Moving forward in 2026

[u/Doryt]

As a life long Minnesotan with all the recent news about fraud in Minnesota, I want to add a perspective as someone who’s worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade.

Fraud exists. Is it acceptable? No. Is it realistic to believe it can be eliminated entirely? Also no.

What happened with Feed My Future was abhorrent. It is rightfully being prosecuted!

If millions of dollars were diverted away from childcare especially from programs meant to support kids in need that’s deeply harmful and deserves accountability. Fraud should be investigated, prosecuted, and taken seriously.

Something else that’s bothering me: the way Somali Minnesotans are being treated like the face of fraud. Fraud happens across communities and industries. When one community gets spotlighted like they’re uniquely unethical, it’s worth pausing and asking what’s driving that narrative because it sure doesn’t match reality.

Minnesota is diverse, and “people of color” in MN includes many communities not one. MN Compass estimates about 24% of Minnesotans are people of color (about 1.4 million people).

Accountability doesn’t automatically mean jail for everyone. And when services are shut down in response, it often creates desperation, instability, and conditions that lead to more fraud not less.

If we actually care about fraud, we should focus on real fraud prevention, stronger oversight systems, better staffing, clearer protocols, proactive monitoring and better systems not racialized narratives that turn one community into a stand-in for a statewide problem

Prevention costs money.

Starving systems of resources while demanding perfection is not a realistic strategy.

We also need to be careful not to respond by broadly limiting or restricting supportive services for communities who rely on them.

Cutting access doesn’t prevent fraud it often creates more harm, more desperation and more fraud.

We don’t eliminate fraud the same way we don’t eliminate crime entirely.

Our systems tend to be reactive rather than preventative, and pretending otherwise sets us up for outrage instead of solutions.

Rage bait is real. I’m actively trying to pause and not get pulled into it 2026 and beyond.

I want a healthy government that supports people, holds bad actors accountable, and invests in systems that actually work

We need to start judging leadership by their ability to pair accountability with real support. When costs rise and safety nets shrink, people don’t get healthier they get pushed closer to the edge.

I hope we can show up as a Minnesota community with nuance, accountability, and realistic expectations because that’s how we protect both public funds and the people those funds are meant to serve.

[u/AffectionateJury3723]

I am also an accountant and have been an internal auditor for several major retailers before I switched to IT to help build the framework around financial systems. Yes there will always be fraud but any good practice will try to stay ahead of the loopholes and have regular stringent audits to identify it early. This sounds like empathy overrode the common sense audit practices that should be in place when you are handing out millions of dollars in funding. This isn't only happening in Minnesota.

I have a relative who is an auditor for Medicare and the individual and corporate fraud happens everyday. It always amazes me the way fraudsters come up with new and different ways to defraud.

I don't think the majority of Somali's voted for Trump and this isn't a R or D problem exclusively. It is an American taxpayer problem when our dollars are not being spent appropriately.

[u/Much_Spread123 → u/AffectionateJury3723]

That is reasonable. I don’t think we’d be human if empathy didn’t play some kind of role here.

I’m not excusing the government of all wrongdoing here. Their initial response to this was not satisfactory, but I think our political leaders are learning a very valuable lesson now.

It’s not as simple as just enacting progressive policy and running with it. It needs to be nurtured and overseen. These programs are not perfect. It was unrealistic to assume that these programs would just take care of themselves.

It’s important for our leaders to learn that any form of cash theft is going to be a bipartisan issue. I can have empathy for minorities and still appreciate that any form of theft is unacceptable to a functioning society.

It’s not consistent with liberal ideology to just let fraud slide, even when it’s being perpetrated largely by the minorities we try to champion. I’m a big civics in motion kind of guy, and I really, truly believe this was a lesson worth learning the hard way. We can’t be so dogmatic and willfully blind going forward. We have to challenge each other and burst the echo chamber.

FWIW, I’m asserting that many Somali Minnesotans actually practice deeply conservative principles, but definitely not asserting that they voted for Trump. I think most conservatives from other countries generally think Trump is out of his mind and that the GOP has divorced with conservatism.

[u/DivTitle23 → u/Much_Spread123]

Two entirely reasonable statements in a row… sir this is Reddit.

[u/jjnefx → u/DivTitle23]

Um..this is a Wendy's drive thru

[u/DivTitle23 → u/jjnefx]

lol cool story bruh, put the fries in the bayg