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A new viral video ripped the curtain off a scandal Minnesotans have a right to be furious about, showing supposedly state-funded childcare centers largely empty while taxpayers kept paying full freight. Independent reporter Nick Shirley’s lengthy footage has reignited outrage about sham operations that allegedly billed the Child Care Assistance Program for full days when no meaningful care was provided. The clip has rightly forced the question: who in St. Paul was asleep at the wheel while this went on?
The footage — and follow-up reporting — paints a picture of parents signing children in and then immediately taking them home so centers could pocket reimbursements, a scheme that, if true, is a brazen theft from working families. Investigations and recent reporting suggest this problem is not isolated, with federal investigators and local authorities describing large-scale fraud across multiple programs tied to certain providers. That kind of systematic abuse of American taxpayer generosity demands swift, uncompromised action.
Governor Tim Walz’s office rushed to defend his record, pointing to audits, the hiring of an outside firm, the creation of a statewide program-integrity director, and closures of problematic programs as evidence he’s been fighting fraud. Those steps are welcome, but Minnesotans deserve real accountability, not press releases; when billions are allegedly misdirected, optics and decades of softened oversight no longer cut it. Voters need concrete proof that leaders will prosecute, recover funds, and change the systems that made this theft possible.
The federal government has stepped in, with the FBI increasing investigative resources and reports of numerous charges tied to broader social-services fraud in the state. That federal surge is necessary because state bureaucracy failed to stop this rot, and now the focus must be on dismantling networks that exploited programs meant for the most vulnerable. Conservatives who have warned for years about weak oversight and the perils of expansive entitlement bureaucracy are watching to see if justice will finally be done.
On national TV, commentators rightly roasted the meekness of the political class in the face of such obvious theft, calling out the hollow reassurances and demanding tougher enforcement and transparency. The outrage on programs like The Five reflects what every hardworking American feels: anger at career politicians who lecture about “compassion” while tolerating corruption that eats away at the social safety net. If leaders won’t act, voters will, and they should remember these failures at the ballot box.
This scandal is a wake-up call: shrink bloated, vulnerable programs, enforce identity and attendance verification, and prosecute fraudsters to the fullest extent of the law. The right answer is accountability, not more excuses or bureaucratic reshuffling; Minnesota must recover stolen funds, discipline officials who ignored warnings, and rebuild trust with strict oversight. Conservatives will keep pushing until every dollar stolen from families is returned and every corrupt official faces consequences.
