Denise Specht, President of Education Minnesota makes over $206,000 a year. Specht's gross salary increased $5,794 in 2016. Almost 70 executives and other staff at Education Minnesota make over $100,000…
MnDOT wants to add a second Amtrak train between Chicago and the Twin Cities. By the front page story in the Star Tribune, you’d likely think ridership on the taxpayer-subsidized…
Minnesota's Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved permits for a wind farm planned in Southern Minnesota despite opposition from local residents and property owners.
Minnesota's supposed 'labor shortage' represents an opportunity for the state's workers to find higher wages. These increases will be sustainable, driven, as they are, by underlying economic forces, and not…
Most people don’t know about the vast funding that has been funneled into activists groups opposing the use of fossil fuels. Numerous foundations and hundreds of millions of dollars are…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
Center of the American Experiment has initiated a poll in connection with our quarterly magazine, Thinking Minnesota. The poll, conducted by nationally-recognized Meeting Street, samples 500 Minnesota registered voters. Typically…
There is, in fact, quantitative analysis applicable to a recent commentary, but this is an issue that also can (and should) be discussed qualitatively — and with grace. This Counterpoint…
Electricity bills, especially in states with large renewable energy mandates, are skyrocketing. Rapidly increasing electricity prices have forced families to make tough decisions about whether to pay their electric bill,…
Wages have been rising in nominal terms in Minnesota, but inflation has taken much of that increase. Fortunately, if the Federal Reserve does its job, the prospects look better.
The Teamsters are certified under the law to represent police officers all over the state. The Center had to hire police to protect us while the Center and our guests…
A recent Star Tribune editorial (“Climate change is real in Minnesota, too,” Sept. 13) compared precipitation for two periods, 1941-70 and 1981-2010, and found that in the Twin Cities it…
If Metro Transit can’t hire drivers at $19.94, there is no need at all for a legally mandated minimum wage of $15.
Let’s look at how the Supreme Court’s Janus decision may affect public employees who have been paying full union dues. This op-ed originally appeared in the Star Tribune on September…
"The only restaurants that are going to be able to survive this (minimum wage hike without a tip credit) are big corporate chains. Small restaurants just can’t afford it" says…
The Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota appointed a committee last week to lead the search for a new president, as current president Eric Kaler will step down…
The growing homeless encampment near Cedar Riverside along Hiawatha and Franklin avenue in Minneapolis has proven dangerous, as two people have now passed away at the encampment. The encampment has…
As an integral part of American Experiment’s multi-year project, “Great Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree,” my colleagues Katherine Kersten, Catrin Thorman, and I have written a lot about how college…
Yesterday, American Experiment held a luncheon celebrating the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME featuring Mark Janus and Rebecca Friedrichs. The Teamsters Local 320, a labor union, decided to protest. Unions once played an important…
The economy we should want for Minnesota should be one of high investment driving rising wages. It is the economic model Germany had so much success with in the post-war…
Minnesota’s high income and business taxes put our state near the top of the least taxpayer friendly states in the union. But some local tax levy rates can be just…
The Center is celebrating the Constitution today by hosting Mark and Rebecca and their legal victory in June (Janus v. Afscme) at a luncheon in Minneapolis; they fought for and…
In July, Saint Paul's Mayor Melvin Carter cancelled the city's Independence Day fireworks citing lack of funds. But the Star Tribune reports that he turned down private offers to fund…
A piece in Friday’s Pipestone County Star reported that 39 industrial wind turbines with a total capacity of 101 megawatts would be built, comprising the Stoneray Wind Project in eastern…