A top Minnesota Republican is criticizing Gov. Tim Walz for crushing the state’s economy.
Walz, who was recently tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, made repeated mistakes while working as governor trying to restore the state’s economy after the COVID pandemic, the House Republican leader charged.
The North Star State has some of the highest tax rates in the country and Walz raised them even higher, putting the “state on a path to economic disaster,” House Republican Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘Tim Walz doesn’t have a shred of budget knowledge. He doesn’t understand how business works. He’s a school teacher, which is fine, but he’s never run anything in his life, and that shows when he becomes the chief executive of the state of Minnesota.’
“This is just Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt,” Emmer joked of Walz’s similarity to the liberal California governor.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has wiped out the state’s budget surplus and raised taxes on residents, House Republican Leader Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com. His leadership has put the “state on a path to economic disaster,” Emmer said.
‘Last year alone, he squandered a $17.5 billion surplus and then added $8 billion in new taxes and fees on the backs of Minnesotans, working Minnesotans.’
“Minnesota has one of the worst tax climates for businesses in the country,” Emmer added. “We’re now ranked 44th out of 50 states, and frankly, people are leaving the state in droves because of its high tax policies.”
Emmer seemed to be referring to an analysis conducted by Tax Foundation which found Minnesota ranks among the worst states in the country for business taxes.
Beyond taxes and budgets, federal economic data does not paint an entirely rosy picture for the northern state’s economy.
Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show Minnesota has lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to growth under Walz’s leadership.
Since he took office, Minnesota’s economy has grown just 6.2 percent compared to the U.S. average of 11.5 percent, meaning the state’s economy has grown about half as fast as the rest of the United States.
House Republican Leader Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told DailyMail.com that Governor Tim Walz has damaged the state’s economy and that his economic agenda for Minnesota, if applied nationwide, would hamper U.S. growth.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz provides an update on the state’s next steps in responding to COVID-19 during a news conference Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Emmer said Walz’s leadership during the pandemic was
Walz’s leadership in Minnesota has also meant much slower job growth compared to the national average.
From January 2019 to June 2024, the United States experienced a 5.8 percent increase in job growth, compared to Minnesota, which only increased employment by 0.5 percent over the same period.
However, the economy was not all bad under Walz’s government.
A good indicator for Walz is the state’s unemployment rate, which has been consistently lower than the national average.
As of June 2024, Minnesota’s unemployment rate was about 30 percent lower than the national level, hovering at 2.9 percent compared to the U.S. average of 4.1 percent.
Inflation in the state was also more moderate than in the rest of the country, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The state’s inflation rate currently stands at 2.6 percent, compared to the U.S. average of 3.3 percent.