Rick Moran of PJMedia.com ponders Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s use of federal COVID relief funds.
How about a governor spending $4.3 million to cover parking costs for state employees “and visitors”? Or $1 million on a feasibility study for paid family leave? And another million dollars for a gun safety ad campaign?
Some of this spending may have been justifiable as long as the cash came from the state’s general budget. But using COVID-19 relief funds like this violates the spirit of the law. Not that it matters to anyone in Congress.
Many of us predicted this misuse of COVID relief funds. It was a no-brainer. Billions of dollars are available to politicians with very loose strings and literally no one watching. …
… Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) spent money using pandemic relief funds that could have easily come from the state’s general budget. It’s not a crime. But don’t you think it gives us an idea of what kind of a politician he is?
Reason.com:
A few of the biggest line items should also get more scrutiny, though there is limited information available on the Treasury’s site. For example, the state distributed more than $11 million to the Minnesota Zoo and nearly $3.8 million to the Science Museum of Minnesota to cover operating and maintenance costs. In some ways, that is connected to the pandemic: Fear of the disease and government social distancing mandates certainly harmed museums and zoos. The same could be said of the $237,000 line item for a “movie theater relief grant program.”
But Walz should be asked why he believes federal taxpayers—who may not live in Minnesota or ever visit the state—should be on the hook to pay for that. …
… Walz wasn’t alone, of course. Governors cast about desperately for ways to spend the windfall. But the criticism Reason’s Eric Boem offered rings true.
“Walz should be asked why he believes federal taxpayers—who may not live in Minnesota or ever visit the state—should be on the hook to pay for that.”
