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My Point of View by Brad Kramer

As a Gen X kid, I was raised with the constant reminder that Social Security would not exist by the time I retired, and the federal deficit was already a joke in elementary school classrooms. Today, we’re witnessing the culmination of these fears, and it’s time for action.

When Americans elected Donald Trump and a new Congress, there was a clear mandate: Dismantle the overbearing administrative state. We’re tired of funding a bureaucracy that taxes us to the brink, regulates every aspect of our lives and enjoys fat pensions while many of us worry about our 401(k)s and Social Security.

Trump’s plan to significantly reduce federal agencies and their interaction with our daily lives resonates deeply with me. As the owner of a consulting company specializing in regulatory compliance, I see the stark contrast between “regulatory compliance” and actual “workplace safety.” Minnesota’s businesses are fleeing to Iowa, not just because of high taxes, but because of the regulatory maze they must navigate.

The administrative state, or “deep state,” employs or contracts roughly 2-3% of our population — that’s 7 to 11 million people. While crucial roles like military service are necessary, it’s time to remove unnecessary governmental overreach from our lives.

Reflecting on history, when Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government the new nation had adopted, he famously answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Today, we’re at a crossroads where keeping that republic means reigning in the administrative state. Alexis de Tocqueville warned that democracy could devolve into a system where the majority votes for benefits from the public treasury, and we see this in action today.

My generation has grown up with cynicism about government, from the federal debt to political scandals. We’ve watched America’s potential decline and are now ready to take decisive action. We voted for change, and we’re prepared to see it through.

Locally, I’ve seen firsthand the inefficiency of government at work. At a recent DNR Roundtable, because I am on several conservation-focused boards, they kept applauding the clean water lottery proceeds approved by 77% of Minnesotans; however, there was no discussion of the massive number of administrators coming between the funds the taxpayer pays, and the shovels hitting the dirt to make the projects that improve our lives and environment. The bureaucratic layers are an economy in themselves, even delaying essential projects like the dredging of Fountain Lake and costing far more taxpayer funds.

Our tax dollars support an expansive administrative state, military engagements worldwide and significant contributions to international bodies like the UN, WHO and WEF. The tax burden on families is immense, and simply taxing the rich more isn’t the solution. Instead, we need to address the root cause: excessive government spending.

My wife and I have built home-based businesses to allow flexibility for homeschooling and grandparenting, but this lifestyle comes at a great personal cost. When living off one income becomes a herculean task, it’s clear our tax system is out of control. With Trump’s leadership, there’s hope for reducing this burden, making single-income homes viable without financial strain, while reducing the number of people on welfare.

We’ve seen the disastrous consequences of an administrative state more focused on agendas like DEI than on core functions, like LA’s fire department or FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene. Minnesota has been voting redder, with Freeborn County voting nearly 2:1 in favor of Republican sanity. Our Legislature is temporarily Republican. Minnesota voting Republican in 2026 is a goal we all need to join together on, so we do not become what California is now. California has been crumbling under its own overbearing, incompetent, leftist leadership, turning it into a dystopian nightmare, literally on fire due to incompetence and corruption. Under horrible leftist leadership, governments around the world are being brought into submission by crowds of citizens who are done being told to support leftist agendas that allow open borders and out of control spending. Trudeau’s tanked ratings and push to resign, Argentina’s conservative President Milei finding extreme success, the exposure of the immigrant rape crisis in the UK and other world movements are showing that the world is fed up with the leftist, anti-Christian, globalist agenda.

I fully support Trump’s team — from Pete Hegseth to Kristi Noem — in their fight against unnecessary government spending and regulations. We’re taxed at every turn — income, sales, property and through our employers before we see our paychecks. It’s time for Republicans to set us free from this tax-heavy, over-regulated life.

Let’s rally together to reclaim our republic, slash the administrative state and restore the American dream, where hard work translates into a prosperous life. Not a life of servile labor where we exist as just another taxpayer, trying to pay the constant onslaught of taxes and inflation and bad policy.

Brad Kramer is a member of the Freeborn County GOP Party.