on November 21, 2020

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Even with the recent surge, thankfully, Tim Walz’s morgue still sits empty

Written by Bill Walsh

You might think the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Minnesota would have hurt the chances of the $6.9 million morgue winning our inaugural Golden Turkey Award for silly spending. You would be wrong. No matter how concerned they are about the virus, Minnesotans overwhelmingly agree that buying a shuttered fruit warehouse in St. Paul to serve as an emergency COVID-19 morgue was a bad idea. The morgue is currently leading the Golden Turkey voting with over 60% of the vote. When the Governor bought the abandoned fruit company warehouse back in May, the state was averaging 12.5 deaths per day. Like...

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on November 19, 2020

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Help Us Reach Our Goal!

Written by Allison Payne

in Budget, Culture

Today's the day YOU can make the most impact for liberty in Minnesota. ...

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on November 19, 2020

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Dedicated funding leads to less scrutiny, silly spending, Golden Turkey nominations

Written by Bill Walsh

in Budget

Imagine it’s March 2021 and they just announced the state budget deficit has grown to $5 or $6 billion for the next biennium. The economic slowdown from our over-reaction to COVID wreaked predictable havoc on Minnesota, and revenue from corporate, income, and sales taxes all came in lower than expected. To solve the budget deficit, lawmakers and Governor Walz promise “everything is on the table.” But that is not completely true. Certain pots of money are most certainly not on the table because they have been constitutionally dedicated for very specific things. And using these funds to “supplant” other state spending...

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on November 17, 2020

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Tourism through Twitter: It sounded like a good idea

Written by Bill Walsh

in Budget

How much should the State of Minnesota spend every year promoting tourism? On the one hand, it’s not the role of government to advertise and promote the State Fair or your private fishing resort. On the other hand, every state does it, and attracting people to come to Minnesota does create job opportunities for many towns and regions in the state. One of our Golden Turkey Award nominees for wasteful spending shows how easy it is to move from legitimate state purpose to just plain silly. In the name of tourism and promoting the state, Explore Minnesota (our Department of Tourism)...

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on November 13, 2020

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Why taxing the wealthiest will miss the mark

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

If the goal is helping the neediest during a global pandemic, raising taxes is the last thing Minnesota legislators should try when they convene in January....

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on October 20, 2020

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Minnesota’s tax revenues are coming in better than forecast. Why?

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

This good news for the state government hides the reality of bad news indeed for the state's lower income earners. How do we help them?...

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on October 16, 2020

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The Art of Politics: Claiming credit for spending your (or your kids’) money on you

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

Rep. Little celebrates his skill - election season is no time for modesty - in taking money from you and your kids and giving it back to you with his name stamped all over it. This is modern party politics in a nutshell. ...

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on May 15, 2020

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After a long run of rising spending, it’s time to tighten, Minnesota

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

The ever-upward march of government spending ought to be halted. We couldn’t afford in the fat years, and we can’t afford in the lean ones....

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on April 06, 2020

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What does the Coronavirus mean for Minnesota’s state finances?

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

In the space of a few weeks, Minnesota's fiscal question has been flipped on its head: from 'How do we deal with a forecast surplus?' to 'How do we deal with a potential deficit?'...

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on March 26, 2020

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How should economic policy respond to the coronavirus shutdown?

Written by John Phelan

in Budget

The government is putting large swathes of the economy into 'sleep mode' to fight the Coronavirus. Here is what we need to do to make sure there is an economy left to turn on when we get the all clear. ...

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