Cutting the Waste and Putting Minnesotans First
by Senator Jason Rarick

Ever since news was released of a looming $6 billion deficit, we’ve been hearing from folks across the state who are gravely concerned with the state of our budget. They are concerned with proposed tax shifts, which would lead to higher property taxes for many, and they’re concerned with potential decreases in services. Many remember that just a few short years ago, we had an $18 billion surplus, and now it’s gone in record time. This is an alarming place for our budget to be. Minnesotans know that we need to make budget cuts, but they expect us to cut the fluff in a way that does not disrupt services many have come to rely on and expect. As legislators, it’s our duty to take a hard look at the budget to see what we can change to make things better.

Senate Republicans have looked at our spending, and in just a few short weeks, we were able to find over $600 million in waste that, in my opinion, could be easily cut in an effort to save our budget.

The first main area of waste is transportation spending. We all have seen the countless millions that have been dropped into light rail and rail transit projects. But we’ve also seen many of these projects going far over budget and over the original estimated timelines – this has led to many of the projects being far more expensive to build and maintain. One example many in our area are familiar with is the Northern Lights Express. It might be a good idea in theory, but the cost of the project is $194.5 million. This doesn’t even include federal funding that would have been required to complete the project, so we could realistically save funding in multiple areas. We could save state and federal dollars with this one. And considering the project has already faced ongoing questions regarding feasibility, ridership, and longevity, this price tag doesn’t make sense. Another expensive project is the NorthStar Rail, which is now being cancelled – that was running our state about $22 million per biennium, with much of the ticket sales being subsidized by the state. Not to mention projects like Reconnect Rondo, which would have cost the state millions, if not billions, and the Blue Line Extension – both projects ran far over-budget. These projects have been proven to be inefficient. By ending their funding, we could be saving taxpayers at least $250 million.

We are also putting a lot of funding into programs that are going to non-citizens, rather than legal Minnesotans. The first one that comes to mind is the controversial extension of MNCare for undocumented non-citizens, which runs about $220 million. In a time when Governor Walz is proposing cuts to nursing homes, it’s hard to believe we are also extending MNCare to those here illegally. Another controversial measure was extending the North Star Promise to undocumented students. This is a great program meant to make college more viable for Minnesota families, yet the funding is going to those here illegally. Democrat legislation also provided tax credits to non-citizens, allowing them to use ITINs instead of Social Security Numbers. These are programs that should benefit the hard-working families in our state here legally, yet others are reaping the benefits. In reassessing these programs alone, we could save around $378 million.

The final portion of our overall proposal was a series of good government initiatives that would prevent budget mismanagement from happening in the future. Some of these measures include financial disclosure by legislators, restrictions preventing state grants from going to nonprofits where employees receive excessive compensation, and a mandated report on unused office space to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Another key part of our plan would be implementing a zero-based budgeting process, which would take place every 10 years to ensure all state spending is justified and evaluated for its necessity and effectiveness.

Again, this plan was put together in a matter of weeks. Imagine how much more we could save if we really took the time to dig into the various areas of potential waste, and even the fraud, plaguing our state. This is something Minnesotans are asking for. They hear about the $6 billion deficit, and they fear that is going to mean higher taxes for them down the line. We should not force Minnesota families to foot the bill for government mismanagement. The deficit is on our doorstep, and it’s imperative that we fix our budget, prioritize the needs of families, and cut the waste before it’s too late.