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Texas Didn't Run from the Oil Boom. It Shouldn't Run from Data Centers Now
PHOENIX, Arizona, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Goldwater Institute posted the following news:
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Texas Didn't Run from the Oil Boom. It Shouldn't Run from Data Centers Now
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On January 10, 1901, oil erupted more than 100 feet into the air at Spindletop outside Beaumont, Texas, igniting a boom that would transform the state and draw entrepreneurs, workers and investment from across the country.
Rather than retreat from the upheaval that came with change, Texans embraced the new industry and bet on its potential. They drilled wells, laid pipelines and built refineries, turning disruption
... Show Full Article
PHOENIX, Arizona, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Goldwater Institute posted the following news:
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Texas Didn't Run from the Oil Boom. It Shouldn't Run from Data Centers Now
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On January 10, 1901, oil erupted more than 100 feet into the air at Spindletop outside Beaumont, Texas, igniting a boom that would transform the state and draw entrepreneurs, workers and investment from across the country.
Rather than retreat from the upheaval that came with change, Texans embraced the new industry and bet on its potential. They drilled wells, laid pipelines and built refineries, turning disruptioninto opportunity and opportunity into prosperity. That willingness to charge into the future rather than fear it helped make Texas what it is today. Now another transformative industry is arriving, but this time state leaders are hitting the brakes.
In August, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit every data center advancing through ERCOT's interconnection process. No project can move forward until the review is complete, creating an effective moratorium on new grid connections.
Abbott is responding to a real challenge. ERCOT is considering more than 474 gigawatts of requests from large electricity users, roughly 90% of them data centers. Current demand, by comparison, is about 91 gigawatts.
But enormous demand is not an argument for stopping growth. It is a reason to get to work to build more.
Data centers are the physical infrastructure of the digital economy. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, financial transactions, medical records, manufacturing, supply chains and defense systems all depend on facilities filled with servers, fiber, cooling systems and electric power. The digital economy may feel weightless, but it rests on steel, concrete and electricity.
Texans should want that infrastructure built in Texas.
The state has abundant land, enormous energy resources and a culture built around free enterprise and risk taking. Texas has never treated infrastructure as a fixed resource to be rationed. That is the approach that has made the Lone Star State a place defined by opportunity, optimism, and the belief that innovation is something to be met with action rather than hesitation.
Texas had already begun moving in the right direction.
Senate Bill 6 established new rules for large electricity users, including provisions aimed at ensuring they contribute to the infrastructure required to connect them to the grid. Then, in June, regulators approved ERCOT's new "Batch Zero" process for major loads, designed to determine how much new demand the grid could accommodate while maintaining reliability.
Research by the Goldwater Institute has proven that this is exactly what Texas should be doing: establish clear rules, make large users pay their own way and allow investment to proceed.
The same principle applies to water. Data centers use it, and communities have every right to protect scarce supplies. But modern facilities increasingly use air cooling, closed-loop systems and reclaimed or non-potable water. Companies also have a powerful financial incentive to conserve because water is an operating cost.
None of this means data centers deserve special treatment. They should not receive sweetheart subsidies. They should also bear the infrastructure costs they create. Governments should enforce objective rules protecting property rights, grid reliability and local water supplies.
But once companies meet those rules, Texas should let them build.
That was the lesson of Spindletop. The oil boom created enormous new demands for pipelines, refineries, storage and transportation. Texans did not respond by declaring that existing infrastructure could not handle the growth.
They built more.
Artificial intelligence may prove to be one of the defining technologies of this century. The states that provide the electricity, land and infrastructure it requires will capture much of the investment and economic activity that grows around it.
Texas should be one of them. After all, Texas became Texas by building for the future, not putting it on hold.
This op-ed was originally published in the Current Revolt.
Carl Paulus, PhD, is an author, political historian, and public policy analyst with the Goldwater Institute.
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Original text here: https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/texas-didnt-run-from-the-oil-boom-it-shouldnt-run-from-data-centers-now/
Streamlining Satellite Licensing: A Space Modernization Odyssey
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The American Action Forum issued the following news release:
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Streamlining Satellite Licensing: A Space Modernization Odyssey
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Advances in satellite technology have enabled vendors to offer broadband access in remote areas by utilizing clusters of hundreds or thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) In a new insight, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Nick Krosse discusses the advancements in satellite technology and why licensing policies are being updated.
