There may not seem to be much good economic news, but there is something working well in the Free Market™. Gasoline consumption has dropped dramatically over the last 6 years, declining about 1/3 from its peak in 2004.
Monthly Archives: January 2011
Jesse Checks
On Monday, Mark Dayton officially became Minnesota’s Governor. He joins many new governors around the US who started this week with their swearing-in and are likely to end it with a swearing-at. The job isn’t easy with the river of red ink confronting nearly every state, and we are no exception. The size of the gap for the next two year cycle (2012-2013) is 6.2B$, which is to say about 16% of the total General Fund Budget for the same time period.
The festivities surrounding the new Governor’s official acceptance of this responsibility are probably the last time we’ll have a chance to reflect back on what might have been before every politician in the state rolls up their sleeves and gets to swinging their fists … er, gets to work. It’s as good of a time as any to remember that 12 years ago we started handing out what would be known as “Jesse Checks”, the sales tax rebate that totaled $2.6B over a three year period.
What would the Legislature do with that money now?
2011 Predictions
Happy New Year! The changing of the calendar is a time when we can all make resolutions and think about how the coming year will be different. It’s also a good time to make predictions for the coming year that we can hide away later – unless they come true, that is. So I thought I’d give my own in plain language just so that those of you who have this bookmarked can make fun of me later.
Ready?
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 