidence suggests far more reason to hope than fear.

To start, Minnesota has a long track record as the Midwest's strongest economy. Over the last 50 years, the state recorded the highest personal income growth in the region and the third-highest GDP growth, topped only by North and South Dakota — two smaller states with high exports that are not useful comparisons.

In a July commentary ("Make Minnesota business-friendly again"), Republican state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson personified the conservative view by complaining that Minnesota's economy is growing slower than the national average. That's true, but Sen. Rasmusson neglected to mention the lower-tax Midwestern states that Republicans want to emulate. With the 34th-highest annual growth rate in the nation, Minnesota is faring better than Michigan, ranked 44th; Ohio, ranked 46th, and Wisconsin, ranked 49th.

Minnesota's job growth also came in below the national average, but at 1.8% it was the same or higher than Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and South Dakota.

Minnesota's long-held advantage over nearby states flies in the face of the conservative argument that our policies are making us less competitive. The timing of conservatives' predictions is also strange: As wounds from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest begin to heal, improvement seems more likely than decline.

That's not to say some concern is unjustified. The Chamber of Commerce has put forward evidence that Minnesota is receiving less new business investment than its neighbors, and conservative commentators are raising alarm bells about negative domestic migration (more people moving out of Minnesota than in).

With an aging population and shrinking workforce, I share these population concerns. But negative migration is nothing new, and it is the reality in 8 out of 12 states in the Midwest. Like other economic trends, migration fluctuates, and it would be reasonable to expect the current dip to rebound, as it did in Wisconsin between 2021 and 2022.

Already, relatively modest population growth combined with steady housing production has helped relieve price pressures in the Twin Cities metro area compared with hotspots where existing infrastructure cannot accommodate incoming populations. As of May 2023, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area had the lowest inflation rate in the country. Lower prices, a strong economy and a healing reputation would ostensibly swing the pendulum of migration and investment back in our direction.

Right now, conservatives are pointing to the worst trends from the toughest years and projecting that they will continue indefinitely. Anything's possible, but it seems unlikely. And the more Republicans distance themselves from the state's economy, the more foolish they will look if things improve.

Importantly, none of this discussion has even mentioned Minnesota's true strength, which is an exceptionally high quality of life. In addition to competitive economic growth and the highest median wage in the region, Minnesota boasts the second-longest life expectancy and the third-lowest poverty rate of any state in the country.

That's not to say Minnesotans should be satisfied with the status quo. Elevated inequality, rising homelessness and persistent racial inequities are damning trends that must be addressed.

But the pessimists are wrong to imply that we have diverted from the path that made us successful. Minnesota has a long history of strong public investment to support the health and well-being of state residents. This has proved a winning approach for decades, and the DFL continued that tradition during the 2023 legislative session.

Conservatives want voters to believe that this time-tested strategy will fail, and Minnesota's long run of success will suddenly reverse. I wouldn't bet on it.

Eric Harris Bernstein is director of the We Make Minnesota coalition.