By: Mark Glennon*
If you read this “goodbye column from the StarTribune, you might think it’s just another of similar ones we’ve seen by Illinoisans. But it’s about Minnesota, written by a native of the state and prominent founder of a public company named Howard Root.
“What used to be Minnesota Nice has become Minnesota Nuts, and I’m out,” he wrote.
Root’s column is far from one man’s opinion. The numbers increasingly show he is not alone. Last year’s election and the most recent legislative session locked Minnesota into the radical progressivism now popular in much of America, just as Illinois has done over a longer stretch of years. The impact on the Midwest may be significant, altering interstate migration of people and employers, and matching Illinois as a top choice for residents who prefer one-party dominance that will be difficult to change.
Sure, Minnesota has long been solidly liberal, but it was tempered by some degree of business friendliness and practicality. Its economy generally performed well in recent decades and its population increased a healthy 7.6% from 2010 to 2020. It even elected a Republican governor for two terms, Tim Pawlenty, who served until 2011.
That meant it had some catching up to do with today’s far left. And catch up it did. Fast. So did the consequences.
In last year’s elections, progressives captured all three branches of government and immediately proceeded with measures to lock in their control. They passed automatic voter registry, expanded early registration for minors and allowed felons to vote. They raised the legal requirement for major party status to assure no challenges from what Minnesotan’s call “marijuana” third parties. All high schools must now provide an ethnic studies course to indoctrinate progressive views on race, gender, class, sexuality, religion and legal status.
“So add it up,” a Minnesota political scientist wrote. “The DFL [Minnesota Democrats] and governor have expanded the electorate to their likely advantage, created a new curricular and preregistration pipeline for shaping young DFL voters, and crushed those troublesome marijuana parties.”
That should all sound familiar to Illinoisans, aside from the marijuana thing. Much of the progressive election success in Minnesota can be attributed to campaign lies, as described here in Townhall, which also should sound familiar to Illinoisans.
With their new control over state government, Minnesota progressives rapidly passed a range of the far left’s favorite programs, again much like those Illinois passed in recent years.
They increased taxes and spending on progressive projects like healthcare for illegal immigrants. They barred compliance with out-of-state requests regarding transgender minors, allowing the state to overrule the parent. They forced non-profits to cater to gender identity and even tried to remove anti-pedophile language from Minnesota’s Human Rights Act. Columbus Day is now Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Juneteenth an official holiday. They made abortion a “fundamental right,” provided taxpayer funding for it, repealed protections for babies who survive abortion and defunded pregnancy centers that promote alternative options for women. They created a “hate speech database” that no doubt will be used against anybody questioning progressive dogma. They increased taxes while increasing spending on an array of progressive projects, including free college tuition for any family making less than $80,000.
Rampant crime in the Twin Cities and bad public schools had already been extreme problems, both of which Root focused on in his letter.
Importantly, on the deterioration of its public schools, Minnesota was way ahead of Illinois and should have been a warning. An exceptionally good City Journal column five years ago described the consequences for schools in St. Paul, Minnesota when it began implementing, way back in 2012, what we would now call “woke” education. “Obsessed with ‘racial equity,’ St. Paul schools abandoned discipline—and unleashed mayhem,” the column says, titled “No Thug Left Behind.”
Nobody heeded that warning.
The consequences:
The results are already playing out, and they are similar to what’s been happening in Illinois, though more recent.
Minnesota’s growth is over. It’s now losing population and the rate of loss is quickening, as detailed in American Experiment. It lost over $1.5 billion of adjusted gross income because of taxpayers leaving, the ninth worst in the nation, according to the most recent year of taxpayer migration numbers reported by the IRS. Outbound moves exceed inbound moves according to the United Van Lines most recent report. It was the thirteenth worst state for net number of businesses moving out of state, as recently reported by the Census Bureau.
It’s safe to expect Wisconsin to begin poaching Minnesota businesses as successfully as it has in Illinois. The Wisconsin-Minnesota border has long been a battle line in that fight much like the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
While Scott Walker was Wisconsin governor several years ago, he told me how easy it was for his economic development folks to steal Illinois businesses. They’d just look for companies in Northern Illinois with leases coming up for renewal, then contact those businesses and lay out the advantages of moving. Southeastern Minnesota is full of businesses ripe for picking. The Wisconsin border is only 30 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul.
