Minnesota Needs a Multi-Modal Transportation System

by | Jun 21, 2017

The Center for the American Experiment (CAE) recently published a paper by Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Tool in which he blames planners at the Metropolitan Council and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) for Twin Cities highway congestion. The...

Minnesota Business Tax Rates Below U.S. Average

by | Jun 19, 2017

Minnesota’s business lobby frequently complains that business tax rates in the Gopher State are high. Such claims are often based on nominal tax rates—in other words, the rates that are written into state law; however, nominal rates do not take into account various...

Minnesota Business Taxes Per Worker Below U.S. Average

by | Jun 15, 2017

Conservatives regularly claim that business taxes in Minnesota are high relative to the rest of the nation, but an examination of fiscal year (FY) 2015 total state and local business taxes per private sector employee in each of the fifty states reveals that Minnesota...

Minnesota’s Economy Doing Relatively Well

by | Jun 12, 2017

Conservative interest groups contend that Minnesota’s economy is floundering, the victim of “blue state” (i.e., progressive) fiscal policies. Critiques published by North Star and others show such claims are generally bogus and based more on politics than coherent...

What One Hand Giveth, the Other Taketh Away

by | Jun 9, 2017

Minnesota counties received some good news and some bad news during the first 2017 special legislative session. The tax bill that was ultimately signed into law included a significant increase in County Program Aid (CPA), as well changes to the CPA formula sought by...

Minnesota Outperforms Neighbors in Job Growth

by | Jun 6, 2017

Since the turn of the century, employment growth in Minnesota has kept pace with the rest of the nation and comfortably surpassed the Midwest average. Minnesota’s strong performance relative to the rest of the region has persisted through two recessions, a major...

The Consequences for Minnesotans in the HHS Budget

by | Jun 6, 2017

Last week, Governor Dayton signed the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget bill, despite serious reservations about some of the provisions. Conservatives claim that the bill saves up to $510 million in the coming biennium; however, hundreds of millions of dollars...

Minnesota Counties: The State’s Underfunded Partner

by | May 31, 2017

The State of Minnesota and the 87 Minnesota counties partner to perform many public functions. Counties operate as the administrative arm of the state in providing many state-mandated services, while the state provides aid to counties to help pay for these services;...

Federal Estate Tax Conformity: A Big Win for Über-Rich

by | May 24, 2017

By ensuring that extremely high-income households pay state and local taxes at a rate approaching that of other Minnesota households, the estate tax does more, dollar for dollar, than any other tax to reduce tax regressivity in Minnesota. Conservatives want to...