Recent increases in taxes and spending have pushed our state budget to historic levels. Looking back over the past 50 years, state spending has grown faster than inflation, and the budget now exceeds $65 billion. When adjusted for both inflation and population growth, Minnesota’s budget has grown by 600% since 1960. We need to slow down this runaway spending and return more decision-making to the local level. It’s far easier for citizens to influence how their county board spends money than the state legislature, and it’s time to give that control back to local communities.