Last week, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson in Minneapolis stated that half, or more, of $18 billion in federal funds may have been stolen. That's $9 billion or more.
To put that in perspective, in 2024, Hawai‘i residents and businesses paid $11.4 billion in federal taxes. The Minnesota heist was so bad, it is as if someone stole 79% of all the money we kicked in to the federal pot that year.
Think of every paycheck you collected that year, and every withholding for federal taxes, and just imagine the sound of a vacuum cleaner hoovering your dollars away to empty daycare centers in Minneapolis.
Now, we're hardly the only victims. The whole nation was robbed blind. But consider this, the fraud is equal to or bigger than the entire federal tax payment of five states in 2024:
- Alaska: $7.27 billion in federal taxes
- North Dakota: $9.7 billion
- Vermont: $6 billion
- West Virginia: $8.7 billion
- Wyoming: $7.6 billion
We can take a stab at what the Minnesota fraud cost us individually in Hawai‘i, too. We're a small state, so our contribution is equal to 0.22% of all federal tax receipts.
A little quick math: 0.22% of our $11.4 billion is $25 million. According to figures from DBEDT, there are roughly 673,980 federal tax returns filed by Hawai‘i residents each year.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Minnesota owes each of us $37 to replace our share of the plundered funds.
I'd say I'd take a check, but really, under the circumstances, I'd prefer cash.
A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.
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A. Kam Napier can be reached at kam@alohastatedaily.com.
