Often, advocates of minimum wage hikes present them as the fabled "free lunch" — the workers gets better off and, to the extent that anyone gets worse off, it is…
The last three years or so have seen the death of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This is a theory that starts with a banal observation — that a government that…
State and local taxes and spending The Center Square: Minnesota is in the top 10 for marginal state individual income tax rate CBS News: Minnesota officials set to release new…
Minnesota's workforce is shrinking. Between June and December 2022, the number of people employed in Minnesota fell by 38,724.
From mid-2021 to mid-2022, a net 19,400 Minnesota residents left for other states, by far the highest number in at least three decades. When you point this out, a common response is…
On housing and child care, Minnesotans face higher costs than many other Americans. In 2019, the average Minnesota family paid over $16,000 to keep a child at a day care…
Usually, people who advocate for spending money on childcare are reluctant to consider free-market solutions to the childcare crisis. This is because such people believe that the childcare market exhibits…
Payday or short-term loans have a bad reputation — and for an understandable reason. Interest on payday loans tends to be high. Additionally, it is usually low-income, credit-crunched individuals that…
A lot of effort has been taken to end child labor in developing countries. Among other things, Contemporary Regional Trade Agreements, especially those between developed and developing countries, have usually…
State and local taxes and spending Country Messenger: Governor Walz highlights budget KROC: No sign of a slowdown for Minnesota tax collections Star Tribune: Minnesota’s tax structure is enticing many…
When both Minneapolis and St. Paul proposed rent control on their ballots, American Experiment warned that passing such a policy would deter construction. This has come to pass in St.…
Last year, my colleague Martha Njolomole noted that: Approximately 1 in every 5 Minnesotans has an occupation that requires a license. According to a 2017 report by the Institute of…
Minnesotans suffer from higher-than-average prices for accommodation and childcare. In both cases, the cause is excessive taxes, fees, and/or regulations, imposed by government, which restrict supply relative to demand and…
Back in 2021, Huber Engineered Woods, a North Carolina company, announced a $440 million operation in northeastern Minnesota. It would have brought 150 new, high-paying jobs to southwest Itasca County,…
State and local taxes and spending Duluth News Tribune: A DFL View: Eliminating Minnesota state tax on Social Security ‘would come at an enormous cost’ Duluth News Tribune: Our View:…
Even with a forecast budget surplus of $17.6 billion over the next budget biennium, the DFL leaders in St. Paul are proposing to raise a range of taxes. There are…
State and local taxes and spending Duluth News Tribune: Statewide View: Is the DFL trying to chase people out of Minnesota? Duluth News Tribune: Our View: Minnesota taxpayers, brace yourselves…
Why well-intentioned government policies to help the poor often fail.
Why the state’s economic outlook isn’t as rosy as the Walz administration makes it seem.
In 2020-’21, Census Bureau data showed that 13,453 Minnesota residents left for other states, our state’s biggest net loss of domestic migrants in at least 30 years. That record stood for only…
Minnesota underperforms in terms of economic freedom.
State and local taxes and spending U.S. News: Tax the Rich? Liberals Renew Push for State Wealth Taxes CBS News: A national wealth tax has gone nowhere. Now some states…
State and local taxes and spending Kare 11: Tax conformity bill delivers tax cuts Kare 11: New MN tax bill and its impact KIMT 3: Some Minnesota DFL lawmakers express…
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Minnesota lost 5,200 jobs in December. And as always, that's still not the full story.