I went to vote today, at a junior high in that receives my tax dollars. As I walked in the main lobby, I was struck by the fact that there three large banners on the far wall, facing me. One said something about learning, discovery, etc. The other two were variations on “diversity is good.” One included a quote from, Kofi Annan. Oh my, so […]
Center of the American Experiment
A Dark Day
This is a dark day for the American ideal of representative democracy within a republican form of government. The Court has said that neither the judiciary nor the Constitution is a barrier to government expanding as fast and as far as politicians think they can get away with. The only barrier now is the political culture–a powerful though not entirely trustworthy force. We will likely […]
Minnesota Legislative Leadership Defends Voter ID in Court
During this biennium, the Minnesota Legislature proposed a new constitutional amendment: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require that all voters present an approved form of photographic identification prior to voting; all voters be subject to identical eligibility verification standards regardless of the time of their registration; and the state provide at no charge an approved photographic identification to eligible voters? If voters approve, […]
Minnesota #41 out of 50 on economic outlook
By current standards, Minnesota’s economy is among the best in the nation. But will it continue to be in the top tier? Last year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that Minnesota ranked 13th in per capital personal income. The state’s average income of $42,843, was six percent higher than the national average. That’s pretty good, though I suspect it’s lower than most Minnesotans would have […]
The State-by-State Economic Impact of Proposed EPA Regulations
As a nation, we’ve made great strides in combining growing the economy and cleaning up air pollution. But as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is setting up to roll out nine new new rules or regulations, most of which are related to coal-powered electricity, it’s worth asking, “Is the gain worth the pain?” The report, Economy Derailed: State-by-State Impacts of the EPA Regulatory Trainwreck, comes in four […]
Minnesota #41 out of 50 on economic outlook
By current standards, Minnesota’s economy is among the best in the nation. But will it continue to be in the top tier? Last year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that Minnesota ranked 13th in per capital personal income. The state’s average income of $42,843, was six percent higher than the national average. That’s pretty good, though I suspect it’s lower than most Minnesotans would have […]
Working until April 17 to pay for government
In 2012, Americans will work 8 hours a day, five days a week, from the beginning of the year until April 17 to pay for the spending incurred in their name by federal, state, and local governments. That’s one of the findings of the Tax Foundation’s latest calculation of “Tax Freedom Day.” Tax Freedom Day (trademarked by the foundation) is one way to express the […]
Is a more-educated retail sales force worth the money?
Is the expense of going to college worth it? When you consider not only tuition and books, but also opportunity costs, the answer is sometimes “no, at least from a financial standpoint.” The Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, naturally enough, is an advocate for spending on higher ed. It cites, among other things, salary premiums enjoyed by college graduates over similarly situated people without degrees. […]
A surplus now, but the deficit’s on the way
Minnesota Management and Budget has forecast a tiny surplus in the state budget for the current biennium. Great. But as Commissioner Jim Schowalter observes, “we still have lots of IOU’s” to pay back–including the “school shift” of $2.7 billion. The press release also shows another cloud on the horizon: “The forecast shows a projected deficit of $1.1 billion for fiscal years 2014-15.” Uh-oh. The state’s spending trajectory […]
School choice doesn’t hurt, often helps
Breaking the chain between street address and the school a child attends–school choice–is not only moral, it works. Education Week recently ran a commentary from nine scholars who make that point. The nine, who include representatives from the American Enterprise Institute and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, say that in 20 years we have learned a lot about how to design choice programs, as well as how […]