In the longer run, and perhaps most importantly, the extreme shift leftward along with locked-in one-party status means Minnesota will play a larger role in the great national reshuffling caused by political migration that we’ve written about earlier.
A stunning 7.1% of registered voters say they plan to move within the next year to a region aligned more closely with their beliefs, according to a recent Trafalgar survey we’ve discussed. In other words, the reshuffling of where people live for political reasons far exceeds the net migration numbers. Red states are getting redder and blue states bluer. Minnesota is an example and the process will accelerate.
“Good riddance,” Illinois progressives often say to fleeing centrists and conservatives, and “welcome” to progressives. Illinois now has stronger competition in the region for that kind of thinking.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Though Minnesota has more ethnic Germans than Swedes, Minnesota has (in my lifetime) always been known for Swedish American and J American Liberal politics – same as Sweden in the 1970s ABBA Sweden: – favoring high taxes, very generous welfare state – Pushing Lib Leftist, United Nations causes lots of good looking Swedish woman mouthing ridiculous utopian Lib Leftist politics like Greta Thunburg – some blonde ex model trophy wife married to a Black African American UN Consular General Kofi Annan mouthing off Lib Leftist nonsense about “The Sandinistas”, “The ANC African National Congress” , “Institutional racism, Neo Colonialism, blah… Read more »
Missouri often poaches Illinois businesses in much the same way that Wisconsin does. This is especially true in the St, Louis bi-state area.
For example, Save-a-Lot was founded in Cahokia (now called Cahokia Heights), but is now headquartered in Saint Ann, MO in St. Louis County.
Landshire was once headquartered in Belleville, but is now headquartered in the Laclede’s Landing area of downtown St. Louis.
Deli Star was headquartered in Fayetteville, but relocated to St. Louis after their Fayetteville plant was destroyed by fire.
The paradox of Illinois is that it’s one of the most geographically conservative states in the Union according to this 2020 presidential election map from the New York Times broken down by precinct, but it has a woke, far left government due to liberal bastion of Chicago. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/upshot/2020-election-map.html Illinois is even substantially more geographically conservative than Mississippi. Illinois is a geographically conservative state that is governed as a 400-mile-long vassal of liberal Chicago. This is not how our representative constitutional republic is supposed to work. Splitting liberal Chicago from the rest of Illinois is the only way to give a… Read more »
States have to agree to have their boundaries change. That will not happen. It only happened once when Massachusetts let Maine become a state. The Virginia / West Virginia thing was a product of the Civil War and in some ways is dubious. (Texas, Nevada, Missouri had their boundaries altered into territories).
Also congress has to agree and that will not happen ever.
Minnesota’s Norwegian population is only 6 percent. Yet it’s responsible for 52% of Aggravated Assaults and 76% of Homicide Offenders.
Uh..
I was the general manager of a large dance nightclub located at Hennepin and Lake in UpTown in the Mid 80’s. Our investors owned other clubs – blues and comedy – in other parts of central Minneapolis. By that time I’d been managing nightclubs for 10 or 12 years and was getting tired of what that work involved. Nonetheless, Minneapolis then was one of the nicest places I’ve worked and lived in, even if I was tired of being good at something I didn’t enjoy doing. Uptown was great. I could afford a nice apartment there, 10 minute drive to… Read more »
Glam Slam and Prince and Morris Day…
Many American cities have these neighborhoods. “Hopeless Intergenerational Poverty” is another real fallacy. Mexicans and many Central Americans seem to find work and then send billions home in repatriations which helps support their extended family back home. Not buying it because I work my $#@ off for every nickel. Same excuses and same repeat cycle. Zero values and zero emphasis on the important things. Our culture wants us to feel sorry for Jacob Blake? Most of us know the real story. Most Midwestern people have seen this in their cities for years. The way they destroy each other every night… Read more »
Thank you SadStateofAffairs
I agree with your observations about Jacob Blake (That was Kenosha WI if I recall right. Saint (not) George Floyd was Minneapolis.
