Recent content from Lee Schafer
Schafer: Rising costs are canceling out wage increases for most workers
The Trump administration insists wages are increasing. Many economists seem pretty sure that if so, the growth rate rounds to zero.
Schafer: Lessons from the crisis still relevant a decade later
The single best explanation for why we had a terrifying financial crisis 10 years ago goes back to how easy it seems to be to…
Schafer: Crow Wing Power co-op should look after members, not insider executives
The idea is that co-op members are well-equipped to look out for themselves, but Crow Wings is putting that to the test.
![Paul Aasen, president of the Minnesota Safety Council, said, “The workplace culture … [is] definitely heavily influenced by the organization’s i](http://stmedia.stimg.co/ows_153627452448815.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Minnesota Safety Council's Paul Aasen has good, bad news
Focusing on workplace safety can pay off by lowering costs.
Schafer: Income stagnation is a big factor in housing crisis
Housing costs more than it used to for most of us, and our incomes haven't kept up.
Schafer: Talking bank failures and 'Hamilton' at the fair with Neel Kashkari
Part of the fun of going every year to the Minnesota State Fair is seeing what’s new — and this year that included Federal Reserve…
Schafer: Founders of St. Cloud startup build tech portfolio on the prairie
They don't suggest it's a lot easier to build a successful technology company in a college town more than an hour's drive from downtown Minneapolis and half a world away from Silicon Valley. They just doubt it's any harder.
Schafer: Ford case defined role of business
Sen. Elizabeth Warren hopes to see a new legal charter adopted by big American businesses. The Massachusetts Democrat’s idea being to kill the notion that…
Schafer: How Minneapolis' top tech watcher views the Tesla and Musk drama
After talking to Gene Munster, it's clear he's remaining as professional as possible when sharing his thoughts on a potential transaction that was disclosed in the wackiest possible way.
Schafer: Key to apartment development is yield, and it's slim these days
If public officials don't take the time to really get it, odds seem high that the problem of not enough lower-cost housing gets worse in the Twin Cities.
Schafer: Commuting cost can drive home-buying decisions
Home buyers have long known about this trade-off between cheaper houses and longer commutes, sometimes called the drive-until-you-qualify strategy. Buying cheaply enough to get approved for a mortgage loan means looking in neighborhoods that are probably much farther out from the city center. But commuting with a car isn't cheap.
Schafer: Cheap, short-term health plans are a cure worse than the disease
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans hasn't taken a position on a new policy initiative out of Washington because its members apparently can't all agree.
Schafer: Immigration and immigrants are a positive force in Worthington
If you're in favor of economic growth, welcoming immigrants is one good way to get that.
Schafer: Answering the phone on the first ring is more than a courtesy at Stearns Bank
The Stearns Bank equipment finance operation in Albany, Minn., has a much bigger front desk than anyone could expect.It only takes one person to greet…
Schafer: Municipal fees a barrier to more affordable housing in suburbs
Another column in an occasional series on the future of housing. Realtor Kathy Samson knew exactly how a parcel of 6.3 acres in the northwest…
Schafer: Issues behind Supervalu sale built over decades
That just isn't Supervalu's fault. It was, however, Supervalu's problem.
The company never quite met the challenge.
Schafer: CEOs are doing just fine thanks to corporate tax cuts
Top executives are doing just fine, thanks to corporate tax cuts.
Schafer: Main Street Meter can tell us when there's no room left to grow
The current economic expansion is about a year away from setting a record as the longest in American history.
Schafer: Online businesses turn to old-school offline marketing
Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising that the world's leading e-commerce company plans to distribute paper catalogs and is going after new customers with direct mail.
Schafer: Bed-in-a-box concept lowers prices, but is it adding value?
For those determined to figure out what to buy without any help, good luck.
Schafer: Adidas deal with Timberwolves' Derrick Rose a bet that didn't quite play out
Co-branding with a bench player in an NBA backwater obviously isn't what anyone at Adidas had in mind when locking up the endorsement rights to Rose back in 2012 — a contract that has been regularly reported as worth about $190 million.
Schafer: Market forces, regulation have worked against more affordable housing
If the question is how to make more affordable housing units available, a Minneapolis Fed official's answer is not that complicated.
Schafer: Minnesota soybean farmers have a problem, but how big?
Thanks to an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, Minnesota-grown soybeans are about to get a lot more expensive for Chinese buyers.
