Radio Traffic Reporter Agrees: We Need More Lanes

While driving back to the Golden Valley area from my parents’ house in Wisconsin, I caught the tail end of a Twin Cities traffic update. The report was as expected: car fire here, accident there, traffic congestion from construction everywhere. But what caught my attention was the announcer’s final comment on all the road construction projects currently underway.

Enviros Panic Over Judge’s Rejection of Wind Farm

Environmental activists and green energy special interest groups are circling the wagons. They’re panicking over an administrative law judge’s thumbs-down on a huge, but locally unpopular proposed wind farm on the Minnesota/Iowa border. That’s where American Experiment has erected numerous billboards in response to local opposition to wind farms in order to highlight the high cost and low benefits of Minnesota’s renewable energy mandate. Evidently, what most concerns the renewable energy industry is that the court based its decision on environmental grounds–noise pollution. A judge’s recommendation that a proposed Minnesota wind farm be nixed over turbine noise has drawn a...

Why are public schools feeding students, who are not in school, during the summer?

I am not at all unsympathetic to hungry kids if they have incompetent and/or neglectful parents. But this is not a proper expenditure or activity for any public school. Period. This gives a whole new meaning to in loco parentis. These schools have operational deficits and massive unfunded pension liabilities. Even if you could accept the argument that schools should feed kids year-round, and I do not, we do not have the money. The good news is local charities are involved; it should stop there.

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

Property taxes show that taxing wealth is easier said than done

In recent decades, wealth inequality in the United States has risen. One commonly touted solution is a wealth tax. But the story of property taxes in northern Minnesota illustrates the broader problem with wealth taxes. On paper, you might have the wealth to tax, but in reality, you might not have the cash to pay it. 

Will Line 3 Become the Next Major Pipeline Protest?

Did you know protesters from across the country are expected in Minnesota this month to protest the Line 3 oil pipeline?

Let’s Talk Janus on MPR Tuesday with Kerri Miller: Public Employee Union Case

Kim Crockett will join Kerri Miller on MPR tomorrow, Tuesday June 19th for an hour at 9:00 AM (91.1 FM) to discuss the public employee union fee case, Janus v Afscme. They will be joined by Jon Shelton, who studies the history of unions at UW-Green Bay. The High Court will rule by the end of June. Please join the conversation by calling 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.

Minnesota’s economic news, w/e 15/8/18

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