* Satellite licensing has long relied on a bespoke, or individualized,
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The American Action Forum issued the following news release:
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Streamlining Satellite Licensing: A Space Modernization Odyssey
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Advances in satellite technology have enabled vendors to offer broadband access in remote areas by utilizing clusters of hundreds or thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) In a new insight, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Nick Krosse discusses the advancements in satellite technology and why licensing policies are being updated.
* Satellite licensing has long relied on a bespoke, or individualized,application and review process designed for a small number of large geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) communications satellites.
* This licensing process was not scalable to meet the demands and challenges presented by LEO constellations, however, unnecessarily delaying the deployment of these much smaller and more economical satellites such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Leo.
* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently revamped its satellite licensing rules to shift away from the older model toward a rules-based, scalable process; Congress is considering revising the FCC's regulatory authority over communications satellites through the proposed Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, but the House and Senate must resolve differences in their respective versions before it can become law.
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Original text here: https://www.americanactionforum.org/press-release/streamlining-satellite-licensing-a-space-modernization-odyssey/
China's Fertilizer Export Restrictions Are Still in Place and Harming American Agriculture
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Coalition for a Prosperous America posted the following news release:
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China's Fertilizer Export Restrictions Are Still in Place and Harming American Agriculture
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The sulfur trade still runs one way. The United States places no condition on who buys American sulfur, including Chinese state-owned enterprises, while Beijing bars its phosphate fertilizer and most sulfuric acid from world markets. U.S. sulfur exports rose 57 percent in January-July 2026, imports cost 2.5 times more per ton than a year earlier, and Mosaic idled a Florida mine
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Coalition for a Prosperous America posted the following news release:
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China's Fertilizer Export Restrictions Are Still in Place and Harming American Agriculture
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The sulfur trade still runs one way. The United States places no condition on who buys American sulfur, including Chinese state-owned enterprises, while Beijing bars its phosphate fertilizer and most sulfuric acid from world markets. U.S. sulfur exports rose 57 percent in January-July 2026, imports cost 2.5 times more per ton than a year earlier, and Mosaic idled a Florida minefor lack of sulfur.
China is prioritizing its own supply during a global shortage.DAP and MAP exports fell about 95 percent through September, removing roughly 3.58 million metric tons from world trade.
The pressure reaches American farms. Retail DAP reached $939 per short ton and MAP $983 in late October, and import unit values are up 12 percent on a year earlier.
The U.S. must secure inputs and expand capacity together. Secure domestic sulfur access, open a fertilizer Section 232 investigation, retain the trade remedies that protect American producers, and accelerate production.
Sulfur Goes Out, Fertilizer Does Not Come Back
In July, CPA's Food Security Is Fertilizer Security warned that foreign governments were working both ends of the supply chain: buying the raw materials American producers need while banning the return flow of acid and finished fertilizer. Three months later, no restriction, condition or monitoring requirement applies to American sulfur exports, whoever the buyer. USGS reports domestic sulfur exports of 1.65 million metric tons worth about $1.04 billion in January-July 2026, against 1.05 million tons worth $221 million a year earlier. Export volume is up roughly 57 percent while Mosaic says its South Fort Meade operation is being idled because of continuing global sulfur constraints. And America is buying the same material back at war-elevated prices: Census data show 1.21 million metric tons of sulfur imported in January-August 2026, almost all from Canada, at an average import unit value of $444 per metric ton against $180 a year earlier. The import bill rose from $151 million to $537 million, and August cargoes landed at $655 per ton.
China, meanwhile, keeps buying and does not sell back. China imported 3.06 million metric tons of sulfur in January-September, 432,000 tons of it from Canada, and S&P reports government sulfur discounts for domestic phosphate producers meant to support domestic supply, not exports. Its sulfuric acid exports remained 92 percent below a year earlier in September, and its phosphate exports have all but stopped.
The Expected Reopening Has Not Arrived
Beijing's own December guidance set August 2026 as the endpoint of the suspension, Reuters reported in March that industry insiders expected shipments to resume after August, and as late as July Argus still forecast 700,000 metric tons of Chinese phosphate exports this year. However, this relief never materialized. On September 2, S&P Global reported that Chinese producers had yet to receive official guidance on reopening exports; on September 11 a Qingdao-based exporter reported that plants and trading houses were not accepting new DAP or MAP export declarations and no clearances had succeeded.
