Archive for August 2018
Minnesota vs. U.S. Income Trends Since the Great Recession
When it comes to income trends in Minnesota, we’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that income growth in Minnesota has surpassed the national average over the last decade, both in aggregate and within every income group. The bad news is that income inequality has increased over this period,…
Read MoreWelcome Home
Minnesota has a reputation as a great place to call home. In national rankings of quality of life, job quality, child wellbeing, and cost of living we look pretty attractive. Among the competitive advantages of Minnesota is that historically we have been an affordable place to find a home. However, across the state communities that…
Read MoreBusinesses Pay a Relatively Small Share of Minnesota’s Total Tax Bill
Businesses pay nearly two-fifths of all state and local taxes collected in Minnesota. This is significantly less than the national average and less than in all but a handful of states. Each year, Ernst & Young (EY), in conjunction with the Council on State Taxation (COST) and the State Tax Research Institute (STRI), publishes Total…
Read MoreMinnesota in the Middle on Middle-Income Taxes
Minnesota conservatives work hard to portray Minnesota as a high tax state. In reality, state and local effective tax rates for middle-income families in Minnesota are fairly typical of the rates in other states. In addition, average effective tax rates for lower-income households in Minnesota are below the national average. The state and local effective…
Read MoreMinnesota Earns High Marks for Fiscal Responsibility
Last week, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) upgraded Minnesota’s general obligation (GO) bond rating to “AAA”—its highest ranking. Minnesota became one of only thirteen states to enjoy a AAA GO rating from at least two of the “big three” credit rating agencies (S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s). The improvement in Minnesota’s credit rating not only has the…
Read MoreCounterpoint: Progressive policies in Minnesota are working for workers
(Note: this commentary was published by the Star Tribune on July 26, 2018.) As corporate profits soar, working people are rightly demanding fair wages, thereby inciting the ire and criticism of both conservative policymakers and academics. A recent column (“Higher wage is hurting those it’s supposed to help,” July 23) claimed that Minnesota’s higher minimum wage…
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