Check Out Tim Walz’s Record on Fiscal Restraint

Author

Bubba
17 Oct

A new Cato Institute report ranks Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz dead last among American governors on the issue of responsible spending and budgeting. (Fox Business)

Cato’s 2024 Fiscal Policy Report Card: Since he was elected Minnesota governor in 2018, Walz has “overseen substantial spending increases and pushed many tax hikes,” according to Cato.

  • 2019: He proposed $2 billion in new spending, with a $1.3 billion tax increase, but compromised to a $330 million annual tax hike.

  • 2021: Walz pushed for more tax increases, including a new 10.85% income tax rate (above the current 9.85%), a surtax on capital gains and dividend and bumping the corporate tax rate from 9.8% to 11.25%. (All three proposals were rejected by Minnesota’s legislature.)

  • 2023: Walz implemented new tax hikes on businesses and high earners, while dishing out $1 billion in low-income credits and rebates.

  • Also in 2023: Walz signed HF 2887, which raised transportation taxes, vehicle registration taxes and sales taxes in the Twin Cities.

  • 2024: The state’s wage tax for paid family leave increased to 0.88% this year, up from 0.7%.

Zoom out: Minnesota’s general fund budget increased by 36% from 2022-23 to 2024-25, rising from $51.9 billion to $70.5 billion.

Contrast: Compare Walz’s record to that of Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds, who received an “A” rating from the Cato Institute.

  • Iowa's general fund spending has increased by just 2.3% per year since Reynolds became governor in 2017.

  • Reynolds streamlined the state’s individual income tax system, which went from a nine-bracket system with a top rate of 8.98% to a flat 3.8% tax.

  • Under Reynolds, Iowa’s corporate tax rate went from 9.8% to 5.5%.

Bubba’s Two Cents

To be fair, fiscal restraint isn’t a word you’d use to describe either ticket. Kamala Harris says she’ll pay for her expensive economic agenda via tax hikes, but to make this happen she’ll almost certainly need Democrats to do the unlikely and control all three chambers of Congress. But Donald Trump’s agenda is similarly pricy, and, like Harris, it’s not clear his plan to fund it is all that realistic (most economists are extremely skeptical of his claim that tariffs will do the job).