On the issue of a new bridge across the St. Croix River, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann has made a good point. Unfortunately, many people will be outraged by her introducing a bill to exempt a bridge from the federal Wild…
Category: Other
Overpaid? Those lining up for the jobs will tell you
Once again the news is full of examples for teaching elementary economic principles. The ongoing public-sector union controversy in Wisconsin is one example. On Tuesday night’s news, two economists argued about whether unionized public employee compensation exceeded private-sector levels. One…
Social Security, Medicare and the debt
The role of Social Security and Medicare in our nation’s ongoing fiscal problems is widely misunderstood and often misrepresented. One often hears that the growth of spending on big entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, must be reduced. It…
State support for higher ed dwindled as costs rose
We don’t use state tax revenue to support higher education the way we once did. When I teach my macroeconomics students how to adjust for inflation using the consumer price index, I haul out my fee statement from my first…
Break up ‘too big to fail,’ or face another crisis
It is unfortunate that apparently no member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission grew up on a farm that raised hogs. If one had, the commission might have paid more attention to the cannibalistic behaviors of other Wall Street firms…
Cotton prices are real high – if one ignores inflation
Grains and oilseeds are not the only crops with rapidly rising prices. A widely printed wire service story this week noted that cotton hit $1.89 a pound, the highest price since the height of the Civil War. It went on…
Don’t look for quick change, post-revolt
Events in Tunisia and Egypt support an old observation that people are more likely to revolt against an oppressive government when levels of living are getting better than when they are at rock bottom. This phenomenon of a “revolution of…
Price spikes can affect production and usage
Prices send signals. Prices for copper and other mining and agricultural commodities are hitting record levels right now, at least if we don’t adjust for inflation. Such high prices signal consumers to buy less and producers to turn out more.…
Don’t paint economists with broad political brush
Sometimes, it is hard for an economist to be heard, especially by those who have strong political beliefs. And that is especially true when the economist has something important to say. I was reminded of this recently when I saw…
Should we build now while the economy slumbers?
The state of Minnesota faces a large budget shortfall, estimated at more than $6 billion for the next biennium. Should we also borrow an additional $1 billion for long-term infrastructure like new buildings at the University of Minnesota or community…