COVID “doesn’t discriminate by age”: Serious cases on the rise in younger adults So ran an MPR News headline at the weekend. I last wrote about this in November: The…
The Minnesota Chamber has a new report out: “Minnesota: 2030, a framework for economic growth.” It is a weighty tome, but this does mean that it contains a lot of…
This op ed appeared in the Litchfield Independent Review on May 3, 2021 Even with a forecast budget surplus of $1.6 billion for the 2022-2023 biennium and $4.6 billion coming…
State and local taxes and spending The Neighbor: Minnesota House passes plan to raise high-earner taxes, exempt some PPP loans and unemployment benefits Duluth News Tribune: Statewide View: House tax…
Once, not long ago, pretty much everyone supported “equality.” Some might have been more sincere than others. Some might have had slightly different notions of it: equality before the law…
Even with a forecast budget surplus of $1.6 billion for the 2022-2023 biennium and $4.6 billion coming from the federal government in the latest round of COVID-19 relief money, some…
This op-ed appeared in the Star Tribune on April 28th, 2021 As Minnesota’s economy slowly begins to recover from COVID-19 and the measures taken by state government to fight it,…
Minnesota’s unemployment rate ticks down in March; Logging, mining shows strength – International Falls Journal Unemployment rates fall statewide for third month in a row – KAAL TV Unemployment rate…
Last week, I wrote about how increased unemployment benefits are preventing employers from hiring. This isn’t just a problem for Minnesota or for specific industries. As the Wall Street Journal reports:…
State and local taxes and spending Duluth News Tribune: Minnesota film tax credit bills could bring movie, TV production boom to Northland Valley News Live: MN House Democrats Pass Omnibus…
Last month I noted that Minnesota’s state government was planning to tax federal government loans made to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): The PPP loaned businesses money, a…
WJON reports: After being forced to shut down for several months last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the big challenge facing bars and restaurants now is finding enough workers to…
This op ed appeared in the Duluth News Tribune on April 19th, 2021 Hopes are high among some that the $2 trillion President Joe Biden intends to spend with his…
Last year, we released a report titled ‘Minnesota’s Border Battles‘ in which we compared the economic outcomes in Minnesota counties bordering other states with the outcomes in the border counties…
Last week, KPVI ran a report titled: ‘Some Minnesota businesses report hiring problems, citing enhanced unemployment benefits‘: With more relaxed restrictions and the promise of warmer months ahead, businesses are…
State and local taxes and spending Pine Journal: Minnesota budget battles ignite; court decision kicks lawmakers into action on rape law re-write Star Tribune: Minnesota Legislature’s budget plans differ on…
Following this week’s killing of Daunte Wright by a Brooklyn Center police officer, protesters exercised their First Amendment right to “peaceably” assemble. It must be rather galling for these protesters…
A Minnesota dairy producer's openness on why he had little choice but to move his operation to Colorado in order to prosper reveals much about the state's toxic business climate.
Today, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development released unemployment numbers for March. The headline was that the our state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down from 4.5% in February…
In our new report ‘The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2020‘, we wrote: Tax rates and, to a slightly lesser extent, their actual burdens, are, by their nature, relatively easy to…
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year it revealed a couple of major flaws in Minnesota’s health care system. One was the moratorium on building new hospitals. Without this, we…
Minimum wage hikes make certain workers more expensive to hire. Generally speaking, if something becomes more expensive, people buy less of it, so we would expect minimum wage hikes to…
State and local taxes and spending Grand Rapids Herald Review: Here Is How Much People Pay in Taxes in Minnesota Marshall Independent: Daudt hopeful for more tax breaks Inforum: Area…
The COVID-19 pandemic and government responses to it have wrought havoc with Minnesota’s economy over the last year. So, it was surprising to read in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal…