Kamala Harris’ VP pick: What to know about Tim Walz’s economic track record

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s economic track record is under the microscope following Vice President Harris’ decision Tuesday to select Walz as her running mate on the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket.

Walz, 60, is in his second term as governor of Minnesota after representing the state’s 1st congressional district for 12 years. Before entering politics, Walz worked in construction, manufacturing and as a mortgage loan officer and became a teacher while also serving in the Army National Guard until 2005.

With nearly two decades in high-level elected office, Walz has a long track record on economic issues that is largely in line with mainstream Democrats, including those in Minnesota’s exclusive Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, to which the governor belongs.

Here’s a look at Walz’s track record in several key areas of economic policy now that Harris has been nominated for Vice President:

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Taxes and expenses

While in Congress, Walz supported the The Obama administration’s stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

He also voted against the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), under which the federal government bailed out financial institutions by purchasing toxic assets, as well as a program that provided federal loans to bail out automakers.

As governor, Walz’s latest budget proposal for 2024-25 would total $65.2 billion, the largest state budget in state history, including $8 billion in tax cuts, according to the Minnesota Reformer . The plan would spend most of the state’s $17.6 billion surplus through spending and reimbursement checks to Minnesotans.

The proposal has faced criticism from Republicans in the state. Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth noted that the spending increase comes as the state has a “record surplus” of $17.6 billion and is calling for permanent tax cuts.

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The nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index, released in October 2023, ranked Minnesota as having the 44th best business tax climate in the country.

An analysis released in January by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Minnesota’s tax code was the most progressive of all 50 states, with only the District of Columbia having a more progressive tax code.

Walz’s latest budget proposal for the 2024-25 budget cycle calls for an increase in the capital gains tax and a reduction in the state tax on Social Security benefits for low-income beneficiaries, while keeping it in place for low-income families. higher income.

The Minnesota Post reported that when he campaigned for re-election in 2022, Walz supported a bipartisan agreement reached by the state legislature to completely eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits amid concerns that the taxes could encourage beneficiaries to leave the state.

However, the deal fell apart over a dispute over how to spend the state’s cash surplus, and Walz has since said he believes the tax on Social Security benefits should remain in place for those with retirement income higher because “the impact of that tax on Social Security” is almost imperceptible to people who earn that much.”

Inflation and “Bidenomics”

Last year, Walz said at the Heartland Forward summit that inflation meant President Biden’s campaign might have trouble “simply selling ‘Bidenomics’ that it works” because voters “may not believe it.”

Walz instead said the president should focus on contrasting his agenda with that of former President Trump’s campaign.

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Green energy

In 2023, Walz signed a bill requiring electric utilities in the state to have carbon-free energy production or supply sources for 80% of retail sales for utilities by 2030.

From there, the requirement would increase to 100% by 2040, with a requirement that 55% of all total retail electricity sales be generated or purchased from eligible energy sources by 2035.

A report from the Minnesota-based Center for the American Experiment criticized the proposal, saying it would cost $313 billion through 2050 and create capacity gaps in the electric grid that would result in blackouts due to fluctuations in production at power sites wind and solar.

Work and consumers

Last year, Walz signed a law that banned nearly all post-termination noncompete agreements for employees and independent contractors. The move made Minnesota the fourth state to enact a law restricting non-compete agreements and preceded a federal regulatory push by the Biden-Harris administration to ban non-compete agreements.

In May, Walz signed a junk tax bill that requires the full price of a given product to be disclosed at the start of the transaction and in every subsequent advertisement. It also prohibits charges that don’t align with an additional product or service.

He also signed a bill in June requiring the supply chain of more than 360 drugs to be reported.

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Response to COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic began during Walz’s first term as governor and brought relatively heavy restrictions, including lockdowns and mask mandates, favored by many Democratic leaders across the country. Walz ultimately lifted the indoor mask mandate in 2021.

Walz also set up a hotline to report residents who have violated COVID-19 mandates FOX9 Minneapolis reported at the time. Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka asked Walz to “please take it [the] Hotline down” in a post after its establishment, stating that it was “unnecessary.”

“We can all show a little kindness to our neighbors as we manage our times and needs differently in our efforts to stay home,” Gazelka added.

Minnesota Republicans have criticized the Walz administration for lax oversight of pandemic programs that cost millions of taxpayer dollars. Federal prosecutors have charged 70 people for their roles in a $250 million scheme to defraud federal food programs that funded meals for children during the pandemic.

Known as the Feeding Our Future scandal, it was one of the country’s largest pandemic aid fraud schemes. The Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, said in a June report that Walz’s Department of Education “failed to act on warning signs” and was ineffective in using his authority to respond to the fraud scheme.

George Floyd riots

Walz has been criticized for his handling of the violent riots that erupted in Minneapolis following the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

Floyd was killed while in police custody on May 25, 2020, and violent protests began in Minneapolis and the nearby city of St. Paul the next day. After two days of unrest that saw the burning of a police station and damage to numerous small businesses, Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to quell the unrest on May 28.

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In financial terms, the Minneapolis-St. The 2020 Paul riots were the second most destructive in U.S. history, with an estimated cost of about $500 million, behind only the 1992 Los Angeles riots. About 60% of the financial losses related to the riots were not they were insured Star Tribune reported, quoting Lake Street Council.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.