News

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

A program pioneered by the countertop manufacturer Cambria to offer English language classes to help immigrant workers better succeed at work and in society has become a model for both…

The job sector is facing two issues: (1) employers cannot find qualified individuals to fill positions in their companies (2) individuals do not qualify for high paying high skilled jobs.…

One of the biggest issues for Minnesota’s electric grid is the topic of transmission lines. Transmission lines are expensive, and renewable energy sources, especially wind, require a lot more transmission…

There is good reason that 81% of economists agree that rent controls are bad policy. The harmful consequences of Berlin's rent controls are just one more example. 

Today the Minnesota Senate’s State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee passed S.F. 3496, which would prevent the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency from copying regulations enacted by the California Air…

Time and time again, evidence has shown that occupational licensing often exists not to protect the public, but rather incumbent producers from competition. By discouraging new entrants, incumbents are able…

Thomas Sowell is a brilliant economist and social theorist currently a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Sowell has been one of the modern-day’s big advocates against the social welfare…

Today was a step forward for the efforts of conservative lawmakers to prevent the Walz administration from imposing unpopular California car mandates on Minnesotans. Senate File 3496 passed out of…

But has that made the average American any better off?

This week the Minnesota House’s Energy and Climate Finance and Policy Division passed H.F. 1405, the Clean Energy First Act. The bill’s companion in the Senate, S.F. 1456, passed in…

Apparently the Minnesota Voters Alliance hasn’t grown tired of all the winning yet. The MVA has compiled an impressive list of legal victories in its mission of insuring the integrity…

If you build them, the wind won’t necessarily come. I’ve recently reported that wind facilities in Minnesota produced less electricity in 2018 than 2017, and newly-released data from the U.S.…

The 1619 Project's essay on slavery and capitalism got it wrong about the 19th century economy. It was also pretty far off on the current economy.

Minnesota Secretary Steve Simon regularly lectures legislators over the online vulnerability of Minnesota’s election system, but it turns out the only threat so far has come from Simon himself. In…

A new paper provides insightful and compelling evidence that a private school choice program has actually ended up benefitting the public school students critics claim it would harm.

A new study provides qualified support for the private provision of social insurance.

Governor Walz wants to adopt California’s car mandates requiring that car manufacturers deliver electric vehicles for sale in Minnesota, but this video from the Clear Energy Alliance pours cold water…

In 2018, Wilder research provided data showing how much the Northeastern Minnesota economy loses due to a shortage of childcare. Among other things, the report showed that: (1) Families in…

The University of Minnesota has hired the law firm at the center of the controversy over the discredited Trump dossier. Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm, will be overseeing a…

The evidence suggests that politicians in St. Paul would have more revenue to spend if they got rid of the estate tax.

I have a lot of policy disagreements with Xcel Energy, but I firmly believe it is important to give credit when credit is due. The video below is from last…

Heartland’s Donald Kendal, and Justin Haskins are joined by Isaac Orr in episode 232 of the In The Tank Podcast. The latest debate brought us some laughs as well as…

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.