American Experiment Releases Groundbreaking New Study on the High Cost of Renewable Energy Mandates in Minnesota

American Experiment is pleased to announce we are releasing a groundbreaking new study detailing the high cost renewable energy mandates in Minnesota. On the 2018 campaign trail, many DFL candidates, including Governor Tim Walz, said they would make obtaining 50 percent of Minnesota’s electricity by 2030 a top priority in their policy platform. Now DFL’ers in Minnesota are pushing their own version of the Green New Deal, mandating that Minnesota must get 100 percent of its electricity from “carbon free” resources by 2050. Our study found that attempting to achieve a 50 percent renewable energy mandate would cost Minnesota $80.2...

From Colorado: Xcel Energy’s Green Dreams Are a Farce

My friend Amy Cooke from the Independence Institute in Colorado recently wrote the article below about how Xcel energy is seeking to leave Colorado ratepayers on the hook for coal plants they are shutting down decades ahead of schedule. It’s the same story I wrote about in Wisconsin, where WE Energies is attempting to make $430 million in profits after retiring a perfectly good coal plant. In Colorado, Xcel wants to close down the Comanche 1 and 2 plants so because it boosts their guaranteed profits by allowing them to build more wind, solar, natural gas, batteries and transmission infrastructure....

Repairs to 18 St. Paul schools will cost 61% more than projected. But hey, it’s only (your) money

“Every contractor wants to come work for St. Paul Public Schools because it’s frickin’ open checkbook”. Why is government so careless with your hard earned cash?

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

Candace Owens returns for another successful Annual Dinner

Candace Owens returned to Minneapolis almost exactly one year after her first appearance at an American Experiment event to headline our 2019 Annual Dinner. When she first spoke for a lunch forum audience of 550, Owens had just exploded onto the scene with her YouTube videos and Twitter controversies. A year later the Center’s audience had nearly doubled in attendance, and her star power had grown exponentially. Owens is an incredible orator. She gave her entire presentation in front of the podium, without notes, seamlessly weaving together her political analysis and personal experiences. Her discussion focused on social media and...

Corporations don’t actually pay corporate tax

What's in a name? Intentions, when it comes to taxes. The actual outcome might be very different indeed. 

Exclusive: Tesla Expects Global Shortage of Electric Vehicle Battery Minerals – Sources

It never ceases to amaze me how special interest groups who push for more renewable energy also oppose mining for copper, nickel, and cobalt in Minnesota. These sources of energy require enormous amounts of materials, but where will they come from if not Minnesota? Countries with few, if any, protections for the environment or miners. Some “environmental justice,” eh? The following article originally appeared in Reuters:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tesla Inc expects global shortages of nickel, copper and other electric-vehicle battery minerals down the road due to underinvestment in the mining sector, the company’s global supply manager for battery metals told...

Are Minnesota Taxpayers Being Taken for a Ride by Amtrak?

Most Minnesotans have likely never heard of the proposed $550 million Northern Lights Express (NLX) passenger rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth-Superior. Yet MnDOT has been quietly laying the groundwork for the line for years with a series of engineering and environmental studies. Meantime, Gov. Walz has prioritized the project, requesting $15 million from the legislature to keep NLX on track. If NLX becomes a reality, MnDOT has made it clear that Amtrak would operate the 152-mile line on behalf of the state. In recent weeks Amtrak officials have surfaced in meetings with elected officials in Duluth-Superior and...

The Historic Fairness of Standardized Admissions Tests

The SATs and ACT’s are particularly high-profile right now, in largest part because of ridiculously rich parents spending ridiculous amounts of money to feloniously insinuate their children into elite and not-so-elite universities and colleges.  Beyond accelerating perpetual arguments about the fundamental fairness of higher education admissions, the scandal also has provoked crisper conversation about the fairness of the tests themselves.  Further mixing things up have been news accounts about how various colleges and universities around the country have decided not to use either of the two tests at all. The aim of SATs and ACTs is gauging academic preparation and...