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Hello from St. Paul,
The staggering amount of fraud that is occurring in Minnesota almost defies belief. It seems almost weekly, if not daily, we are hearing about another nonsensical theft of taxpayer dollars that has turned our state into a national laughingstock.
It’s so bad that even national news outlets are picking up on it. Just this past weekend, the New York Times ran a story with the headline “How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System on Tim Walz’s Watch,” which can be read here.
The StarTribune also ran a story this week highlighting how the Walz administration is refusing to release information about providers that are under investigation for fraud. Click here to read that article.
It is not an exaggeration to say billions of dollars have been swindled from taxpayers in this state over the past several years. There has been little to no oversight in these government programs, and no one has lost their jobs over this continuing scandal.
But the people who are truly losing in all of this are those who are struggling and should have received these funds in the first place. Every Christmas season, we know there are people in our communities that need help. They need the basics, like food and housing. And these are exactly the programs that have been and are continuing to be ripped off by fraudsters.
Now more than ever, if you can help others during the holidays, I strongly encourage you to do so.
POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES IN NEW STATE BUDGET FORECAST
For the remainder of the state’s current budget cycle, economic experts now project a $2.465 billion surplus. The bad news? For the next budget cycle in 2028-29, Minnesota is expected to deal with a nearly $3 billion deficit.
This is due to the spending decisions made by the previous legislature and Governor Walz two years ago when a nearly $19 billion budget surplus was spent, and government spending was increased by nearly 40%.
In 2028 and 2029, we’re projected to spend $5.4 billion more than we collect in taxes. Over four years, spending is nearly $9.5 billion more than revenue. That shows we have a spending problem. The legislature did cut state spending last session, but this forecast shows there’s more work to be done. In fact, economists said if spending cuts had not been enacted last session, the deficit would have been nearly 50 percent more than what it shows now.
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