The participation rate for 16 to 19 year olds in Minnesota has fallen from 69.8% in 2000 to 52.3% in 2016, a fall of 17.5 percentage points. Improving this recent…
It is no secret that Minnesota is one of the most highly taxed states in the union and that applies to excise taxes. New data from the Tax Foundation shows that, in fiscal year…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
Homeowners’ complaints over inflated property valuations by Minneapolis tax assessors have paid off for the vast majority who took on the city. Hundreds of residents have received write-downs after challenging…
Faced with wage hikes, one way employers can respond is by switching to use capital instead of labor inputs. As prices of machines fall and their reliability increases, this becomes…
My first minimum wage job in a pizza restaurant at the age of 16 taught me the most basic, important skill of all: getting my behind out of bed in…
There is a persistent notion among supporters of minimum wage hikes that they represent a ‘free lunch’. They argue that big businesses, awash with cash, are paying their workers less…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
It is no secret that Minnesota is one of the most highly taxed states in the union. We are one of the 43 states to have its own income tax,…
A new report says that Super Bowl LII boosted Minnesota's economy by $400. But what did it cost the state to get that boost?
Today sees the release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of its estimates of Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment. These can be a useful way to compare economic performance. Minnesota’s…
Wages are just one part of total worker compensation. A new paper shows that when minimum wages are hiked, it is these other parts of worker compensation that are hit.…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
St. Louis County Assessor Dave Sipila and his team went big this year, jacking up the assessed market valuations on scores of mostly commercial properties in Duluth essentially overnight. But…
All too often, the policy debates of today are simply refights of the battles of yesteryear. Because of this, old arguments often retain a modern relevance. Milton Friedman was an…
Tax something more you get less of that something. Policymakers have long applied this logic to things they want to discourage like smoking and drinking, so why don't they apply…
Gov. Dayton's veto of the tax bill means no tax conformity for Minnesota. This will lead to chaos next tax season as ordinary Minnesotans fill out more forms to pay…
Our friend Fritz Corrigan wrote this op-ed in today’s Star Tribune about Mosaic Co.–the company Fritz formerly headed as CEO–departing Minnesota for Florida: I am a 40-year veteran of Cargill…
When Governor mark Dayton vetoed the tax bill last week, one of the reasons he gave was that “This bill is cake to the rich and big corporations and crumbs…
This op-ed appeared May 21, 2018 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There’s an old saying where I’m from: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. The…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
New data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that between 2000 and 2016, job growth was strongest on a North West to South East axis along the Mississippi and…
In its new report, the Economic Policy Institute argues that "Wisconsin’s determined efforts to weaken unions have contributed to the state’s poor wage growth". But data from the Bureau of Labor…
Minnesota faces a looming shortage of skilled workers, and we look increasingly to our community and technical colleges to help solve it. But here’s a big problem: Many first-year students…