John LaPlante
- Hide BioSince 1998, policy fellow John R. LaPlante has written on a range of public issues, including economic development, government-sponsored enterprises, and transportation.
His projects have included managing a healthcare policy website for State Policy Network, writing reports and commentaries on K-12 education for the Kansas Policy Institute, and commenting on think tanks for the St. Paul Legal Ledger/Capitol Report. He holds an M.A. in political science from The Ohio State University.
He is a contributor to The Michigan View, a state-focused equivalent to National Review, written by members of the Detroit News editorial board and a few selected others. He has been published in the Star-Tribune, Kansas City Star, and the DC Caller. He also been a guest on 760AM WJR (Detroit), 1280AM WWTC (Twin Cities) and other radio outlets.
A resident of Dakota County, he was the research director and webmaster of a coalition that prevailed twice on a ballot question regarding his city’s form of government. He enjoys snowboarding and mountain biking.
John LaPlante's Archive
May 23, 2013
A wealth property owners that doesn't pay property tax will get yet another tax break, in a move that may finally mean the repair or replacement of a bridge that has been deemed unusuable and unfixable for 20 years.
May 21, 2013
Introduction: As I write this, the Minnesota House is set to vote on a proposal to unionize independent, self-employed business owners who heretofore worked primarily for families of small children. Some of these business owners have customers who receive public subsidies. AFSCME, the powerful union of state and local workers, has been seeking to unionize, and enrich its coffers with the dues of, these business owners for several years now. Thanks in part to the union’s backing of today’s majority party, the Legislature will say “thank you” to AFSCME. And the union, in turn, will of course say “thank you” to the DFL with future contributions of time and treasure.
While it’s true that
Apr 25, 2013
Do personal income tax rates matter? See my friend's calendar for an answer.
Apr 15, 2013
Though April 15 is the day by which most taxpayers must render under Caesar for last year's income, it doens't mean that Minnesotans are done working to pay the burden of government. That won't happen until April 23.
Feb 25, 2013
Two different school systems have two very different ethical foundations for financing.
Dec 11, 2012
How is it that Michigan is set to enact a right-to-work law? Does that mean it could be enacted in Minnesota?
Nov 2, 2012
Starting sometime in the 1990s, the U.S. government, plus the European Union, aggressively took antitrust action against Microsoft. "We must act," said the smart ones in government. "If we don't, Microsoft will get too big, and control too much."
Oct 11, 2012
If family fragmentation has very real emotional, educational, and financial costs, what can civic-minded people do about it? The answer, in short, is for government to stop offering bad incentives and for everyone to start speaking the truth. We need a change in both public policy and culture.
Oct 9, 2012
This new American Experiment symposium grows out of a book of mine published just about a year ago, From Family Collapse to America’s Decline: The Educational, Economic, and Social Costs of Family Fragmentation, which examined many of the problems and shortcomings resulting from very high rates of nonmarital births, very high rates of divorce, and routinely short-lived cohabiting relationships. One of the book’s central themes is how such family churning—more specifically, the extent to which it hurts great numbers of children—is leading, and can only lead, to stunted mobility and deeper class divisions in a nation that has never viewed itself in such splintered ways.
Sep 14, 2012
Opposition to a photo ID requirement stresses the importance of voting, but it forgets the more important principles of republican governance and rule of law.