Minnesota started going bad when the Clinton administration thought it’d be a good idea to import Somailians….
And importing George Floyd wasn’t a good idea either!
Floyd was there because of the generous welfare benefits. There was a long line all the way back to Houston of welfare immigrants headed to Minneapolis.
IIRC, but scrubbed from the internet now, Floyd was absconding Texas after getting out of prison to avoid paying his back child support obligations. He had multiple children – young ones too – and he was not in their life at all. He wasn’t trying to start a new life as much as he was trying to avoid paying his newest baby momma the money he owed her for raising his children. As was Jacob Blake (shot by police in Kenosha). At 2 minute search of free Kenosha County and Cook County court records show he was moving back and… Read more »
A major difference between Illinois and Minnesota: Minnesota is solvent.
Both states are solidly blue, but Illinois is in a deep hole; MN is not.
Right, Pat. In fact, MN had a twenty-some billion surplus. The new legislature did decide to blow most of it on new spending, however.
I think Minnesota has 2-year budgets, so I think that surplus is spread over 2 years. And I’m pretty sure it’s a one-time thing and they’re not expecting to keep the same level of spending next budget cycle.
Minnesota has a progressive income tax that ranges from 5.35% to 9.85%. They also tax retirement income. If people want Illinois in better fiscal shape then they will need to get on board with raising taxes.
Both states are solidly blue but the voters in Illinois let the politicians promise all the benefits without demanding they raise taxes to match.
“If people want Illinois in better fiscal shape then they will need to get on board with raising taxes.”
Sure, our tax dollars are being spent so wisely now, let’s give them more. Always the first reaction by a progressive . . .
I am not sure PPF is a progressive. He understands many of Illinois’ problems. He just wants the pensions paid
I don’t recall PPF banging the drum for spending efficiency, sunsetting agencies or reducing bloated government payrolls. Just raise taxes to fund pensions. Thus, a progressive . . .
You are correct that I’m not a progressive. I support much more limited government as well as corresponding spending. I’m also a supporter of our constitutional rules that we all choose to live by. It’s what makes our country so great. However, if our government is going to enter into contracts and force its employees to join the pension plan then it must honor its contract. With that said, my reasoning for supporting more money going to pension funding is because if we don’t pay more now we will end up paying much more later. Too many people think that… Read more »
It’s a yet another cautionary tale about two states with two big economic engines (Chicago and Twin Cities) that are completely and totally mismanaged on a daily basis where it’s beyond pathetic. There are definitely similarities. Driving outside the cities is rural Midwest and more conservative. People are kind, church on Sunday, everyone knows everyone, basically middle America at it’s finest right down to it’s agricultural roots. The cities are hollowing out because politicians have destroyed any normal sense of law and order. Crime connections from Chicago gangs are very deep and the well known benefits of Twin Cities welfare… Read more »
I read somewhere that the Democrats in the Minnesota legislature have a one vote majority and took a pledge to do as much damage as possible in their two years, because they expect such a backlash against them, they might not govern again for another generation.
The progressives hate you, deplorable. They’d put you in camps if they could, just like every ‘progressive’ has done to their internal political enemies, including the Soviets, the Maoists, the Khmer Rouge, Castro, the North Koreans. It’s always the same. Their politics are wildly unpopular, so they kill to those who dissent.
No it won’t happen. It takes a monumental event to change things for a generation, like the Great Depression. Remember the Republican wave of 2022? Lots or predictions almost all of then wrong.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/why-are-minnesota-democrats-so-progressive.html Why Are Minnesota Democrats So Progressive? (3) The party knew that you (might) only govern once. All this said, heightened suburban support and a budget surplus would have counted for little if Democrats had lacked the will to wield power aggressively. Passing Walz’s agenda still required lawmakers who had just barely won in GOP-friendly areas to get behind an agenda that their own party dubbed “transformational” (lawmakers worried about retaining swing voters’ support generally do not wish to be seen as “transforming” their state). But the party’s leadership managed to cultivate a “you (might) only govern once” ethos, which… Read more »
The best thing about a leftist is that they suffer from the misery they create. Failing government, high crime, bad schools, business leaving, and the resulting crashing population means less tax money — for the programs that fund a leftist’s parasitic existence.
