Let Freedom Ring Blog

It isn’t likely that you’ll hear Denise Specht criticize Jeff Johnson’s plan to audit every government agency, though you might hear Specht rail against teacher testing. Scott Leitz isn’t publicly complaining about Jim Noble’s audit of MNsure but that’s mostly because whining about it won’t sit well with the public.

MNsure is a mismanagement disaster. The website doesn’t work. The vast majority of health insurance renewals through MNsure will be processed manually. Most importantly, MNsure is costing Minnesota’s taxpayers untold millions of dollars by putting children on Medicaid whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid. There’s even proof that the Minnesota Department of Human Services knew about this but didn’t fix the problem.

The Department of Human Services also isn’t doing oversight on the nonprofits it’s giving grants to. That’s why Community Action Partnership of Minneapolis shut its doors. It didn’t help that politicians like Jeff Hayden and Keith Ellison didn’t pay attention to how Community Action was misspending tens of thousands of dollars on cruises, spa treatments and weekend getaways.

The last thing a bureaucrat wants is accountability from his or her supervisor. They just prefer getting their agency’s budget increased each year without being audited. That’s why they fought hard against creating King Banaian’s Sunset Advisory Commission.

Jeff Johnson is a bureaucrat’s worst nightmare. He’s actually highlighted governments when they foolishly spend the taxpayers’ money. Football fans know that offensive linemen don’t get noticed until they commit a penalty or until the man they’re supposed to block hits the quarterback. The principle is the same for bureaucrats. They aren’t noticed until they’re caught in a scandal.

Jeff Johnson isn’t opposed to government. He’s part of it. He’s just opposed to government that opposes accountability. He’s opposed to that type of government thinking because it bothers him when the taxpayers’ money isn’t spent wisely.

Like most DFL politicians, Gov. Dayton doesn’t pay attention to how money is spent. When Jeff Johnson first said that government agencies should be audited, Gov. Dayton criticized Commissioner Johnson for essentially stereotyping people who receive government assistance. When KSTP discovered that Community Action Partnership of Minneapolis was spending money on cruises, spa treatments and weekend getaways, Gov. Dayton’s tune changed instantly and dramatically.

I don’t want a governor who specializes in cleaning up messes after the fact. I’d prefer a governor that puts policies in place that prevent messes from being created in the first place.

Technorati: Bureaucrats, Community Action Partnership of Minneapolis, Bonus Payments, Spa Treatments, Weekend Getaways, Keith Ellison, Jeff Hayden, Oversight, Mark Dayton, Scott Leitz, MNsure, Medicaid, DFL, Jeff Johnson, Audits, Accountability, Taxpayers’ Watchdog, MNGOP, Election 2014

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