WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND
By Scott Hennen
Host of “What’s On Your Mind?” Radio Show
heard on the Flag Family Network including KTGO 1090AM
in Watford City, Williston and Tioga, North Dakota
Governor Kelly Armstrong is doing something you do not see very often anymore, he is tapping the brakes on government.
In an era where spending almost always goes one direction, up, especially after COVID, Armstrong’s new budget guidelines land like a reality check in Bismarck. They are not flashy. They are not filled with new programs. But they are bold in a way that actually matters, they admit we have a problem.
And we do.
Government got bigger during COVID. A lot bigger. Some of that was necessary. But here is what taxpayers have learned over time, once government grows, it almost never shrinks. The emergency baseline becomes permanent.
Armstrong is pushing back on that.
His instructions to agencies are clear. Smaller agencies hold the line. Mid-sized agencies find three percent reductions. Larger agencies identify 10 percent cuts. On top of that, there are contingency reductions in case energy revenues soften.
That is not symbolic. That is structural.
The governor put it plainly, 20 years of growth in North Dakota have produced 20 years of budget expansion. Some of it made sense. But the current path does not. The gap between ongoing spending and ongoing revenue is nearing 800 million dollars.
That is not sustainable.
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