MAR 12, 2013 PROGRAM:
Taxes and spending: what’s ahead for the U.S. and Minnesota?
· What are the current and future challenges faced by the state and federal governments?
· What are the differences between the political challenges and the economic challenges (they are not the same!)
· How can individual citizens make sense of these issues and get involved in their solution?
Louis Johnston is associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. He earned his B.S. (summa cum laude) at the University of Minnesota, and his M.A. and PhD at the University of California, Berkeley.
Johnston specializes in macroeconomics and economic history. His most recent projects focus on analyzing the evolution of Minnesota’s economy and how Minnesota became “above average” over the past 60 years.
Johnston is special contributor to the 4th and 5th editions of Principles of Economics by Robert H. Frank and Ben S. Bernanke (McGraw-Hill / Irwin, 2009, 2012), with responsibility for developing and writing all of the macroeconomics chapters. In addition, Johnston produced, with Bob Frank, a “brief” version of the book suitable for one-semester survey courses and that is now in its second edition.
Johnston writes a twice-monthly column on economics and the economy for MinnPost.com (www.minnpost.com/macromicrominnesota/) called “Macro, Micro, Minnesota,” and was a regular guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s Midday program. His micro-blog is available at http://twitter.com/ldjeconomics.