If Efficiency Is No Longer Cost Effective, We Shouldn’t Subsidize It

The Minnesota Department of Commerce released a study on Tuesday saying that electric and natural gas utilities could continue to meet their current efficiency mandates, but that it will become more expensive to do so over time. Under the Next Generation Energy Act, passed in 2007, electric utilities are mandated to reduce their electricity sales by 1.5 percent annually. Electric utilities have reached this goal, but according to the Commerce report, the days of easy, low-cost energy savings are nearing the end. In order to keep up the energy savings, utilities will have to pay higher “incentives” and subsidies to...

PETA Asks People to Stop Using ‘Anti-Animal Language,’ Including Common Phrases

In case you needed any further proof that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has jumped the shark as an organization, it has recently made headlines urging people to abandon “anti-animal language.” Take the flower by the thorns? Bring home the bagels? Idiotic. On the bright side, this prompted me to think about other phrases I may not use very often in my own speech, and has strengthened my resolve to incorporate them into my daily vocabulary. I encourage you to do the same. Instead of: This problem has more than one solution. Say: There’s more than one way to...

Minnesota’s economic news, w/e 12/7/18

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

Minnesota’s government is forecast to take $1.5 billion more from the state’s taxpayers than it says it needs. What should it do with that money?

Minnesota's state government is forecast to have a surplus of $1.5 billion over the next two years. This should kill stone dead any notion that tax increases are called for. Department of Revenue data shows that, in real terms, Minnesota's Total State Tax Collections have risen by 47.5% since 2010. Add this projected surplus, and it is simply unbelievable that the state government cannot find the funds to maintain a core function like roads without tapping the taxpayers up again.  

Macron Blinks in Fuel-Tax Dispute With Yellow Vests

This article originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal: PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron suffered the first major setback in his push to overhaul the French economy, backing off a fuel-tax increase that enraged much of the nation and sparked a grass-roots protest movement against his government. Faced with another weekend of destructive protests by the gilets jaunes—or yellow vests—Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told a press conference on Tuesday that the tax increase would be pushed back six months to allow for public discussion. The worst riots to hit Paris in decades erupted during antigovernment protests on Saturday, leaving the city’s shopping and tourist center...

Winthrop Taps Reserves, Cuts Cops and Pothole Repairs to Subsidize Internet Network Debt

Recently American Experiment shared the predicament of ten southern Minnesota cities facing an unexpected property tax hike to subsidize their new high speed internet system. The RS Fiber network was was supposed to pay for itself, but that’s not how it’s working out. The first phase of construction wrapped up in early 2018, connecting all ten cities to the fiber-to-the-home network and providing wireless service in rural areas. Some 2,000 residents signed on, more than 30 percent of available homes and businesses, yet short of the 3,000 subscriber break-even point. Then in an August bombshell, RS Fiber announced discontinuation of bond...

Title IX: What was it meant to do and the nightmare it has become

Can Title IX statutory language be interpreted to empower colleges and universities to essentially act like police, investigators, judges and juries? Congress should revisit Title IX to pull these corrupting police power from our colleges and universities. Federal dollars should u[lift and protect our students and faculty not subject them to nightmarish prosecutions.