This is not new behavior. China imposed mandatory export inspections on fertilizer in October 2021, cut phosphate export quotas by roughly 45 percent in 2022, asked producers to halt urea exports in September 2023, and did so again in June 2024 alongside tighter phosphate inspections. The 2026 episode is the most aggressive yet, but the pattern is five years old: exports open when domestic warehouses are full and shut when they are not. China is not a reliable trade partner.
Selective Exports Protect Domestic Supply
China's export restrictions are a primary cause of the current shortage. China shipped 5.3 million metric tons of DAP and MAP in 2025, roughly a third of world trade, so the 3.58 million tons it has withheld this year is not a domestic adjustment; it moves the global price. And the withholding is a choice, not a symptom of scarcity. Once domestic urea warehouses filled, September urea exports hit a record 2.45 million metric tons, more than four times August's volume, and S&P reports superphosphates are export-eligible while DAP and MAP stay shut. Beijing releases surplus when it can offload its excess capacity and withholds phosphate when it can take advantage of the global supply pressure, while drawing 3.06 million tons of sulfur from the open market to make the product it will not sell back. It relies on everyone else's willingness to trade while suspending its own.
The point of that selectivity is price. Keeping phosphate home holds Chinese domestic prices below what the rest of the world pays. SunSirs reported mid-October quotations as low as 3,900 yuan per metric ton (about $550) for 57 percent brown-grade DAP in Shandong; like-for-like, 64 percent granular quotations imply Chinese domestic DAP roughly 6 to 12 percent below the World Bank's September U.S. Gulf benchmark of $800.60.
Every country that built its supply around Chinese tons is now finding out whether the next planting season will be supplied, on the schedule of a government on the other side of the world. The error is America's: it sells its own inputs to anyone without condition, and it is now having to buy back finished product at war-elevated prices.
American Farmers Still Face High Costs
DTN's latest survey, published October 28, puts retail DAP at $939 per short ton and MAP at $983 for October 19-23, $13 and $51 above a year earlier. The import data tell the same story. Census records 977,000 metric tons of DAP and MAP imported in January-August 2026 at an average import unit value of $727 per metric ton, up 12 percent from $647 a year earlier and 24 percent from $584 in 2024, on volumes 41 percent below 2024.
Argus analyst Jay Harland now expects Chinese DAP and MAP exports to resume no sooner than May 2027, with risk of further delay if input costs stay high, so Chinese supply offers no help with U.S. spring procurement. America sells the input to anyone without condition and buys the finished fertilizer back from third countries at war-elevated prices, while China, which buys that same input, keeps its finished product at home. The answer is not to ask Beijing to be more generous, nor to shift dependence to Rabat.
In August, the second full month after the duty suspension for Moroccan phosphate took effect, Census records 111,400 metric tons of Moroccan phosphate fertilizer worth $67 million -- 24,500 tons of DAP and MAP plus 86,900 tons of triple superphosphate, the first Moroccan TSP since April 2025 -- against 21,300 tons in August 2025. That is subsidized state-monopoly product landing duty-free while a Florida mine idles. Washington must demand reciprocity for those who want to trade with us, and protect capacity at home for the supply American agriculture depends on.
What Washington Should Do
The record in the past three months strengthens the case for action on fertilizers, with immediate attention to the inputs that keep existing plants running.
Close the one-way door on sulfur. Establish an emergency elemental-sulfur reserve, improve transport to phosphate producers, and give domestic users a first opportunity to purchase available supply on transparent commercial terms. Pair that with a reciprocity rule keyed to beneficial ownership, so governments that ban the return flow of acid and fertilizer cannot buy American sulfur through intermediaries.
Open a fertilizer-specific Section 232 investigation. Assess finished nutrients and their inputs together, and sequence phased import measures with verified domestic capacity, exempting inputs not yet available at home.
Accelerate domestic mining, processing and sulfur recovery. China's selective reopening demonstrates why American planting seasons cannot depend on discretionary foreign export approvals.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
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Original text here: https://prosperousamerica.org/chinas-fertilizer-export-restrictions-are-still-in-place-and-harming-american-agriculture/
Center of the American Experiment Issues Commentary: Police Leverage Technology and Science to Solve "who Done It" Murder on the Light Rail
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Police leverage technology and science to solve "who done it" murder on the light rail
Written by David Zimmer | November 3, 2026
The murder
During the late evening of October 3rd, Jaquan Edwards, 30, entered the light rail train at US Bank Stadium heading for St. Paul. Edwards was alone, wore a "covid mask" which hid his identity, and was carrying a concealed firearm.
