When politicians decree that labor costs will rise, businesses are incentivized to switch to capital inputs rather than labor. Who wins and who loses from this?
Leaving aside the question of whether government ought to be involving itself in these sorts of personal decisions, cigarette taxes don't even appear to be working on their own terms. But…
The Left’s mantra and article of faith in the ongoing immigration debate is that “Diversity is our strength.” Here is a well-written contrary view from California State University political science…
Connexus Energy is building two electricity “storage” systems — solar-panel arrays connected to big batteries. Cheerleaders of solar plus storage have hailed this a victory for our state, but in…
We all want to see higher wages. They’re are the best way of guaranteeing a good standard of living. But, to be sustainable, they need to come from higher productivity,…
You’d never know it from the media’s selective coverage of the environment. But our nation’s air quality has vastly improved over the past several decades, even as the economy tripled…
Yesterday I wrote about how Minneapolis’ renewable energy targets are just expensive virtue signalling. A closer look at the City advisory board helps explain why the state’s largest city could…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
Minneapolis seems determined to rush toward 100 percent renewable energy by 2023, but perhaps its time for the City to pump the brakes on environmental virtue signalling and consider whether…
It long has been a political fact of life in Minneapolis that conservatives and Republicans are nowhere to be found on the city council, school board, or among the city’s…
At 23 years old, Jamieson Lindquist already has a fruit-filled career and future. With a two-year degree in agriculture, Lindquist is debt free, owns his own home, and is the…
Minneapolis has passed an ordnance raising the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020 and St. Paul is currently considering similar legislation. But why? If you are unsatisfied with…
President Trump describes his trade policies as "America First." But he could just as well say "Buy Local." After all, in terms of the economic logic, his trade war is…
This falls under the “Believe It or Not” category of Minnesota election laws, along with same -day registration, voting without having to identify yourself, language assistance (if they cannot read…
Last night, Black Lives Matter blocked intersections, and the light rail, in the hopes of disrupting fans on their way to the Twins Game. I saw it firsthand.
This op-ed appeared July 29, 2018 in the Duluth News Tribune. This month, the News Tribune published a commentary by Sandra B. Zellmer and Alexandra B. Klass of the Center for Progressive…
One of the Met Council’s core functions is transit. I could not help wondering if the Council focused more on delivering good transit, rather than trying to re-arrange the metro…
We are looking for teachers, home health-care providers, state and local government employees, and anyone else whose money was taken, or rights restricted, by a public-employee union. Could that be…
David Cooper of the Economic Policy Institute, author of a recent report comparing the economic performances of Minnesota and Wisconsin, has a counterpoint to my counterpoint in today's Star Tribune.…
The State of Minnesota has gifted more taxpayer dollars to the solar industry. This time the subsidies take the form of a $3.5 million dollar state loan package that was…
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and this cartoon definitely fits the bill. The next time someone delivers a sermon to you on the virtues of wind and…
This essay originally appeared on the Institute for Family Studies website. I didn’t cheat. Neither did my brother or my sister. Both affirmed this adamantly when I asked them if…
Economic policies in the Gopher State have yielded better results? Data suggest otherwise.
There are two kinds of policy proposals: those that are actually intended to do something about a problem, and those that everyone knows won’t do any good, but are intended…