Illinois has lost its shimmer now that Minnesota is the new darling of the progressive left. Pritzker and Walz should hold a summit. It looks like each of them could share ideas on their race to the bottom. Pritzker could educate Walz on how to create massive annual deficits and empty the rainy day bucket. Walz could teach Pritzker how to further embolden the riot and loot class. There is a lot to share, boys.
Chicago is a lost cause, no amount of fixing will work. I am leaving on Monday, little time left before Chubsi Wobsie get his fat hands on
More revenue from DuPage county.
I will NOT look back at a reducing picture of
The cesspool that this area has become.
It is a time-honored successful algorithm for manipulation of ‘useful idiots’ to garner personal riches for privileged insiders at the expense of the entire population: Convince many to vote into power based upon “YOU are ENTITLED”. Destroy all property values through corrupt taxation, engendering circumstances in which those(non-subsidized-via-corruption) who are able and willing to provide ‘entitlements’ (medical, food production, skilled manufacturing) are driven to flee for their lives. Declare victory: ‘The Enemy’ (conservatives, whites, blacks, illegal aliens, gangs, those-who-oppose-gangs, Christians, Muslims, doesn’t matter, whatever) has been vanquished!! Property values crash to the bottom as nobody non-corrupt can afford to be… Read more »
There is something I like to call the “Minnesota Myth”: First, Minnesotans spends around 25% less per pupil on K-12 education than Illinoisans. Assuming we keep the IL tax base constant, that’s billions of dollars more the state could pour into social services, higher ed, or pension debt. In other words, MN gets much more bang for their tax buck than IL. Second, MN is not hospitable to African Americans and Hispanics. It consistently ranks near the bottom in equity/equality in the USA. It might be one of the few states where Asians comprise nearly the same % of the… Read more »
Speaking to your last point, absolutely Illinois liberals were gunning for this, though maybe not those who are actually retirees. Not once, but twice JB agitated for the “Fair Tax” which though not explicit, certainly allowed for the option of taxing Social Security and other retirement income presently not taxed in Illinois. After all, you can’t be a good “Progressive” without ever increasing streams of revenue to fund ones save the world ideology.
Minnesota may be perceived as “inhospitable” to African-Americans at broadbrush stroke, due to its differing social outcomes between its highly-educated white and its low-income urban Black populations. But to do so, you’re ignoring income levels of clearly-differentiated social classes. If a Black household consists of a single-parent with perhaps a HS diploma, then yes, that household is less likely to have “equitable outcome” compared to a college-educated two-parent Black or white household. Furthermore, Minnesota’s “big city” Minneapolis-Saint Paul progressive municipal governance, and its Democratic-controlled state legislature, bend over backwards to continually excuse and unfailingly accommodate anti-social behaviors of Black underclass… Read more »
Note last week’s horrific car accident in Minneapolis, where local Black politician’s son, inexplicably released 7 years early from his 8-year California “DUI/bodily harm” prison-term, struck another car at 100 mph at city-street intersection, t-boning other car, killing five women. Politician was BLM activist, extremely visible during Floyd protests, who loudly proclaimed “racism” every time his lawbreaking adult kids get arrested for obvious crimes. His son, fleeing police last week at time of accident, had $10,000 + 14lbs dope, oddly in Minnesota. He fled accident scene on foot, soon after arrest elsewhere.
Outcry? Crickets.
Maybe he’s in tight with the Big Guy.
apprehended at a Taco Bell- not a joke
To mention horrific crimes committed by repeat black offenders is hateful and racist. Black crime, for the most part, is to be tolerated, excused as reparations and being underserved and ignored. Do otherwise at your own folly.
Black and brown voters have made it clear – overwhelmingly, in many, many jurisdictions throughout the county – they are willing to tolerate high crime rates and reduced punishment for criminals. All throughout cook county, the townships with the highest crime voted the most overwhelmingly for Kim Foxx. It’s like this is every blue county in America. The progressives are in charge now, deplorable, and they’re going to make you live in their world. It’s difficult to accept this fact because common sense dictates low crime is ‘good’ and high crime is ‘bad’; and that most voters say they want… Read more »