Is the Estate Tax Really “Double Taxation?”

by | Jan 20, 2018

Estate taxes reduce wealth inequality by taxing a portion of huge intergenerational wealth transfers, as noted in the previous installment in this series. Nonetheless, conservatives consistently call for reductions to or elimination of this tax, partly on the grounds...

Estate Taxes in the Age of Inequality

by | Jan 18, 2018

Income and wealth inequality has accelerated in recent decades; at the same time, reliance on the progressive estate tax as a state revenue source has waned. Certainly, the decline of the estate tax is not the only—or even a primary—cause for the increase in...

Minnesota Kids Above Average, But Not as Much as They Used to Be

by | Jan 11, 2018

Ten years ago, Minnesota failed to live up to its reputation for having a well-funded public school system relative to other states, as per pupil public school spending in the Gopher State dropped below the national average. While recent increases in school funding...

Minnesota Revenue & Spending Levels Typical of Other States

by | Jan 5, 2018

While Minnesota ranks fairly high among states in terms of per capita own-source revenue, total revenue, and total spending, these per capita measures are not a reliable way to gauge the relative size of government among states. As noted in the preceding article,...

Tax, Revenue, Spending Rankings in Perspective

by | Dec 29, 2017

Americans love rankings. We rank everything from Division 1 college football teams to states with the worst winters. (Without much trouble, you can probably guess which one Minnesota leads the nation in!) Policy nerds (like me) and politicians often talk about tax...

Minnesota: the Best Run State in the U.S.

by | Dec 27, 2017

Minnesota progressives can tout a new achievement: the state was recently ranked the best run state in the nation, according to a 24/7 Wall Street report published by USA Today. This report is not based on an ideologically skewed methodology designed to prefer blue...