Minnesota has received more attention than it wanted over the last few months. Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson has been holding regular news conferences to keep the public apprised of the mounting fraud. It should be noted that his office is still populated largely with holdovers from the Biden administration, claims of Republican lawfare notwithstanding.
At last week's press briefing, there were two jaw-dropping announcements. First, extrapolating from the evidence already developed, the total amount of fraud perpetrated against taxpayers could exceed $9 Billion. And second, it became so easy to steal from the state that Minnesota was creating what was described as “fraud tourism.” Tourists have long been welcomed to Minnesota to hunt, fish and enjoy the 10,000 lakes. Now they've been invited to set up fraudulent businesses and bag big bucks.
Some obvious questions. How could this happen? And who knew what and when? Finally, why wasn’t more done to prevent and stop this fraud?
These questions are finally being asked. No thanks to the Leftist Minneapolis StarTribune (now managed by a former Walz appointee). Not surprisingly, they have largely avoided calls for accountability. With their help, the Governor and the Attorney General may be able to obfuscate just enough to survive politically. That remains to be seen.
But the entire ugly episode raises deeper questions. Minnesota's political elites have been eating the seed corn for many years. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) hasn't built a new plant in the state for 50 years. Minnesota was once considered a cradle for computer technology. IBM had a huge plant. They and Cray Research were among the first to build supercomputers…in Minnesota. Sperry was a pioneer in what was then known as machine learning, now known as AI. Another company, Control Data, was once a powerhouse in the mainframe computer space. No more. Collectively, they took with them thousands of good-paying jobs.
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According to IRS data collected by The Center for the American Experiment, thousands of wealthy Minnesotans (entrepreneurs and job creators) have left the state. They left for warmer winters and cooler tax climates.
Maybe higher taxes to pay for the ballooning welfare state do have consequences?
Our friends on the Left dispute the fact that Minnesota has been exporting wealth, but the metrics are there for all to see.
Minnesota's educational system was once the envy of most states. Today, it has one of the nation’s worst achievement gaps for minority students. According to nationalized testing, Mississippi is pulling ahead of Minnesota in reading scores. Despite dramatic increases in spending, Minnesota students are being cheated, especially those who really need a good education. Of course, they do get free breakfasts and tampons in the boys’ bathrooms.
Politicos point to the fact that Minnesota’s population is stable. But the people leaving tend to be well-paid, technical, managerial and entrepreneurial, taking wealth and good jobs with them. The ones coming in are largely unskilled individuals from cultures that don't mix well with hard-working, native Minnesotans. Those people who actually created the wealth and the quality of life that was once Minnesota.
Spare us the racist chant. It's really about culture. When you trade those who pulled the wagon for those who ride in the wagon, you shouldn't be surprised that the wagon slows down. Now, Minnesota is in a rut. An overwhelming majority of the refugees from East Africa (who have been here for more than a decade) remain corralled in the generous Minnesota welfare state. They still lack marketable job skills and aren’t proficient in English.
Uncomfortable as it may be to ask, what is Somalia best known for? The deaths of brave Americans in Mogadishu? Corruption? Many might say…pirates. In retrospect, co-mingling a weak, look-the-other-way government with a clan best known for corruption and piracy, the resulting mountain of fraud was inevitable.
When President George W. Bush opened the floodgates for refugees from the third world, he thought they would be appreciative and assimilate. He was wrong. Somali professor, Dr. Ahmed Samatar, pointed out recently that many refugees were raised in a culture where stealing from corrupt government was widespread.
There is now a growing chance for a Republican resurgence in Minnesota. All of this fraud and cover-up could open the door for a GOP sweep. Will they have the courage to carefully examine the tragic consequences of the state’s high taxes, spending and overly generous paternalism?
Exporting wealth while importing pirates cannot go on much longer.
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