If we don’t do it…

Minnesota’s indispensable think tank.

American Experiment’s stock in trade is researching and writing about conditions in Minnesota — our economy, our public safety, our educational system, and so on. We don’t endorse political candidates or officeholders, but writing about their policies, and the consequences of those policies, is central to our mission, regardless of political party affiliation.  

Events in Minnesota occasionally receive national attention. The George Floyd riots of 2020 are one obvious example. But Vice Pres. Kamala Harris’s selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate suddenly put a sharper focus on Minnesota than we have seen in a long time. Reporters and commentators around the country were scrambling to learn more about this Midwest governor’s record and policy positions.  

Pretty much all of them came to American Experiment for information. The starting point was an op-ed that Bill Walsh and John Phelan wrote for the Star Tribune reviewing the basic data on Minnesota’s economy, crime rate, educational accomplishment, energy costs, and outbound migration. The op-ed is posted on our website along with a chart for each topic. A version also appears in this issue of Thinking Minnesota.  

Every chart is worth the proverbial 1,000 words documenting one dismal policy failure after another. Examples include Minnesota’s per capita gross domestic product fell below the national average for the first time ever in 2023. The state’s serious crime rate is now higher than the national average for the first time in our history. During the Walz administration, spending on K-12 public schools skyrocketed, while student achievement has declined drastically, with some of our scores 

the lowest ever recorded. Minnesota’s power costs have risen much faster than the national average. And every year, more people move out of Minnesota than move in.  

This information was what the national press was looking for. Following the announcement of Walz’s selection, American Experiment appeared on dozens of national and local radio shows, television programs, and podcasts. Our charts were picked up and reproduced on television, podcasts, and social media. We wrote a number of op-eds for national press outlets. Weeks after the announcement, our policy fellows continue to respond to phone calls from reporters looking for information about Minnesota’s policies and performance.  

Altogether, many millions of Americans received American Experiment generated data considered relevant to this year’s presidential election.  

It is sobering to realize that if American Experiment didn’t exist, none of this would have been accessible to the American people. No one else in Minnesota systematically tracks, analyzes, and publishes data on our state’s economy, educational system, crime rate, energy costs, and so on. There is no one else prepared to respond to reporters’ questions, not just by referring them to data sources, but by providing fully documented data expressed in charts and graphs that make the numbers comprehensible.  

American Experiment’s work is vitally important to Minnesota and the numerous other states where we have operated. But this year’s presidential election puts into sharp focus how important our work is, not only for Minnesota but for the entire United States.