A few minutes later another man
... Show Full Article
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Police leverage technology and science to solve "who done it" murder on the light rail
Written by David Zimmer | November 3, 2026
The murder
During the late evening of October 3rd, Jaquan Edwards, 30, entered the light rail train at US Bank Stadium heading for St. Paul. Edwards was alone, wore a "covid mask" which hid his identity, and was carrying a concealed firearm.
A few minutes later another manentered the same train car at the East Bank station and sat in a seat across from Edwards. Surveillance video indicated that the two exchanged some dialog. As the train travelled between the Stadium Village and Prospect Park stops near the University of Minnesota, Edwards pulled out a gun and fired three shots at the other man. Edwards exited at Prospect Park and walked away on University Avenue, discarding his mask along the way.
The train stopped at the Westgate stop where police arrived and located the victim. The victim was unconscious and had a gunshot to his neck. Lifesaving efforts were attempted but the man died at the scene.
The murder appeared to be a random violent act between strangers. Edwards' identity was obscured and there were no eyewitnesses mentioned in available court documents. Cases involving these elements are often referred to informally as a "whodunit."
The investigation
The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit began working on the case immediately - always critical in solving murder cases where evidence can disappear quickly.
While reviewing surveillance video of the murder suspect's movements associated with the light rail, detectives observed him spitting voluminously onto the US Bank Stadium train platform before entering the train. Crime scene technicians located the spital at the train stop and collected samples which provided a male DNA profile.
Additional surveillance video review and "To-Go" card useage led detectives to video footage of the murder suspect riding an MTC bus in Maplewood, Mn. Detectives conducted canvassing of businesses in that area and located video of the suspect entering a HyVee grocery store and an Advance Auto Parts store. Detectives showed the surveillance video to employees and learned that the suspect was an employee of the auto parts store. Employees identified him as Jaquan Edwards.
Detectives learned that in July 2026, the White Bear Lake Police Department had stopped Edwards for a traffic infraction while he drove alone in his mother's car. During that stop, the White Bear Lake police officer noted that Edwards was smoking a wood tipped cigar. Detectives conducted a search of discarded garbage from Edward's mother's Maplewood residence and recovered six discarded wooden cigar mouthpieces. The DNA recovered from those mouthpieces matched the DNA from the spital the murder suspect had left on the light rail platform just before the murder.
It's unclear for available court records whether the gun used by Edwards has been recovered or if ballistic evidence testing has been conducted.
On October 28th, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office issued a complaint and warrant charging Edwards with one court of murder in the second degree, and asking for $1 million in bail.
Hennepin County jail records indicate the Minneapolis Police arrested Edwards on October 30th in St. Paul. Edwards made an initial court appearance on November 2nd and has an evidentiary hearing scheduled for December 1st. Edwards remains in the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
The takeaway
It wasn't too many years ago that a murder like this may have gone unsolved. The investigative tenacity in this case was excellent - and in 2026 that tenacity is often rewarded by voluminous video and electronic evidence, advances in DNA technology, and advances in ballistic comparison technology. Thankfully, because of these advances, the case against Edwards appears strong.
This outcome supports the use of video surveillance in public spaces.
The outcome also supports the need for proper police staffing. The Minneapolis Police Department remains understaffed, some six years after its own city council attempted to "dismantle" the police department. While the outcome here was positive, a police department of 600 officers cannot be expected to properly service a city the size of Minneapolis.
When the deterrent effect of a highly visible police presence is missing and investigative follow up is severely compromised because of a lack of manpower, citizens ultimately pay the price.
