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	<title> &#187; Blog Posts</title>
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		<title>Minnesota has Fifth-worst Tax Climate Among States</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/25/minnesota-has-fifth-worst-tax-climate-among-states/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/25/minnesota-has-fifth-worst-tax-climate-among-states/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9828</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What makes one state more attractive than another as a place to do business? There are a lot of factors, but some, including tax policy, is directly under the control of the Legislature. A new report says that Minnesota&#8217;s tax policy is making the state less attractive than it could be for business. In fact, [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>College is Costly and Mired in PC: What Should We Do?</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/17/college-is-costly-and-mired-in-pc-what-should-we-do/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/17/college-is-costly-and-mired-in-pc-what-should-we-do/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[College]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9742</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(This is the second in a two-part series on a recent conference on education policy.) Janet Beihoffer started the afternoon sessions by saying that instructors, whether K-12 or at the college level, must have high expectations of students. (See here for more.) Political correctness and the university We moved to higher education, with Dick Andzenge, a [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Want Excellence in Education? Cut the Bureaucracy</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/16/want-excellence-in-education-cut-the-bureaucracy/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/16/want-excellence-in-education-cut-the-bureaucracy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:29:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s hard to over-estimate the importance of public schools. That’s why we need to de-monopolize, de-bureaucratize, and decentralize them. Last week, we advertised a forum, &#8220;restoring excellence to education,&#8221; that an ad hoc group was going to hold in St. Cloud. I went to it, on Saturday. What follows are selected thoughts and gleanings from [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/16/want-excellence-in-education-cut-the-bureaucracy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>When Government Expands, Volunteerism Shrinks</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/05/when-government-expands-volunteerism-shrinks/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/05/when-government-expands-volunteerism-shrinks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:08:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9658</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Three European scholars have confirmed the obvious: Government social programs crowd out private ones. Franz Hackl, Martin Halla, and Gerald J. Pruckner, all of Austria&#8217;s University of Linz, have this to say: * &#8220;An increase of in public social expenditure by 1 percentage point of GDP decreases the individual&#8217;s probability of volunteering by 1.7 up [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Legislative Calendar for 2012</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/05/legislative-calendar-for-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/05/legislative-calendar-for-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:04:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9661</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is the legislative calendar, including  breaks for precinct caucuses and Easter/Passover, for the 2012 session (as released by Speaker Kurt Zellers last month). It is subject to change (especially the goal of adjourning on April 30!).]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Good News for 2012: Ethanol Tax Credits, Tariffs, End</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/02/good-news-for-2012-ethanol-tax-credits-tariffs-end/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2012/01/02/good-news-for-2012-ethanol-tax-credits-tariffs-end/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:36:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethanol]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9650</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The federal 46-cents-a-gallon tax credit for corn-based ethanol, and a tariff on imported ethanol, has expired. Mark that as one good start to 2012. A bad policy that is over 3o-years old has (partly) come to an end. The credit and tariff have cost motorists billions of dollars, contributed to the cluttering of the tax code, [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Expanding Gambling for the Wrong Reason</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/27/expanding-gambling-for-the-wrong-reason/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/27/expanding-gambling-for-the-wrong-reason/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:21:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9640</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gambling has been a political &#8220;hot potato&#8221; in Minnesota. What&#8217;s the right path forward? Should gambling be legal, given the costs it incurs? Humans have gambled for thousands of years, so it&#8217;s in our social if not actual DNA. Like many activities, gambling can be an enjoyable diversion. Go to the casino with a limit [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>You Like Us, You Really Like Us!</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/21/you-like-us-you-really-like-us/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/21/you-like-us-you-really-like-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9633</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you like our website, please &#8220;like&#8221; our page on Facebook. You&#8217;ll find links to our latest commentaries, as well as links to items that we find interesting. (With apologies to Sally Field.)]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/21/you-like-us-you-really-like-us/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>December Greetings and Giving: Would You Include Us This Year in Your Charitable Giving?</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/16/december-greetings-and-giving-would-you-include-us-this-year-in-your-charitable-giving/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/16/december-greetings-and-giving-would-you-include-us-this-year-in-your-charitable-giving/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kim Crockett</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[December Giving]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9605</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Members and Friends, Thank you for your support this year! We have heard from many of you this fall, some old friends and some new. If we have not heard from you, would you include us in your December giving? (All donations are 100% tax deductible.)  We are busy preparing for upcoming policy battles [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/16/december-greetings-and-giving-would-you-include-us-this-year-in-your-charitable-giving/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Not Enough of the Rich to Close Budget Deficits: Governing Magazine</title>
		<link>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/12/not-enough-rich-to-close-budget-deficits/</link>
		<comments>http://mnfmi.org/2011/12/12/not-enough-rich-to-close-budget-deficits/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:38:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John LaPlante</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John LaPlante]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mnfmi.org/?p=9585</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One problem with covering deficits by singling out the rich for tax increases is that there are not enough of them. So says Governing magazine&#8211;hardly an outlet of the so-called &#8220;1 percent.&#8221; The magazine, in its December 2011 issue, also says &#8221;The more progressive the income tax rates, the greater the volatility is going to be.&#8221; [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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