If the goal is helping the neediest during a global pandemic, raising taxes is the last thing Minnesota legislators should try when they convene in January.
This good news for the state government hides the reality of bad news indeed for the state's lower income earners. How do we help them?
Rep. Little celebrates his skill - election season is no time for modesty - in taking money from you and your kids and giving it back to you with his…
In his time in office the last two years, Governor Walz has pushed for increased spending and multiple tax hikes earning him a grade D on Cato's 2020 Fiscal Policy…
The ever-upward march of government spending ought to be halted. We couldn’t afford in the fat years, and we can’t afford in the lean ones.
In response to Minnesota Management and Budget’s deficit projection, Center of the American Experiment economist John Phelan released the following statement: “Politicians should not use the budget deficit as an…
Minnesotans are already some of the most heavily taxed citizens in the U.S. and the state government is already spending record amounts of money per resident. The forecast budget deficit…
In the space of a few weeks, Minnesota's fiscal question has been flipped on its head: from 'How do we deal with a forecast surplus?' to 'How do we deal…
The government is putting large swathes of the economy into 'sleep mode' to fight the Coronavirus. Here is what we need to do to make sure there is an economy…
How government policies undermine Minnesota’s need to replenish its workforce.
Spend it, or leave it with the hard working taxpayers who earned it? That is the $1.5 billion question facing policymakers in St. Paul this session.
More research shows that high state income taxes have a negative impact on the performance of sports teams from those states .
This morning, our economist, John Phelan, spoke before the House Ways and Means Committee on HF150, which would require that the inflation rate be included in the state economic forecast.
Property taxes illustrate the problem with ‘wealth taxes.’
The purpose of taxation is not to bash the rich but to raise revenue to pay for government functions. Minnesota should repeal its estate tax.
Research finds "a significant negative relation between the amount of the net (after-tax) salary cap represented by the personal income tax rate of the teams’ home states and the success…
Minnesota's policymakers should cut taxes on e-cigarettes if they want to discourage smoking.
Is the forecast surplus a nice little bonus for Minnesota's politicians? Or should it be left with the hardworking taxpayers who earned it?
Today Minnesota Management and Budget released their biannual Budget and Economic Forecast. The state’s economist projected a $1.332 billion state surplus, and that’s after sending $284 million to the budget…
In response to the Budget and Economic Forecast projecting a $1.332 billion surplus, Center of the American Experiment Economist John Phelan released the following statement: “We can attribute this budget surplus…
The purpose of tax is to raise money to pay for government functions. On this score, Minnesota's estate tax is a loser and it should be repealed.
As state and local agencies scramble to get their borrowing requests in, ask yourself two questions; 1) Is this really 'investment'? and 2) Should the government be doing this?
In May, we wrote that the already weak case for hiking taxes on Minnesotans had just got weaker. New numbers from Minnesota Management and Budget show that, since then, its gotten…
State tax revenues and spending show a steady relationship over time with state GDP. The lesson is clear: if you want to boost state government tax revenues, support policies which…