The simple fact is that pensions are still in the news all the time. You might think they settled down after the Detroit pension debacle but do a quick Google News search on pensions and you will see that teacher pensions in multiple states are in the news, Park District employees in Chicago won a court case regarding pensions, and I tweeted a few days ago an article pointing out the problems with a multi-company pension that seemed to be teetering on the brink. This is not a rant against workers pensions though. Pensions are an important part of the negotiated compensation package between workers and employers. 

Continue reading The Pension Problem, yet again

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The demographic transitions within North Dakota due to the Bakken oil boom are simply fascinating. These are part of my presentations at the North Dakota Demographics Conference. Some of this may be updated in the next few days because the Census Bureau released new data today that I am still working through even as I write this. Multitasking with writing blog posts and computer code is one of my skills. Ask JT about it on his radio show sometime.

Continue reading Age By County in North Dakota

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It has been a busy couple of weeks. I was in Washington, D.C. for a new class I will be teaching next year on the interactions of government and business. That took a great amount of time and energy I do not mind telling you. It will be lots of fun and a great learning experience going forward. Also, this week was the North Dakota Demographics conference. This was the third one and I helped plan all of them as well as presenting at them. This time I had a research poster, a presentation on Demographics & Taxes, and I was part of a panel discussion on cities in North Dakota. 

Continue reading Recent Events

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