What journalists don't know can hurt you

I have friends who often joke that I'm just "smart enough to be dangerous."

They know, of course, that I have a master's degree in economics, a sort of odd or at least unusual combination with an undergraduate degree in journalism.

Of course, many economists are just smart enough to be dangerous, and most of them get on CNN or Fox because they have something newsworthy to say coming from a discipline that often is not exciting. A report on the GDP, for example, will not be able to compete with American idol.

Still, there are certain economists who offer intriguing ideas or are interesting people at the very least.

Louis Johnston, associate professor of economics at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville, fits the bill.

He spoke to a roomful of journalists at the Minnesota Newspaper Association convention Friday in Minneapolis.

While he was obliged to clarify some of the mysteries of economics to those whose job is to be short and simple in their writing, he had a number of interesting things to say about economic life in Minnesota.

He is currently involved in researching the history of the state's economy.

Some surprising facts: Per capita income in Minnesota has been rising and rising faster than any other states that are said to be in competition with Minnesota for business and  jobs. Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota don't beat us in either overall per capita income or the trendline since the 1970s.

Another surprising fact: even when you take into account, Minnesota's relatively higher taxes, we still beat all the other states. We also beat Texas. Only two other states have shown continued per capita income growth over the years: Virginia and New Hampshire.

Johnston explains those: Virginia includes Washington D.C, and southern New Hampshire has become a suburb of Boston.

Johnston is working on research that suggests the reason Minnesota has had higher per capita income growth since the 1970s is that there was a bipartisan political coalition that agreed to invest in infrastructure, education and transportation.

Political leaders actually set up state programs to fund water and sewer projects in every city in Minnesota that didn't have them or didn't have adequate systems. That allowed businesses to locate in any town in the state. The infrastructure was already there.

Of course, now, that infrastructure must be maintained, and the funds for it are decreasing. That could come back to haunt us. Without those infrastructure investments, Johnston says, it may be difficult to maintain the state's manufacturing base.