The losses just keep piling up for Spirit Mountain, the City of Duluth’s ski chalet. So what’s new? Back in 2015, the city transferred $300,000 from the tourist tax fund…
This morning the Star Tribune featured an article titled “Affordable housing crisis hits Eden Prairie families.” While the title referred to families generally, the entire article was about Somalis who…
I give Eliot Seide, Minnesota’s leading public employee union boss, credit for his clever Star Tribune column (“OK, it’s a drag, but think what your taxes do”) that painted all the…
Minnesotans pay the second highest amount among the state, $14,624 per capita, in federal taxes after Delaware. And it is not just because the women are strong and the men…
We have more than once debunked the claim–often asserted by liberals–that Minnesota’s recent economic performance under Governor Dayton has been better than Wisconsin’s performance under Governor Walker. This is alleged…
In yesterday’s Star Tribune, the paper’s editorial board hailed a recent study that found Minnesota’s state and local taxes are distributed nearly equally across all income categories. Minnesotans, the study…
The tax bills wending their way through Minnesota’s House and Senate include mostly good (although not very bold) provisions, with a few clinkers mixed in, like the subsidy for shrimp…
Today the Star Tribune headlines: “Twin Cities population growth lags other major U.S. cities.” Based on just-released Census Bureau data, the article says: The Twin Cities metro is growing slower…
Migration, especially domestic migration, is a key indicator of the desirability and success of an area. People vote with their feet and move to places with good jobs, affordable housing,…
Catrin Thorman wrote yesterday about a study by Minnesota’s legislative auditor that found one-third of recipients of Temporary Assistance For Needy Families funds were not eligible for the benefits they…
Minnesota is a little too nice to some of its welfare recipients. The state’s legislative auditor discovered the Department of Human Services (DHS) has handed out benefits to ineligible people.…
Minnesota has lots of water, but all of it is fresh. Shrimp live in salt water, of which Minnesota has none. So the state has never been associated with shrimp,…
In taxes, that is. That’s right: Minnesota is one of the five highest-tax states in the country. This ad is playing on radio stations around the state, in anticipation of…
Respected economist Lawrence Lindsey has written a piece in the Weekly Standard that explains why the House Republican tax plan “is exactly targeted at the economic ills that afflict our…
This map, produced by the Tax Foundation, shows the top individual income tax rate for each state. You will note that Minnesota is essentially tied with Oregon for the third-highest…
We cannot tell you with any certainty what the refugee resettlement program costs but what we can tell you is that the benefit side of that cost-benefit analysis is in…
The law of the unintended but absolutely predictable consequences of government action has struck again on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Washington County authorities have charged two Illinois men with smuggling cigarettes…
A CAE panel debates the ultimate effects of raising the minimum wage
We are hearing the call for more immigration every day in Minnesota as employers struggle to find good employees around the state. And it’s more like an alarm since the…
The Trump administration is right to call the Dodd-Frank legislation passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis a “massive government overreach.” As critical repair efforts begin in Washington,…
Margarita Monday, Tequila Tuesday, Wine Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Franzia Friday, Smirnoff Saturday… Minnesotans may soon be able to add, say, Sangria Sunday to the list. Sunday liquor sales have been…
Small business wants to enhance opportunities for people to enter the workforce.
This week the Tax Foundation, in collaboration with the Minnesota Business Partnership, released Minnesota Illustrated: A Visual Guide to Taxes & the Economy. The guide provides a chart book that…
This time of year, many Minnesotans are making New Year’s resolutions, pledging to do better in 2017 by going to the gym more often, spending more time with their kids,…