Minnesota Wage Growth Stronger Under Progressive Policies

Conservatives have blamed “blue-state” policies for what they consider to be lackluster performance by Minnesota’s economy during the 21st century. However, wage growth in Minnesota has been slightly stronger vis-à-vis the national and adjacent state averages under...

Wendell Anderson and “A State That Works”

Sunday marked the passing of a Minnesota icon, as former Governor Wendell Anderson died at age 83. Governor Anderson faded from the political scene over the course of the 1970s, but even Minnesotans borne long after Anderson’s heyday have seen the August 1973 Time...

The 1% vs. the Rest of Us

We hear a lot about income inequality, and thanks to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), we now have some state-, county-, and metropolitan area-level data to take a closer look at local inequalities. According to EPI: “Income inequality has...

Don’t Blame Blue-State Policies for Red-State Outcomes

Conservatives frequently claim that “blue-state polices” are hurting Minnesota’s economy. One line of analysis they have used is to identify negative or lackluster economic trends since the turn of the century and then lay blame for them at the feet of progressive...

Mid-Week Reads: Intelligence and Pollution

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 War on Stupid People Intelligence—narrowly defined in terms as the kind of “smarts” that is measured by SAT scores—is an attribute...

Impact of 2013 Legislation on 2014 Rankings is Modest

A pair of recent North Star articles demonstrated that Minnesota was fairly typical of other states in terms of the size of government. Total state and local government expenditures per $1,000 of personal income* in Minnesota were modestly below the national average,...

A Closer Look at IRS Migration Data

Earlier this year, the conservative Center of the American Experiment (CAE) released a report based on Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income (SOI) that purported to show significant migration of high income households from Minnesota due to the state’s tax...

Minnesota State & Local Revenues About Average

The preceding article in this series demonstrated that in terms of state and local government spending per $1,000 of personal income, Minnesota is slightly below the national average based on fiscal year (FY) 2013 data, ranking 31st among states. An examination of...

Minnesota in the Middle in Terms of Government Spending

Minnesota has a reputation among conservatives as a high tax, big government state. However, based on some of the better metrics, total state and local government expenditures in Minnesota are about equal to the national average, with Minnesota ensconced in the middle...

Minnesota GDP Growth Above Average Since 2013 Tax Act

Minnesota conservatives have complained loudly and repeatedly that tax increases in general—and the tax increases enacted in 2013 in particular—will ruin the state’s economy, as businesses flee in response to an “uncompetitive” business environment. However, a recent...