For a few months now, a common theme in the local media is that the inflation rate in the Twin Cities is lower than in comparable metropolitan areas. In October,…
Back in January, the Center For Rural Policy and Development reported that: Was this a one-off or will it continue? Will the populations of “rural” counties continue to grow more…
The Twin Cities have an affordable housing problem as the result of excessive taxes, fees, and regulations that effectively make it illegal to build affordable housing there. Occasionally, when I…
A year ago, I wrote about twin examples offered by one of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, St. Paul, of the principles of Econ 101 in action. The Saint Paul City Council passed a minimum…
We at the Center have written a lot about Minnesota’s relatively expensive housing. A recent article by Jim Buchta and MaryJo Webster for the Star Tribune explained how bad the situation is…
On housing and child care, Minnesotans face higher costs than many other Americans. In 2019, the average Minnesota family paid over $16,000 to keep a child at a day care…
This week, the state legislature passed HF 5, which provides a free breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota public school children, rich and poor alike. Extending free meals to rich…
When he announced his $65.2 billion two-year “One Minnesota” budget, a 26% increase from the current two-year budget, Gov. Walz claimed that it will “lower costs, cut taxes, and improve…
We at the Center have long noted the relative expense of housing in Minnesota. And as I wrote earlier this year: A price is not a problem so much as…
In May, I wrote about Census Bureau data which showed that in 2021 Minneapolis lost 3,678 residents (a decline of 0.9% in its population): To put this in context, in…
According to the Havard Joint Center for Housing Studies, the median house price has risen about 12 percent in the Twin Cities between Quarter 1 of 2021, and Quarter 1…
The rent control ordinance passed in St. Paul last November has been a disaster. One of the strictest rent control measures in the United States, it capped annual rent increases at 3%…
In March, I had an op-ed in the Star Tribune about the shortage of ‘affordable housing’ in the Twin Cities, in which I argued that: A price is not a…
Are people greedier here? Recently, I had an op-ed in the Star Tribune arguing that the high housing costs we face in Minnesota are not a problem, but rather a…
Census Bureau data show that, in 2021, Minnesota lost 13,453 residents to other states, its biggest net loss of domestic migrants to other states in at least 30 years. Data…
Broad agreement exists that we suffer an affordable housing crisis in Minnesota — especially in the Twin Cities. The cause is no mystery. Affordable housing is scarce here because state…