Minnesotans see government spending more and more while outcomes continue to decline. As the economic environment continues to get worse, the more money state and local officials tell us they need — many times to do functions and that are beyond the scope of their authority. Whatever the problem, government, some officials believe, is the solution, and sooner or later government will come up with the right answer. Just trust it. That is a commitment to bigger government, not a commitment to a better Minnesota.
Commitment to a better Minnesota is focusing state government on its constitutional obligations, jobs given it by the people and that the people expect state government to perform well. It is holding state government accountable to its constitutional obligations and leaving local governments free to provide essential services to their communities as they think best without undue mandates from state government.
Underlying both state and local government actions are the ideas of individual liberty and government that is limited in scope, acts smartly and is transparent in its exercise of power. State and local officials should operate from a presumption of individual liberty. That means that for any piece of state legislation or local government regulation, the burden of proof falls on the government officials to justify how the proposed law increases individual liberty or ensures that the legislation will not impinge on existing liberties. If a compelling government interest requires limiting individual liberties, the burden of proof falls on the elected officials to find the least restrictive means of meeting the state interest.
Belief in “constitutionally limited government” and “essential services” is not comparable to a motivational poster cosmetically tacked up in the State Auditor’s office. Those ideas are the basis of an active State Auditor’s agenda. Individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government meeting its obligation to provide “essential services” is not just an ideological faith; it is a strategy that produces the greatest good for the greatest number and a state of prosperous and diverse communities.
