http://mnfmi.org Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:12:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://mnfmi.org/2009/10/29/3672/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/10/29/3672/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:31:02 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=3672 Earlier this month, the Center of the American Experiment released a report, entitled "No Longer a National Model: Fifteen Recommendations Fixing Minnesota Election Law and Practice."The report, authored by American Experiment Senior Fellow Dr. Kent Kaiser with the input of numerous (but unnamed) contributors, criticizes aspects of the election system in Minnesota and proposes solutions for some of the problems seen in recent days, especially in the lengthy and controversial recount process in the 2008 US Senate race. The fifteen proposals have already been lauded by the Pioneer Press and Politics in Minnesota. Many of the proposals are no-brainers. For example, it’s unacceptable that “Military absentee ballots were 16 times more likely to be rejected and that most of them were rejected because they were received after Election Day.” Logistical problems and a tight schedule from primary to election day in Minnesota are to blame. Another example: (although the debate often carries a partisan edge) the inability to verify voters at the polls with something as simple as a photo ID requirement is a problem. Allowing voters who vote absentee to “verify” their ballots as valid by running them through a test machine seems like a reasonable idea, although the ability to do that doesn’t seem like it would help people mailing in ballots, especially from afar. Yet another example: checking to make sure that people aren’t voting in multiple states. If somebody applies for a drivers’ license in another state, the license in the other state is automatically cancelled. Why not the voter registration? Many of the technical solutions being proposed are sound and simple and one may ask why haven’t they been proposed before? One suggestion is already on the table. Senator Al Franken has just submitted a bill to Congress requiring states to grant at least 45 days for overseas ballots to be issued and returned. There are other suggestions that may generate more controversy. Not, as you might imagine given the Center’s conservative bent, with liberals who might find changes to be a handicap to access, but rather to conservatives and libertarians who might well ask, how do these suggestions fit with constitutional principles? We are talking about a basic element in our democratic government, one that defines it, gives it is shape and credibility.]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/10/29/3672/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/20/3266/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/20/3266/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:03:30 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=3266









This past week, Rose Director Friedman, economist, co-author and wife of Dr. Milton Friedman died at her home in California. She was believed to be 98 (no birth records exist for the village she was born in, in what is now the Ukraine). The Friedman Foundation has this to say about her passing. Minnesota Free Market Senior Policy Fellow King Banaian wrote the following remembrance:



]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/20/3266/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/04/health-care-critics-an-%e2%80%9cangry-mob%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9cexpressing-their-concerns%e2%80%9d/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/04/health-care-critics-an-%e2%80%9cangry-mob%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9cexpressing-their-concerns%e2%80%9d/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:53:13 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=3186 The health care debate is generating some press as members of congress hit their home towns with Town Halls. As some of the discussions have become heated, commentators are complaining that critics are promoting irrational fears and not engaging in serious debate. Hyperbole aside, there are serious issues being raised by many ordinary citizens about the wide scope and massive changes that Congress and the President are considering making to how Americans receive their health care and how it is paid for. Here are some stories to consider:

• A blogger with chronic pain considers how her choices for treatment will be curtailed

• From last year, a woman whose Doctor recommended chemotherapy to treat her cancer, gets a letter from the State of Oregon saying it won’t pay for it, that she should consider assisted suicide instead.