Schafer: Want affordable housing? Do you have 40 years?
Third in an occasional series on the future of housing. Here’s an old real estate joke you maybe haven’t heard before: Know how to create…
Schafer: Defining the Mayo Clinic could cost it millions in lawsuit
While it's obvious the Mayo Clinic is a health care provider, it's not at all obvious that this is the best way to describe it.
Schafer: New HealthPartners CEO keeps eye on goal of simpler, less costly care
The CEO changed but the business plan didn't at one of the largest health providers in the Twin Cities.
Schafer: For smaller firms, going public is a big challenge
The story of ASV illustrates some of the trends that have made Minnesota’s list of public companies much smaller than it once was. Before the…
Schafer: Why there's no longer such a thing as an affordable new house in Minneapolis
"In a weird way, it's not that complicated" to explain why those lots in Minneapolis are fairly valued at pretty much zero, said Chris Wilson, senior director of real estate development for the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Project for Pride in Living.
Schafer: Building leases can guarantee control for business owners
Just outside the construction fence for the Major League Soccer stadium project in St. Paul is Big Top Liquors, a retailer that has been there…
Schafer: Kipsu founder says low cost of living is region's secret weapon
First of an occasional series on the future of housing. Entrepreneur Chris Smith just moved a company called Kipsu into new office space in…
Schafer: A large fee for proposed Fort Snelling housing project, yes, but the risk is there
Take a closer look at the project now called the A-Mill Artist Lofts, and you can see this isn't the kind of work that novices should take on.
Schafer: In consumer robotics race, Tennant keeps focus on customer
The machines embraced by mainstream customers rarely seem to be cool, ground-up inventions.
Schafer: Are low interest rates here to stay? Fed official says they might be
It always pays to be at least a little skeptical of talk of a new normal, but John Williams' talk was still well worth taking in.
Schafer: Mosaic's headquarters move is disappointing but put it into context
It was surprising to learn this week that the Mosaic Co. has elected to relocate its corporate headquarters to Florida, though the surprise was in…
Schafer: Medtronic hire brings expertise and plenty of questions
Medtronic clearly wanted to show how serious its executives are about creating "shareholder value." That only invited more questions.
Schafer: Sezzle online installment plans appeal to millennials without credit cards
There has been a boomlet of financial technology startups since the Great Recession, with fintech firms making a home in the Twin Cities.
Schafer: Hiring challenge knocked Twin Cities off Amazon's list
The recruiting challenge is what came out of feedback Amazon gave officials as part of calls to most of the also-rans in the race to become a second headquarters town.
Ford Motor Co. isn't quitting the car business—just the unprofitable car business
Doubters' misunderstanding seems to be a big part of the head-scratching reaction.
Schafer: Herberger's closing hard to take, but it's hard to fault investors
It's galling to have to admit they were almost certainly right.
Schafer: Decades-old Medtronic mission statement offers lessons today
At first it seemed that Medtronic Chairman and CEO Omar Ishrak planned to deliver a superficial introduction to Medtronic, as if maybe no one in…
Schafer: Fed's Kashkari sees strengthening case for higher rates
Kashkari spent much of last year as a sometimes lonely voice at the Fed opposing the idea that short-term interest rates should go up. While he's not exactly on board now with boosting them, a lot has changed since his last no vote. That was only last December.
Schafer: Private equity has a PR problem
An April blizzard turned into just another bad PR moment for private-equity managers, who can't even seem to come up with a good word to describe themselves.
Schafer: Rolling recalls test Polaris' commitment to running lean
If operational excellence is a big part of the Polaris story, it really needs to stop recalling its products for potential safety problems.
Schafer: How much are your online data really worth?
So what's the users' privacy worth? It's priceless.
Schafer: UCare created a culture that allowed turnaround after big loss
UCare executives had to cut costs to survive. But there are lessons to be learned here about how they went about it.
Ceridian growth is good sign for the Twin Cities
You may have to forgive some of us for our enthusiasm at the launch of Ceridian HCM Holding as a public company. It's a compelling growth story right now.
New numbers show PolyMet's Minnesota mine holds smaller potential, except to backer Glencore
Opponents of PolyMet Mining's plan to mine for copper, nickel and other metals in northeastern Minnesota keep hoping that the economics of the project collapse…
Schafer: Pawlenty's futurism helps steer broader understanding of changing economy
Whether talking about 3-D printed houses or smart toilets is a shrewd way to win votes remains to be seen.
