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Our Top Takeaways from the 2018 Minnesota Legislative Session
The Minnesota House and Senate adjourned late Sunday night, and brought the 2018 legislative session to a close. With Governor Mark Dayton likely to follow through on threats to veto key pieces of legislation, the complete book on the session is still being written. Here are quick takes from North Star’s three policy experts…
Read MoreMinnesota Follows National Trend in 2015 Income Growth
Data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) released last week shows strong growth in mean and median household income in the U.S. from 2014 to 2015. Data from the Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) confirms this trend, although the rate of growth is somewhat lower than that indicated by CPS data. In addition,…
Read MoreCity & District Info on Potential Special Session LGA
Last week, North Star discussed potential outcomes in regard to city Local Government Aid (LGA) if there is and if there is not a 2016 special session. If there is no special session, city LGA in 2017 will be distributed under current law. For most cities, this will translate into a tiny aid increase in…
Read MoreRobust Income Growth in 2015
The U.S. Census Bureau released 2015 household income information this week and the news—for the most part—was positive. Real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) income increased by the largest annual rate since the Great Recession, both nationally and in Minnesota. Furthermore, the increase was widespread, affecting nearly all demographic groups. On the other hand, median household income remains…
Read MoreMid-Week Reads: Merkel and Minnesotans' Income
Every week, North Star will take some time out of our schedules to bring you our favorite reads from the past week. Jeff Van Wychen Merkel’s Mettle The current world leader that I admire above all others is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel has risked her political career by welcoming one million Syrian refugees to…
Read MoreLocal Government Aid During a Potential Special Session
An August North Star article described the main effect of no 2016 special session: a larger state budget reserve. The same article noted some of the likely effects if there is a special session, including “an increase in state assistance to local governments.” With renewed discussions among the Governor and legislative leaders regarding a special…
Read MoreIncome Inequality on Steroids: The Top of the Top 1%
Minnesota is no exception to the national trend of rising income inequality. Previous installments in this series have shown the concentration of income at the top of Minnesota’s income spectrum and the growing gap between the top one percent and middle-income households, especially after adjusting for inflation. However, to fully understand the extent to which…
Read MoreRich Get Richer, Middle Class Not So Lucky
The growing income gap between the top one percent and the less well-off has been documented many times, most recently in two North Star articles. The first of these articles used data from Minnesota Tax Incidence Studies (MTIS) spanning the last quarter century to demonstrate the increased concentration at the top of Minnesota’s income spectrum,…
Read MoreMid-Week Reads: Minnesota's Economy and Colin Kaepernick
Every week, North Star will take some time out of our schedules to bring you our favorite reads from the past week. Jeff Van Wychen The Center of the American Experiment Report on Minnesota’s Economy? It’s Politics, Not Economics. Saint John’s University economist and regular MinnPost contributor Louis Johnston critiques the recent CAE report on…
Read MoreGrowing Income Gap Between the Top and the Middle
Information from the biennial Minnesota Tax Incidence Study (MTIS) confirms in greater detail what was already known in a broad sense—income inequality in Minnesota is increasing over time. Using data from the thirteen published Incidence Studies, part 1 of this series documented the increased concentration of income among the five percent of households with the…
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