Apr 23, 2012
As a nation, we’ve made great strides in combining growing the economy and cleaning up air pollution. But as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is setting up to roll out nine new new rules or regulations, most of which are related to coal-powered electricity, it’s worth asking, “Is the gain worth the pain?”
Apr 12, 2012
By current standards, Minnesota’s economy is among the best in the nation. But will it continue to be in the top tier?
Last year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that Minnesota ranked 13th in per capital personal income. The state’s average income of $42,843, was six percent higher than the national average. That’s pretty good, though I suspect it’s lower than most Minnesotans would have expected.
Yesterday, a new report, Rich States Poor States, 5th Edition, looked at each of the states, and gave Minnesota a very different evaluation: It put Minnesota at 41 out of 50 states, both for recent economic activity, and in expected performance going forward.
“Minnesota at 41? That’s crazy talk!” Let me explain.
Apr 2, 2012
In 2012, Americans will work 8 hours a day, five days a week, from the beginning of the year until April 17 to pay for the spending incurred in their name by federal, state, and local governments. That’s one of the findings of the Tax Foundation’s latest calculation of “Tax Freedom Day.”
Mar 29, 2012
Is the expense of going to college worth it? When you consider not only tuition and books, but also opportunity costs, the answer is sometimes “no, at least from a financial standpoint.”
The Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, naturally enough, is an advocate for spending on higher ed. It cites, among other things, salary premiums enjoyed by college graduates over similarly situated people without degrees.
Mar 2, 2012
As I browse through various websites and email lists today, it's sad to hear people suggest conspiracies regarding the death of Andrew Breitbart.
Mar 1, 2012
Minnesota Management and Budget has forecast a tiny surplus in the state budget for the current biennium. Great. But as Commissioner Jim Schowalter observes, “we still have lots of IOU’s” to pay back–including the “school shift” of $2.7 billion.
Feb 29, 2012
Breaking the chain between street address and the school a child attends–school choice–is not only moral, it works. Education Week recently ran a commentary from nine scholars who make that point. The nine, who include representatives from the American Enterprise Institute and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, say that in 20 years we have learned a lot about how to design choice programs, as well as how well school choice works. The article’s title reflects its content pretty well: “What research says about school choice.”
Feb 29, 2012
Breaking the chain between street address and the school a child attends–school choice–is not only moral, it works. Education Week recently ran a commentary from nine scholars who make that point. The nine, who include representatives from the American Enterprise Institute and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, say that in 20 years we have learned a lot about how to design choice programs, as well as how well school choice works. The article’s title reflects its content pretty well: “What research says about school choice.”
Feb 15, 2012
While government needs taxes to run, not all taxes are equal in their effect. A new report from the Tax Foundation–State and Local Sales Taxes in 2012–evaluates the burden of state and local sales taxes across the United States. It shows great variation. State sales tax rates range from 0 percent (Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon), to 7.25 percent (California). Some states have local sales taxes, while others do not. And of course states define the “base” differently: Some tax food and clothing while others don’t.
If you look only at state-level taxes, Minnesota has the seventh-highest burden in the land, behind California, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.
Feb 13, 2012
Should a state-focused think tank care about ObamaCare? How about state legislators? You betcha! That’s why the Minnesota Free Market Institute at the Center of the American Experiment has joined in a legal brief on the question of whether Congress can require you to purchase health insurance.
