June 8th, 1984. Billy Gardner's Twins lost 6-1 at Comiskey Park. ABC was putting repeats of Benson and Webster up against a repeat of the Dukes of Hazzard on CBS. The Celtics beat the…
Faced with wage hikes, one way employers can respond is by switching to use capital instead of labor inputs. As prices of machines fall and their reliability increases, this becomes…
My first minimum wage job in a pizza restaurant at the age of 16 taught me the most basic, important skill of all: getting my behind out of bed in…
There is a persistent notion among supporters of minimum wage hikes that they represent a ‘free lunch’. They argue that big businesses, awash with cash, are paying their workers less…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
It is no secret that Minnesota is one of the most highly taxed states in the union. We are one of the 43 states to have its own income tax,…
A new report says that Super Bowl LII boosted Minnesota's economy by $400. But what did it cost the state to get that boost?
Today sees the release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of its estimates of Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment. These can be a useful way to compare economic performance. Minnesota’s…
Wages are just one part of total worker compensation. A new paper shows that when minimum wages are hiked, it is these other parts of worker compensation that are hit.…
In Endcliffe Park in my hometown, Sheffield, there is a memorial to Lt John Kriegshauser, John Humphrey, Robert Mayfield, Charles Tuttle, Vito Ambrosio, George Williams, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, Harry Estabrooks,…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
All too often, the policy debates of today are simply refights of the battles of yesteryear. Because of this, old arguments often retain a modern relevance. Milton Friedman was an…
Tax something more you get less of that something. Policymakers have long applied this logic to things they want to discourage like smoking and drinking, so why don't they apply…
Gov. Dayton's veto of the tax bill means no tax conformity for Minnesota. This will lead to chaos next tax season as ordinary Minnesotans fill out more forms to pay…
When Governor mark Dayton vetoed the tax bill last week, one of the reasons he gave was that “This bill is cake to the rich and big corporations and crumbs…
This op-ed appeared May 21, 2018 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There’s an old saying where I’m from: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. The…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
As Frank Drebin said, the idea of a queen is silly. But when you look at the alternatives, you might be less keen to change it.
New data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that between 2000 and 2016, job growth was strongest on a North West to South East axis along the Mississippi and…
In its new report, the Economic Policy Institute argues that "Wisconsin’s determined efforts to weaken unions have contributed to the state’s poor wage growth". But data from the Bureau of Labor…
The passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, the biggest overhaul of the tax code in more than three decades, offered Minnesota an opportunity to look…
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
In its new report, the Economic Policy Institute claims that Minnesota's performance in labor force participation rates since Gov. Dayton took office vindicates Big Government policies. It can only say…
Wisconsin's Gov. Walker inherited an unemployment rate of 8.1% in January 2011, and our own Gov. Dayton inherited one of 7.1%. Since then, Wisconsin's unemployment rate has fallen by 5.2…