Drinking the Supply-Side Kool-Aid

The conservative Center of the American Experiment recently posted a strident defense of supply-side economics on a conservative blog. Most economists have long abandoned supply-side economics—or at least the form of it promulgated by right wing politicians and...

Metro Area Gets Most from State Business Tax Repeal

Proponents of the elimination of the state business property tax have touted the tax relief that will flow to greater Minnesota businesses. However, the vast majority of the relief will flow to the seven-county metropolitan area, with over a third going to Hennepin...

Broadband Development Goals: A Right Step Forward

The importance of high-speed Internet and universally accessible broadband infrastructure is undeniable in the digital economy like today’s. It is vital infrastructure in every industry, from finance, manufacturing, and agriculture to public services like emergency...

Small Business Tax Relief? Not So Much

In recent years conservatives have talked about phasing-out and ultimately eliminating the state business property tax. This is the first of a series of articles that will examine various aspects of this plan. This article will examine the distribution of tax relief...
Executive Summary: Minnesota's Budget Surplus

Executive Summary: Minnesota's Budget Surplus

The conservative effort to use the entire budget surplus to reduce state taxes—often referred to as the “give it back” campaign—is based on the premise that state revenues and expenditures have increased dramatically and thus all legitimate state expenditure needs...
Minnesota's Budget Surplus: Balancing Tax Cuts and Investments

Minnesota's Budget Surplus: Balancing Tax Cuts and Investments

I. Introduction Last March, a group of legislators gathered at the State Capitol with a simple message: “Give it back!” The “it” refers to the state budget surplus, then projected to be nearly two billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 biennium....

Statewide Student Loan Debt Conversations

Last week, we hit the road and traveled around the state talking with student loan borrowers about their experiences dealing with debt. We met with students, professionals, and local leaders and heard powerful stories about the struggles folks have due to student...

The "Real" Story Behind State and Local Government Inflation

When measuring changes over time in income, wages, revenue, spending, or just about anything else that is measured in dollars, amounts are commonly adjusted for the decline in the purchasing power of the dollar due to inflation. Without inflation adjustments, we have...

A Closer Look at the February Forecast

On the surface, today’s release of the February economic forecast was no big deal. Projections of state general fund revenue went down (mainly due to national and global economic trends that state policymakers have no control over), but so too did projected spending....