Minnesota is one of the top states in the nation for good jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. That’s the finding of a new report from Georgetown University’s Center…
Philanthropic organizations in Minnesota are devoting major efforts to training the state’s neediest citizens for in-demand jobs. A coalition of Twin Cities foundations called MSP Win is leading the way.…
America needs more welders, and recently a delegation of them went to Washington to tell policy-makers so. Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York wrote about their visit in the Wall…
Economists have had a number of theories for economic growth over the years. The most recent offers hope for the future.
Compared to its peers, the Twin Cities' economy is only middling
Net neutrality may be one of the most intangible issues in the public arena. Hard to explain, hard to understand, hard to get too worked about about. Yet it’s often…
With Congress reconvening and tax reform in the offing, where do our state's legislators stand?
When Les Engel and a handful of other St. Cloud-area manufacturers got together one morning in 2008 to strategize about their “talent pipeline” problem, they had no idea how many…
I had an exceptional intern this summer, Tori Roloff, who worked with me on two projects: American Experiment’s multi-year initiative, “Great Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree”; and a related book…
The vast burden of federal regulations is well known. But what's the picture at state level?
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…
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.
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…
Once again, evidence shows what theory predicts. Raising the price of something, in this case labor, increases the demand for substitutes, in this case machines.
GDP per person is what matters for the economic well-being of Minnesotans. An immigration policy focused on increasing that will have to prioritize skilled immigrants
The State of Minnesota’s revenue in July fell “well below government forecasts”, continuing a trend that has gone on for several months. Governor Dayton naturally focused on the extremely modest…
Steven Hayward calls it a “stopped clock moment” but in his latest New York Times column Thomas Friedman basically comes out as agreeing with key parts of the Trump agenda. …
Policymakers who see immigration as a tool to boost economic growth need to focus on skills
It's often said that the evidence in the minimum wage debate is clear. And it is.
Labor demand is growing in Minnesota causing wages to rise. Apparently, this is a crisis.
For years we’ve been told the state needs to throw tens of millions of taxpayer dollars at providing high-speed internet access to rural areas. Along the way, private providers have often…
Data on metropolitan areas shows Minnesota's economic performance is increasingly mediocre
Some argue that there are goods and services which must by paid for by taxation simply because a particular group of people likes them. There is little merit in this…
In recent years, Wisconsin’s job growth has rapidly outpaced Minnesota’s. And that was before the announcement of one of the biggest development projects in years, Foxconn’s first-ever expansion into the…