There is remarkable agreement among economists on two effects of a minimum wage: (1) As long as it stays within the inflation-adjusted range it has been in for most of the last 75 years, it has little negative effect on…
For-profit college Latin lesson — caveat emptor
Twelve state attorneys general, including Minnesota’s Lori Swanson, have asked the federal government to revoke the accreditation authority of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, the largest body that certifies the academic credentials of for-profit post-secondary schools. And…
Breaking up is hard to do — for banks
Neel Kashkari, the new president of the local Federal Reserve bank, shows great energy in his campaign to break up big banks and other financial institutions designated as “too big to fail.” The most recent move was a star-studded conference…
Tractor rollbars may illustrate tempest in a teapot
Sometimes the mundane cases best exemplify economic ideas. That is true of a bill introduced in the Minnesota Legislature this session to appropriate $250,000 to reduce farm deaths in tractor rollovers. This may or may not be a good idea,…