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David Zimmer is a Public Safety Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment. David.Zimmer@americanexperiment.org
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Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/police-leverage-technology-and-science-to-solve-who-done-it-murder-on-the-light-rail/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center of the American Experiment Issues Commentary: Minnesotans Elect DFL Trifecta to Clean Up Mess the Last One Left
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Minnesotans elect DFL trifecta to clean up mess the last one left
Written by John Phelan | November 4, 2026
Last week, I wrote about how the DFL trifecta, elected in November 2022, blew up the state budget, turning a forecast surplus for 2027 of $2.9 billion into a deficit of $1.1 billion by the end of the 2024 session:
...in February 2023, Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) forecast a surplus of state
... Show Full Article
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Minnesotans elect DFL trifecta to clean up mess the last one left
Written by John Phelan | November 4, 2026
Last week, I wrote about how the DFL trifecta, elected in November 2022, blew up the state budget, turning a forecast surplus for 2027 of $2.9 billion into a deficit of $1.1 billion by the end of the 2024 session:
...in February 2023, Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) forecast a surplus of stategovernment revenues ("Subtotal Current Resources") over spending ("Total Expenditures & Transfers") totaling $19.7 billion in the five years 2022 to 2027, as Figure 1 shows. The "historic" DFL trifecta, elected in November 2022, used this money to go on a spending spree, blowing not only that forecast surplus but more besides. By the end of the 2024 session, while revenues were largely unchanged, spending was forecast to be $22.5 billion higher in the four years 2024 to 2027 than it had been when the trifecta took office in St. Paul and was now forecast to outstrip revenues in that period by $11.5 billion.
Figure 1: Forecast Minnesota state government spending and revenues, billions
Source: Minnesota Management & Budget and Center of the American Experiment
The trifecta sessions were a horrendously managed orgy of fiscal excess which have left Minnesota with a persistent budget deficit.
As I have written before, Minnesota's state government has been running a deficit since 2024 and, at the end of the 2026 session, was forecast to spend more than it collects in revenue in every single year from 2026 to 2029 for a cumulative deficit of $5.5 billion, as Figure 2 shows.
Figure 2: Minnesota state government spending and revenues, billions
Source: Minnesota Management & Budget and Center of the American Experiment
Yesterday, Minnesotans elected a new DFL trifecta which will be charged with cleaning up its predecessor's mess.
Early next month, MMB will release its November "Budget and Economic Forecast" which will forecast state revenues and expenditures for three bienniums, extending through June 30, 2031. By February 16, 2027, Governor Klobuchar will have to submit an operating budget for the 2028-2029 biennium, which, at the end of the 2026 session, was forecast to have a deficit of $2.1 billion. By the end of the session on May 17, the legislature will have had to pass an operating budget for the 2028-2029 biennium.
Crucially, according to Minnesota's constitution, this budget will have to balance. St. Paul is not Washington D.C., and, as governor, Klobuchar will not have the recourse to the bond markets and the Federal Reserve to finance any deficit she had as a federal legislator.
How will the new trifecta accomplish this? "Will we see higher taxes?" I asked in September:
- Will we see spending cuts? Will we see some combination of the two? These are questions Minnesota's dogged newshounds with their inexhaustible reservoirs of curiosity will, no doubt, be pestering the candidates with this vote harvesting season.
Sadly, those newshounds did not find time to ask these crucial questions. I guess we will find out the hard way.
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John Phelan is an Economist at the Center of the American Experiment. john.phelan@americanexperiment.org
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Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/minnesotans-elect-dfl-trifecta-to-clean-up-mess-the-last-one-left/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center of the American Experiment Issues Commentary: Klobuchar, Presents No Obstacle to DSA Health Care Agenda
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Klobuchar, presents no obstacle to DSA health care agenda
Written by Matt Dean | November 4, 2026
Governor-elect Amy Klobuchar now faces a clear test from her own party's left wing on many fronts, but certainly a contender for House File One (considered the top priority) would be the current House File 1812, the Minnesota Health Plan (also called "MNCare for All" or MHP). MHP would outlaw private health
... Show Full Article
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, Nov. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary:
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Klobuchar, presents no obstacle to DSA health care agenda
Written by Matt Dean | November 4, 2026
Governor-elect Amy Klobuchar now faces a clear test from her own party's left wing on many fronts, but certainly a contender for House File One (considered the top priority) would be the current House File 1812, the Minnesota Health Plan (also called "MNCare for All" or MHP). MHP would outlaw private healthinsurance and replace it with a single statewide system covering every resident (here legally or otherwise) for medical, dental, vision, hearing, mental health, long-term care, and more.
