Chris Bray writes for the Federalist about lessons to be learned from Minnesota’s recent taxpayer spending scandal.
By now, I assume most readers here have seen the magnificent work of the independent journalist Nick Shirley in Minnesota, showing widespread Somali fraud in government-funded programs by simply walking up to the front doors of daycare centers and healthcare organizations and inquiring about their services.
Daycare centers with millions of dollars in government funding and no children inside, and neighbors who say they’ve never seen children going in or coming out. This is a slam dunk, and I couldn’t possibly love it any more. …
… As government does more and spends more, government does less. Explosive budget growth leads to declining effectiveness and quality. Low-tax red states pave the roads. High-tax blue states slop cash around to friends. Progressive elected officials view the task of governance as a series of costumed performances.
They’re not trying to run anything. They intend to make faces for the camera and steer money to their friends, the end. Poor infrastructure and “license inspections” that endlessly note “violations” without consequence are — I’m sorry, what was I saying?
I know all of this in my bones, ladies and gentlemen, because I live in California. The California state auditor, screaming in the wilderness, released a long report this month on state programs that have been operated with a high degree of financial risk, without serious efforts to address the risks. …
… Money is spent. People receive the money. And then … uh … wait, are you saying you actually expected to find childcare at this childcare center?
Blue Zone political culture is empty. There’s nothing in it. They don’t make anything, they don’t do anything, they aren’t trying to do anything. They’re trying to virtue signal and give money away to their friends, the only successes they seek. You can see the results everywhere.
