Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/work-economy/economy/page/4/)
St. Paul documentary filmmaker Jim Tittle was one of the first to take a close look at “The Price of Sand” when he learned in 2011 that energy production company Windsor Permian bought land near his parents’ home in Goodhue County’s Hay Creek Township, but isn’t the last person asking that question. Continue Reading
Like Governor Dayton’s proposal and the House tax bill, the Senate’s a tax bill—Senate File (SF) 552—contains a significant income tax increase. The Senate tax bill extends further down the income ladder than the House’s and Governor’s proposals, but stops well short of affecting middle-class families.Minnesota’s current income tax has three tiers:The first tier consists of taxable income up to $35,840 and is taxed at a rate of 5.35 percent.The second tier consists of taxable income from $35,840 to $140,960 and is taxed at the rate of 7.05 percent.The third tier consists of taxable income in excess of $140,960 and is taxed at a rate of 7.85 percent.For ease of comparison, this analysis will focus on the tier breakpoints (or brackets) for married joint filers; the corresponding breakpoints for single filers and heads of households are lower than those of married joint filers.In order to target only high-income households, the Governor and House proposals each create a new fourth tier. Under the Governor’s tax proposal, the new fourth tier will include taxable income above $250,000 and will be taxed at a rate of 9.85 percent. This impacts the wealthiest two percent of Minnesota households.Under House File (HF) 677—the House omnibus tax bill—the fourth tier will begin at taxable income of $400,000 and be taxed at a rate of 8.49 percent. Approximately the wealthiest 1.1 percent of all Minnesota households will be affected by the House’s new fourth tier rate. Continue Reading
At what point does public debt become a problem? If you ask many Republicans when the debt hits 90% of GDP we’re in trouble. Given that the Federal Debt is above this level you can see why there is a push for budget control if not outright austerity. But where did that magic figure come from? Continue Reading
Upticks in various government measures and financial indices show that the U.S. economy continues to roll along in a recovery mode. But by one local measure it is still too early to say, “Recovered. Job done. Mission accomplished.” Continue Reading
UPDATED 6/13/2013 (at bottom of article) | Will a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant on Snelling cause problems of traffic, noise, and “student bacchanalia?” More than 30 opponents who packed the March 12 Union Park District Council Land Use Committee meeting raised these and other concerns. The restaurant has started construction at the former Cheapo Records storefront at 80 N. Snelling, having received city approval for the site plan and zoning last year. The liquor license application that was before the Land Use Committee is the last remaining hurdle to the planned May opening.Heated discussion at the meeting followed Facebook debate at Citizens for A Better Snelling Avenue, a Facebook group created by Brian Quarstad on February 25. Opponents and advocates of the chain have engaged in conversations on the pages of dueling Facebook groups that have been spirited and cutting at times, featuring personal attacks and controversy over the deletion of posts. Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) representatives at the meeting took questions and responded to proposals by members of Citizens for A Better Snelling Avenue to alleviate the impact of a development that they acknowledge is now inevitable. Key measures included a fence along Ashland to discourage parking on that street, limiting the planned hours of operation (currently until 1 a.m. on weeknights), and furnishing the phone number of an on site manager to nearby residents — a longtime practice of nearby O’Gara’s. The company made some concessions, agreeing to nix a sign facing Ashland, install a soundproofing system and bike racks, and limit smoking areas. Continue Reading
With emergency shelters swamped last fall, an advocate for the homeless suggested to me the lack of affordable housing in our community could get so bad the homeless might be left to pitch tents.
A recent Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) survey found that job vacancies in Minnesota have risen 18 percent over a year ago, the highest in seven years.
Economic health, like personal health, starts with honesty. When something is wrong a good diagnosis is the first step towards the proper cure and a strong recovery. Our economy is been deep in what is commonly called a “Great Recession”. That strange term is a substitute for the dreaded word that most of us know is the true condition – a depression. Continue Reading
There has been a lot of good economic news lately, at least compared to the very bad news of a few years ago. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t bad things worth keeping a close eye on – especially those that predict future action by the Federal Reserve. Continue Reading
In fall 2014 the Minnesota Vikings will move into TCF Bank Stadium just as the Minnesota Gophers did three years ago—but the professional team’s impact on the surrounding neighborhoods could be greater than the stress created by the home college team, and the Vikings have not yet agreed to a plan to compensate for the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.Five Vikings officials met recently with two University-area representatives as part of ongoing negotiations to determine how they will prepare the neighborhoods for the invasion of professional football.The Gophers, with help from the Minnesota Legislature, brought a $1.5 million endowment to create a Good Neighbor Fund to mitigate the impact on the “stadium area” that covers all the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Minnesota.The Vikings are likely to contribute to the Good Neighbor Fund, but neither of the neighborhood representatives—Ted Tucker of Marcy-Holmes and Stephen Banks of Prospect Park—will say what amount has been discussed.Tucker and Banks will advise the University of Minnesota on the appropriate amount of funding that the University should seek in their contract with the Vikings.The actual decision makers—Vikings authorities and the University’s general counsel’s office—did not return phone calls for this report.Although the Vikings may start this coming season in the TCF Bank Stadium, they have not yet signed a contract with the University. The next meeting of the Board of Regents will be May 9 and 10, and the stadium is not yet on the agenda.Tucker, who is chairman of the University District Alliance of neighborhoods surrounding the Minneapolis campus, reported to Marcy-Holmes last June that the Vikings will deal with the community through the Stadium Area Advisory Group (SAAG) that meets periodically to discuss issues.Tucker said the Vikings will provide mitigation support to SAAG’s Good Neighbor Fund and educate Vikings fans about using the LRT to get to and from games. But he did not reveal the substance of discussions since then.The fund’s management committee is a SAAG subcommittee. Jan Morlock, director of community and government relations at the University, serves as convener of both SAAG and the management committee, which reviews grant proposals.Tucker said the neighborhoods supported the stadium on condition that it would host a maximum of 12 major events a year, eight of them being Gopher games. The Vikings would add at least 11 more games for each of the two or three years.The Vikings games are even bigger, putting additional stress on neighborhoods than Gopher activities. Continue Reading