Klobuchar ran on fixes to Medicare Advantage and all private health insurance, while more progressive DFLers like Peggy Flanagan ran on a complete takeover within MHP that outlaws all private health insurance, including employer-provided health insurance, Medicare Advantage, and union-provided health care.
The Minnesota Health Plan proposal has been around for several years and has survived by never having to become real. Proponents are typically the Bernie Sanders type, and in Minnesota that means Senator John Marty. Marty has carried the bill for years and is considered by many to be an earnest and good fellow, but not someone you would want to run the Mayo Clinic. Republicans and moderate Democrats have patted this idea on the head for a decade or more and kind of gotten used to having it around without causing fuss.
Except now it is getting real. The bill attracted coauthors who likely will be running the legislature soon. Thirty-five House members signed on (the maximum number), including the current and former chair of the health care committee.
With Democrats holding majorities in both chambers, progressive sponsors--more than 40 co-authors--will push it again, and they are dead serious. Klobuchar campaigned on a different approach: targeted state tax credits if federal ACA subsidies stay lapsed, expanded bulk drug purchasing, strengthened reinsurance, rural hospital support, and a crackdown on fraud. She rejected new tax increases and said she was not interested in moving Minnesota left or right. Her incremental proposals assume a competitive private market continues. HF 1812 would simply outlaw traditional health insurance.
From each according to his "ability" to each according to his "need"
Under MHP, premiums would be set by ability to pay, and eligibility would extend to all residents regardless of immigration status. The bill creates a new Minnesota Health Board, Health Fund, ombudsman, and auditor general, plus a request for a federal waiver. It stalled earlier amid budget realities and the 2025 decision to end MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented adults.
An unelected board with taxing authority and the sole and uncontestable ability to set health care benefits is on its face unconstitutional. It would have the ability to take taxing authority away from the legislature--where our constitution demands it must stay--and somehow determine a benefit set and pricing for every person (whether documented or not) who calls Minnesota home (or decides to move here).
Under the bill, taxes would not have to be raised by the legislature; rather, "premiums" would be assessed to corporations and individuals based on the cost to deliver the "necessary" care. This would cost in the billions of dollars.
But being unconstitutional is a matter for judges to decide. If you think cooler heads might prevail before such a bill is signed, think again. The Democrats ascendant believe they lost the last trifecta by not going far enough. Many point to Walz caving on free health care for the undocumented as the low point of their careers.
DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long said of the compromise removing adult undocumented aliens from MNCare, "This bill is cruel. It is inhumane. And it will cost real human, Minnesotan lives." When the deal was announced in the Capitol's reception room, outraged DFL members literally banged on the doors chanting "Don't kill immigrants!" and "Don't kill our neighbors."
The cost of MHP is unknown. The 2023 legislature commissioned a $3 million cost estimate that was to be released nine months ago but has yet to see the light of day. You can imagine why. The trillions such a plan would incur nationally has prevented other states from moving ahead on their own. Such a plan would not only cost billions for Minnesota, it would require the Trump administration to approve it. Hopefully no such approval would come, but it would present the administration with a tantalizing "watch out what you ask for" opportunity for Minnesota.
If MHP costs too much, or creates problems with the cash flow, perhaps HF2 will smooth over the rough patches. With DFL majorities restored in both chambers after the November 3, 2026 election--ending two years of split or tied House control--a new fifth-tier income tax is far more viable in the 2027 session. HF 4845, would set a new fifth-tier 10.85% top rate. While Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar has not proposed broad new tax increases, DFL legislative control makes a targeted fifth-tier proposal substantially more likely than in 2026.
Klobuchar's Obamacare vote a prologue?
In her early years in the Senate, Klobuchar was unwilling to push hard against the liberal wing of her party even when it meant sour impacts at home. While others held their vote for Obamacare until sweeteners were added or provisions removed, Klobuchar voted yes and then worked to lessen the harmful effects of her vote at home.
After seeing the election results of last night, DFL legislators who are DSA, POCI caucus, and even most rank-and-file Democrats may find no resistance from Klobuchar should they want to enact even the most radical legislation. A new 5th top tier of 14% would be higher than any other state in the country and would go a long way in paying for MHP, or a growing DFL wish list. It would pass in a heartbeat.