Schafer: Firing MNLARS manager won't fix what led to debacle
It may look like the state of Minnesota acted just like the state’s best-run companies by holding someone accountable for the mess made of a…
Schafer: Lawsuit calls out Pioneer Press owner for its tactics
Alden Global Capital has for years treated one of the biggest media companies in the country like a big ATM. Someday, it will run out of money.
Schafer: Target's decision to remodel stores goes beyond gut instinct
Target Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan says he gets asked “all the time” why the company keeps investing in its stores. It’s a new digital…
Schafer: New ERP programs can cause headaches for companies — ask Patterson
After Patterson Cos. announced that an ERP problem — among other factors — led to a disappointing quarter, its stock ended the day about 24 percent cheaper.
Schafer: Lawmakers' claims that tax cuts led to state surplus don't add up
The best explanation for the billion-dollar surplus guess has to be that Republicans had really wanted to take a victory lap.
Schafer: Annuities may offer a security blanket in uncertain times
For those of us who have had no choice but a do-it-yourself retirement program, there just isn't a sure path to a worry-free future.
Schafer: 3M must learn from its $850 million mistake
Minnesota's lawsuit and the settlement arose out of the traditional strengths of an enduringly excellent company.
Schafer: Is General Mills deal a good one? Only the company can make it so
General Mills is paying what seems like a lot of money — about 25 times cash earnings — for the Blue Buffalo pet food maker.…
Schafer: Chief resilience officer is lesson in risk management
It was a bad PR day for the city of Minneapolis last week when its chief resilience officer left after only seven months and without…
Schafer: Noncompete contracts can make it tough to change jobs
The law is fine, one Twin Cities attorney says. It's getting the law applied that's so challenging for workers.
Schafer: Minneapolis mutual fund manager Disciplined Growth Investors aims to attract clients directly
Some pithy, funny or sometimes odd statements about investing that appear on the sides of transit buses and billboards in the Twin Cities can be…
Schafer: St. Paul schools negotiators started out on the same side
Let’s hope the St. Paul Public Schools’ contract negotiations with its teachers’ union aren’t the start of a new and more chaotic era in labor…
Schafer: Fed wisely puts Wells Fargo on a short leash
The agreement with the Federal Reserve keeping a lid on the size of the Wells Fargo balance sheet is a big deal.
Schafer: Cliffs' CEO plays offense in Iron Range land dispute
Lourenco Goncalves, who put on a not-to-be-missed show for a roomful of Iron Rangers last week in Eveleth, is a miner with a track record of delivering.
Schafer: Wage inflation starting to show its face
There's nothing riskier when deciding what to do with your savings than concluding "this time it's really different" in the market.
Schafer: U.S. Bank finds policing the bad guys is expensive
U.S. Bank just booked a $608 million expense to settle with regulators over compliance failures.
Schafer: Why would Amazon snub Twin Cities in headquarters contest?
The worst possible outcome in the competition for Amazon.com's second headquarters has already come to pass for the Twin Cities.
Schafer: Higher interest rates drive investment? One CFO explains
Neel Kashkari of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis visited Cargill, and much of what the Fed really does was discussed.
Schafer: Visible City connects data to real-life decisionmaking needs
His company is still just a startup, yet Visible City has been analyzing multiple layers of data to do things like help a client find the sinÂgle best site for a new aÂpartÂment buildÂing. That seems pretÂty pracÂtiÂcal.
Schafer: Are co-working spaces disrupting real estate?
It's also seen as a sign of a healthy culture of entrepreneurship to have lots of busy co-working places nearby.
Schafer: Retailers do care what happens in far-off apparel factories
Brands can be easily tarnished when workers are injured or systematically exploited.
Schafer: Students, find your vocation, not your passion
The college students career counselor Emily Reinert sees at Augsburg University in Minneapolis won’t hear much from her about passion. Instead they will hear more…
Schafer: Tax bill helps some industries a lot more than others
The assumption in my household all year was that the Republican tax cut bill was meant to really benefit people richer than we are,…
Schafer: No one should be upset that Medica transferred funds to a for-profit subsidiary
It’s hard to guess who critics thought got the profits when nonprofit Medica transferred capital to its for-profit health insurance subsidiary. No one does, of…
Schafer: Ignore the talk of new paradigms in rise of bitcoin
To state the obvious, no one can really "invest" in bitcoin. