Publications Archive for All
Jul 1, 2010
Much of the national public debate over the past year has focused on the world of high finance and the big global institutions that have contributed to widespread economic distress. What I want to focus on today, however, is the world of low finance and the local and state-level institutions that have contributed to ordinary Americans’ economic distress.
Jun 1, 2010
Whenever I stay at a hotel and ask a doorman to kindly hail a cab, I tip him a buck. For under a minute's work, I figure it's fair. Problem is, I've been figuring this way for a long time now, and if a dollar was fair a decade ago, it can't still be, given not only inflation but unusually rough economic times recently for many service workers.
May 12, 2010
The House and Senate conferees on the Health and Human Services (HHS) omnibus supplemental budget bill finished their work late last night. The conferees managed to hit their budget targets and delivered a Conference Report that reduces the general fund deficit by $114 million in the current biennium and by $155 million in the next biennium. Unfortunately, there are two serious problems with this bill.
May 1, 2010
Our laser-like focus is on the expense or spending side of the equation, not the revenue or tax side. Does this nearly singular riveting do full justice to the complexity we face? Of course not. But trying to do too much in a single hour would be far from incisive or helpful.
Apr 26, 2010
Know the difference between an optimist and a pessimist? An optimist is someone who believes that this is the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist is someone who agrees.
Apr 22, 2010
Last fall, Center of the American Experiment issued a report recommending 15 reforms of our state's election system, informed largely by experiences from the 2008 U.S. Senate election recount.
Apr 1, 2010
INSIDE: Reform School || CAE Report Sets Agenda to Amend Election Laws || Budget, education and health care recommendations for the 2010 legislative session || Small Business Symposium || Non-ferrous mining in Minnesota is good for global environment || Legislature and governor agree to “mid-term” GAMC solution || City of New Ulm eminent domain threat put on hold after PUC denies their permit for wind project || “Who Won the Industrial Policy Debate?”
Mar 29, 2010
When the topic of election integrity arises, people often think about voter fraud and ways to prevent it, and rightly so. Yet election integrity is about more than just abuse of the election system; it is also about being able to prove the accuracy of the system.
Mar 26, 2010
Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legal challenge to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's allotment reductions. After finally finding time to listen to the arguments, I heard one question that makes me wonder whether the court might find the statute a rather simple text to interpret. If true, then the governor should get an easy pass on whether he violated the statute.
Mar 19, 2010
Rumbling along just beneath the surface of our long-running debate over something called “health care” is an ancient prejudice of modern liberals. Like all prejudices, this one contains a kernel of truth. But unlike many prejudices, this one is no longer remotely serviceable.