For Additional Information, please see:
[View text in the link at bottom]
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Matt Dean is a Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment. att.dean@americanexperiment.org
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Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/gov-elect-klobuchar-already-on-collision-course-with-dfl-legislature/
[Category: ThinkTank]
COP31: Action on critical minerals needed for electrification goal and clean energy scale-up
BRIGHTON, England, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Institute of Development Studies, an organization that conducts research, learning and teaching that aims to transform the knowledge, action and leadership needed for equitable and sustainable development globally, posted the following news:
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COP31: Action on critical minerals needed for electrification goal and clean energy scale-up
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Ahead of COP31 in Turkiye (9 - 20 November), IDS researchers call for critical minerals to be prioritised for clean electrification and a just energy transition, as the UN warns that a "massive global
... Show Full Article
BRIGHTON, England, Nov. 5 [Category: ThinkTank] -- The Institute of Development Studies, an organization that conducts research, learning and teaching that aims to transform the knowledge, action and leadership needed for equitable and sustainable development globally, posted the following news:
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COP31: Action on critical minerals needed for electrification goal and clean energy scale-up
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Ahead of COP31 in Turkiye (9 - 20 November), IDS researchers call for critical minerals to be prioritised for clean electrification and a just energy transition, as the UN warns that a "massive globalscale-up" of renewables is required to get global temperature targets back on track.
Critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths are vital components for solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle technologies. However, demand for critical minerals from other sectors, such AI, is rising and amid heightened geopolitical rivalry and rearmament, demand from the defence sector has been growing fast.
Forthcoming research by Anabel Marin and Phil Johnstone for the Transition Security Project highlights concerning trends in this regard. Based on data from the International Energy Agency, they find that only 29% of copper and 17% of nickel and 20% of rare earths were used in energy technologies in 2024.
They also estimate that military applications account for around 10% of global copper consumption, while defence and aerospace account for 33% of chromium and 17% of beryllium. Of 36 rare minerals used in strategic technologies, drones require all of them, compared with around a dozen each for solar panels and wind turbines.
Prioritise critical minerals for renewables, not war
With this growing competition for these scarce critical minerals, IDS researchers warn that to achieve climate goals, critical minerals must be prioritised for renewable energies and not diverted for use in defence systems and weapons of war.
Anabel Marin, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, said:
"Despite being extracted in the name of the transition, critical minerals are increasingly used for other agendas, including data centres, and fossil fuel infrastructure and - most concerningly - in defence.
"At next week's COP31, military use of minerals must be part of the climate change discussions. International leaders need to recognise that the scale of the energy transition required cannot be achieved without peace."
In addition to discussing the military use of minerals at COP31, and prioritising them for uses that serve climate goals, IDS researchers recommend that countries report demand for critical minerals by use, including military, and support including destination and use in the global traceability framework proposed by the UN Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. They also advocate for reciprocal transparency to be built into critical-minerals partnerships, along with support for mineral producing countries to develop traceability to final destination.
China's role in renewables globally
One of COP31 priorities is to increase the global electrification rate to 35% by 2035. Progress on the renewable energies that rely on critical minerals has been made, with solar and wind power leading the way for increasing renewable electricity production. Countries including China are contributing to those energy transition projects globally, but much more progress is required. Only solar photovoltaics and electric vehicles are on track to meet 2050 Net Zero Emissions targets.
IDS, in partnership with the International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF), has been tracking China's role in renewables globally. New analysis from the latest quarterly report from 'The Landscape of Chinese Overseas Renewable Energy Projects' research shows how China's overseas renewable energy engagement is expanding across power supply, storage, and the industries that support their deployment.
Solar projects supported by China - via finance or technological capabilities - remained the largest generation category, with wind and storage project numbers increasing year on year. Geographically South-eastern Asia has the highest number of renewable energy projects supported by China, while several large developments are underway in Central Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia.
For example, the Abydos II solar and battery storage project in Egypt combines Chinese engineering with international developers and development finance to deliver solar and storage infrastructure. In Malaysia, the Chinese company EVE Energy has its first overseas mass-production hub that will add 38 GWh of annual energy-storage battery capacity. The project illustrates a mode of Chinese overseas engagement that differs from mainstream project activities: manufacturing FDI (foreign direct investment) that builds a host-country industrial base, rather than the delivery of a generation asset.
Find out more about IDS research on critical minerals:
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Original text here: https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/cop31-action-on-critical-minerals-needed-for-electrification-goal-and-clean-energy-scale-up/ (TNSmrp)
