Center of the American Experiment is kicking off the legislative session with the debut of its State Government Scandal Tracker, a helpful tool to track the various reports of wasteful spending, corruption, and mismanagement at state agencies. The Scandal Tracker complements American Experiment’s recent Thinking Minnesota magazine cover story, “The Masquerade of Good Government,” which documented government scandals from 2013 to present, challenging the view that Minnesota’s state government is generally better run than other states.

Another major initiative in 2020 is the repeal of the estate tax. American Experiment is taking a humorous approach to this morbid topic, placing advertisements with the phrase “Minnesota Taxes Dead People” and artwork that replaces a corpse’s toe tag with a $100 bill. The ads drive Minnesotans to a microsite that explains why the tax is unfair, and to an economic analysis that shows the death tax drives people away to other states.