On July 22, 2015 the chair of the Met Council Adam Duininck sent a letter to the chair of the House Transportation Committee, in which Duininck pledged: “Should the Legislature…
Following up on last week’s blog, the new one below again looks at a recently released national report aimed at “eliminating” – not just reducing but completely ending – child…
I have several good buddies who make sure I see I keep up with my pension math. So earlier this week, I got a number of friendly pings pointing to…
The Minneapolis City Council recently voted to require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. The requirement applies to firms with six or more employees and extends to all…
With the overwhelming preponderance of media coverage of the recently concluded legislative session focusing on transportation, taxes, and bonding, most people remain unaware that we – meaning everyone in Minnesota…
The disconnect between citizens and bigger-than-ever government continues to drive discontent with politics as usual at every level. Folks who used to think they had not just a stake, but…
They’ve garnered hundreds more signatures on their petition campaigns than five-term Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead received in votes last November. But it remains to be seen whether the third and…
Connecticut’s dismal economic performance and budget crisis offer a harsh lesson on the limits and consequences of a state raising taxes too high. My analysis of data from the IRS that…
Today the St. Cloud Times published an op-ed I wrote on how Minnesota’s high taxes are becoming even more of an outlier as a number of states, including traditionally high tax…
The Minnesota legislative session officially ended with the usual last minute drama. In the final hour, the House passed a $1 billion bonding bill and sent it to the Senate…
In brief, the pension omnibus bill contains some good policy changes such as a higher contribution rate for St. Paul Teachers and lower COLAs that are estimated to immediately save…
Heck with expensive bourbon and more expensive cigars. There’s nothing like an intriguing endnote about a social service program in Ohio called “Choose Your Partner Carefully” to cap off a…
It’s not every day a state’s top prosecutor faces accusations of potential “abuse of prosecutorial discretion” and questions over “the integrity of your office.” But Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson…
In March, Center of the American Experiment released the report, Minnesotans on the Move to Lower Tax States 2016, in which I analyzed IRS migration data. These data track the…
The Center’s 2016 Annual Dinner was Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis. Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was the keynote speaker. The dinner is always a…
It’s a given that solar power is unreliable as a source of base load power to meet our daily energy requirements. After all, the sun—at best—shines some of the time.…
Star Tribune readers were greeted May 8 with the front-page headline, “Tax hike not chasing rich from state.” Online the headline read, “There’s no evidence that ultrarich are fleeing Minnesota.”…
Minnesota is presently collecting more revenue than it needs. The latest economic forecast projects a $900 million surplus for the current budget and a $2 billion surplus projected for the…
The eagle has landed in rural Mower County, shutting down three turbines at the Pleasant Valley Wind farm for a month so far in hopes of preventing a deadly collision…
Rushford-Peterson Schools bond referendum passed in 2014, construction started in 2015, but a citizens group wants to turn back the clock in 2016 on the controversial $38 million project in…
Buffalo Township, Minn.–Residents of Buffalo Township are voicing concerns over the environmental impact of a solar power project they say has leveled hundreds of mature hardwoods and taken fertile cropland…
Last week the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a challenge to St. Paul’s right of way maintenance (ROW) fee. The case presents the Court with an opportunity to…
I participated on a panel earlier this week on the stubborn persistence of achievement gaps, and as you might guess, at the first opening I jumped in and started talking…
A University of Minnesota economics professor leading a study underway on a possible $15 per hour minimum wage in Minneapolis will be paid $120 per hour plus benefits under a…