The IRS (internal Revenue Service) has released data on individual income for the the tax year 2017. The data shows that the U.S tax system continues to be progressive with…
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.
Many people in the Twin Cities are vaguely aware of the fact that Minnesota mines iron ore, but few understand the scale or importance of mining to the communities who…
Teacher merit pay does have merit and should rejoin the teacher compensation debate.
We’ve all heard about organizations “too big to fail.” But what about government agencies “too big to function?” That pretty well sums up the situation at the Minnesota Department of…
The Minnesota Senate has introduced a bill that would expressly prohibit the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) from adopting California’s controversial car mandates and they have asked me to testify…
Research shows that 'the rich' mostly worked to get rich, many really did 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps', and that people who are 'the rich' today might not be…
Last Thursday, the St. Paul teachers’ union held a vote to authorize a strike. The strike would be in response to stalled negotiations with the district over a new two-year…
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board regularly makes news for all the wrong reasons. Awhile back the board’s chaotic public meetings routinely made headlines for being disrupted and even shut…
More research shows that high state income taxes have a negative impact on the performance of sports teams from those states .
Early mentoring — and a job prospect — can help offenders re-enter society. This op-ed originally appeared in the Star Tribune on February 24, 2020. [Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, Associated…
The digital economy’s transformative presence in Africa illustrates the power of the market to give people what they value.
Recently-released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms what many of us already knew, that solar panels don’t work well in our Minnesota winters. The data is interesting…
Marriott is the biggest hotel company in the world, a fixture on the Fortune 500 list. But whether the corporation follows through with a proposed $14 million SpringHill Suites hotel…
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.
Middle-skills pathway credentials are becoming more important to meet workforce demands in our expanding non-bachelor's-degree economy. According to a report by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, certificates…
Last week, I testified before a joint hearing of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee about the Walz administration’s desire to force Minnesotans to comply with California’s car…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
I do applaud the new direction the Fed is taking to possibly focus on the supply side. During the America's Rental Housing Report Release, Neel Kashkari emphasized the need to…
The Center submitted comments recently to the U.S. Department of Labor in support of a proposed rule that would increase the financial transparency and democratic procedures of labor unions.
We’re constantly told that solar is the energy source of the future, and that we need not worry about rising electricity prices and the loss of jobs in the mining,…
One man's journey from first rate academic economist to tedious, partisan bore.
Childcare providers in Washington are speaking out. They blame increasing regulatory oversight as one of the main reasons they fail to operate or even leave the industry. Regulations are also…
What is good, bad, and absent from the Senate Republican tax bill