St. Paul Mayor Proposes More Transparent Budget After City Loses Landmark Case

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman proposed a budget that dramatically reduces road maintenance fees and raises property taxes by an equally dramatic 23.9 percent.  The fee reduction and property tax increase are largely offsetting. The city is making this big revenue shift because St. Paul recently lost a legal challenge by two downtown St. Paul churches.  In that landmark case, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the road maintenance fee was in fact a tax and, as a tax, needed to follow constitutional requirements on taxation. American Experiment helped win that case by filing an amicus brief on behalf of the...

Got a spare two months? Read Minnesota’s regulations

The vast burden of federal regulations is well known. But what's the picture at state level?

 Out-of-Control State Agency to Pay Nearly $1 Million in Botched “Investigation”

A botched investigation has not only cost the Minnesota Department of Commerce its reputation for impartiality but also nearly $1 million in court-ordered legal expenses to be paid to the auto glass replacement company victimized by the state agency’s discredited tactics. The $941,534 judgment comes as the latest development in a series of missteps at the regulatory agency that critics have characterized as an “unconstitutional attack on Minnesota consumers and businesses.” A key member of a legislative oversight committee who’s called on Gov. Dayton to fire Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman repeated her concerns over the agency’s abuse of power and...

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

In today’s economy, education must be a lifelong thing

The pace of technological change is such that the skills you have at 20 are likely to be obsolete halfway through your working life. To keep pace, education must become a lifelong thing

Fighting for the American Dream in D.C.

DFL Governor Mark Dayton’s plan, like many “blue state” governors, uses “transit oriented development” or TOD, to pull money out of the suburbs and greater Minnesota to fund and re-enforce a city centric power model. That model shifts how and where people live, and how they get around, to change the political landscape in favor of left-wing control of local and state government.

Keith Ellison demands a $15 minimum wage but doesn’t pay his interns

Keith Ellison has been a vocal supporter of the campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15. Sadly, he won't put his money where his mouth is.

Last Call As Twin Cities Suburb Privatizes Liquor Sales

The number of Metro Area cities still in the liquor business continues to decline, the result of stiffer than ever competition. Many “munis” find it difficult to compete on a level playing field, under the price pressure from private sector superstores like Total Wine. Despite cutting costs and prices, suburbs like Edina have seen their profits plunge by hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. The latest state audit of 2015 Minnesota Municipal Liquor Store Operations puts it bluntly. The overall decline in net profits between 2014 and 2015 appears to primarily be the result of increased competition from private liquor stores resulting...