To the Editor,

The Governor recently released his budget proposal for 2026-27, and it falls short in every way. His proposal includes tax increases, funding increases for certain government agencies, decreases for others, and a whole lot of unknowns. Overall, it’s a bad deal. 

I want to remind folks of the state of our state and its budget. A few years ago, we had a historic $19 billion surplus—the likes of which we had never seen before. Now, just a few years later, that money is all but spent, and we are looking ahead to a deficit totaling over $5 billion. In the process of spending through the surplus, Democrats grew the government by 40 percent. That is an irresponsible way to govern and it is totally out-of-line with what Minnesotans expect from us. 

Being that we are barreling towards a deficit, now is the time to get our budget in order and govern responsibly. Yet Governor Walz has put forward a budget proposal that fails to get to the root of the problem. One glaring issue with Governor Walz’s proposal is that he suggests slowing spending on things like disability and long-term care services, and increasing spending in other areas like Judiciary. Now both of these areas are incredibly important, but he’s talking about cutting funding in the area that serves the most vulnerable folks in our state. 

Another issue I have is that a whole host of benefits were opened up to illegal immigrants. We know of Drivers Licenses for All, MinnCare, and free college. None of these things are being cut, but services for the disabled and elderly are. That’s problematic. This sends the message that illegal citizens rate better than legal citizens. These programs have no guardrails or oversight in place and they are busting our bank, yet they are not taking cuts. The priorities are completely backwards. 

Our Governor has also tried to claim this plan as being a “tax cut,” yet that is just not the case. The reduction in sales tax is so minimal, it equates to 7.5 cents out of every $100. How is that tangible relief for anyone? Don’t spend it all in one place, folks! Not to mention, he also proposes adding a sales tax on certain services. In no world does this plan provide relief nor is it a “tax cut.” Make no mistake, the cost of goods and services will increase under this plan. 

To make matters even worse, he was asked if the spending in 2023-24 biennium contributed to the massive deficit—the obvious answer is yes. Yet our Governor and Lt. Governor both claimed that the out-of-control spending was not to blame, but the explosion in costs related long-term care services, special needs, and special education services. They are blaming our most vulnerable populations for their inability to properly budget and govern. 

Here’s the bottom line: when you grow government by 40 percent and spend through an entire historic surplus, there are consequences. The over-$5 billion deficit is proof of that. Minnesotans should not be left footing the bill for budgetary mismanagement. 

We have to put Minnesotans first. Families want relief in their bank accounts and accountability from their government officials. Unfortunately, it is glaringly obvious that the governor’s budget proposal falls short in both areas, and his plan is nothing but a bad news budget proposal.

Senator Paul Utke, 

Park Rapids, Minn.