Minnesotans see much to be proud of in their economy and rightly so. But this should not lead to complacency. Prosperity isn't a given and we need to be watchful…
As price of labor went up, people bought less of it — as standard economic theory predicts. This op-ed appeared June 29, 2017 in the Star Tribune. The Minneapolis City…
Seattle's council commissioned research into the effects of its minimum wage increases. When it didn't like the results, it commissioned some more
Steven Hayward has written about how liberals enjoy hiking cigarette and alcohol taxes so less is consumed but somehow totally fail to understand economic basics like supply and demand and…
Higher wages will only come from higher productivity. Trying to raise wages by dictating prices is like trying to slow your car by pressing down on the speedometer’s needle.
The A-Mill Artists Lofts, located along the Mississippi River, are a special “affordable housing” project of the Metropolitan Council, City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, et. al. The project is subsidized…
Minnesota is a wonderful state with many advantages. But prosperity isn't a given. Rather than patting ourselves on the back over this or that bit of data, we need to…
People often say “If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get one”. Fine. If you don't want a job at $9.50 per hour, don’t get one.
Minneapolis’ small business owners are vital to the economy and will struggle with this proposed ordinance. All politicians like Council Member Bender can offer them are empty clichés. Since when…
Higher minimum wages hurt the very unskilled workers they are intended to help. They also hurt small businesses rather than big ones. Minneapolis City Council's discussion of the $15 per…
There’s plenty of threats for the state to keep track of about when it comes to crossing state lines. Most Minnesotans wouldn’t put grapes on the watch list. Yet state…
The Dayton administration has added another benefit apparently without identifying the cost or source of funds to pay for it. Ironically, one of the reforms that Dayton vetoed in SF…
There are jobs available in Minnesota for those without a four year degree. New data shows you where to look
Health and education are vital. Leisure and hospitality are mainstays of the economy in vast swathes of Minnesota. But to have high quality hospitals and schools and to be able…
This op-ed appeared in the Duluth News-Tribune on June 13, 2017. Embattled Gov. Mark Dayton has been on the road lately. On May 30, after a marathon legislative session that…
The main victims of Dodd-Frank were not big banks, but small ones. By clamping down on them, the Act has damaged American economic growth. Its removal is long overdue
Minnesotan manufacturing had a good month in April. We need that to create more productive jobs in the state
The wealth of some does not cause the poverty of others. Making the wealthy less wealthy will not cause the poor to be less poor.
The House and Senate agreed to over $1 billion dollars in tax cuts last week, much of it focused on the middle class. The largest chunk—nearly $220 million—went to cut…
American employers have a lot to learn from Germany’s apprenticeship model. At least, that’s what BMW’s success at its production facility in Spartanburg, S.C. suggests. BMW is the biggest car…
The good news? The feds support Lutsen Mountains ski resort’s planned expansion. The project would nearly double the amount of slopes for skiing by using 400 acres of bordering land…
The Star Tribune reports that the flow of refugees into Minnesota has slowed drastically since President Trump’s orders limiting travel from several countries. This chart shows the numbers: The reasons…
In recent decades, Connecticut has been much like Minnesota: an unabashed blue state that enacted liberal fiscal policies, secure in the conviction that it could collect endless amounts of money…
So what has Dayton done with billions in new revenue? “The net effect is still that under Dayton, Minnesota’s tax system has become meaningfully less regressive. But it should be…