]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/08/04/health-care-critics-an-%e2%80%9cangry-mob%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9cexpressing-their-concerns%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/25/if-bill-doesnt-pass-the-heatll-kill-you-says-ap/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/25/if-bill-doesnt-pass-the-heatll-kill-you-says-ap/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:05:42 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=2893 The Associated Press has evidently taken a vacation this week and simply printed a press release from The Union of Concerned Scientists about the dangers of Global Warming they say will occur if the Waxman-Markey Climate Change and Cap and Trade Bill is not passed. The Concerned Scientists list all of the adverse events that could occur if temperatures rise up to 12 degrees hotter in Minnesota. Missing from the AP's account (which just happens to coincide with a heat wave in Minnesota) is an actual discussion of whether Global Warming is actually happening, if it is part of larger natural cycles or is in fact caused by human activity. For that (and more), you would need to go and read the Non-Governmental International Panel on Climate Change Report. Also left unmentioned is whether you are more likely to die of heat exposure or to be taxed to death by some of the Climate Change Proposals.]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/25/if-bill-doesnt-pass-the-heatll-kill-you-says-ap/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/23/the-minnesota-political-contribution-refund/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/23/the-minnesota-political-contribution-refund/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:43:41 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=2873 The "PCR" as it is known has become a flashpoint among the various Republican candidates and pre-candidates for Governor in the upcoming 2010 election as some have urged their supporters to give and collect their refund from the state before it expires on July 1. (Under the current budgetary crisis, Governor Pawlenty used "unallotment" to recapture those funds for other priorities.) Other candidates have told their supporters not to rush to donate refunded money because it undermines that re-prioritization to get more taxpayer money for political campaigns. Back in March, 2009, Minnesota Free Market Institute Senior Policy Fellow Craig Westover had this to say:]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/06/23/the-minnesota-political-contribution-refund/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/28/what-good-government-looks-like/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/28/what-good-government-looks-like/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 15:28:08 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=2348 Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog. Watch this space.]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/28/what-good-government-looks-like/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/26/soak-the-rich-is-not-a-good-long-term-strategy/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/26/soak-the-rich-is-not-a-good-long-term-strategy/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 20:00:54 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=2304 Wall Street Journal has a story today on the experience of Maryland, which created a "millionaire" tax bracket to capture additional tax revenue from a top 6.35% marginal rate. (Link here, subscription may be required) A year later, 1/3 of Maryland's millionaires have vanished from the rolls. While it's entirely possible that many of these millionaires disappeared due to the stock market and real estate crashes, it will be interesting to see how many individuals changed their residency or moved out of state to more tax-friendly climes. The article notes that Maryland's wealthy are more likely to own property in states with lower taxes, even nearby ones like Virginia, making escape not only possible but easy. Such will probably not be the case for working families when the tax increases fall on them to make up for the flight of the rich.]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/26/soak-the-rich-is-not-a-good-long-term-strategy/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/14/storm-the-capitol-rally-on-monday-may-18th-at-530-pm/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/14/storm-the-capitol-rally-on-monday-may-18th-at-530-pm/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 21:30:13 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=2230 Join the Budget Hawks as we rally against veto overrides, tax increases and special sessions. The eleventh hour is is typically when deals get cut and your money gets spent. Lets remind legislators that goverment also has to live within it's means! No one's life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session! Time to get the job done and turn off the lights!]]> http://mnfmi.org/2009/05/14/storm-the-capitol-rally-on-monday-may-18th-at-530-pm/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/04/23/state%e2%80%99s-new-%e2%80%9ctap-mn%e2%80%9d-website-a-small-first-step-toward-the-goal-of-transparency/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/04/23/state%e2%80%99s-new-%e2%80%9ctap-mn%e2%80%9d-website-a-small-first-step-toward-the-goal-of-transparency/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:48:57 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=1881 http://mnfmi.org/2009/04/23/state%e2%80%99s-new-%e2%80%9ctap-mn%e2%80%9d-website-a-small-first-step-toward-the-goal-of-transparency/feed/ 0 http://mnfmi.org/2009/03/31/government-mandates-dirty-dishes-creates-black-market-for-detergent/ http://mnfmi.org/2009/03/31/government-mandates-dirty-dishes-creates-black-market-for-detergent/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:25:05 +0000 Margaret Martin http://mnfmi.org/?p=1460 http://mnfmi.org/2009/03/31/government-mandates-dirty-dishes-creates-black-market-for-detergent/feed/ 1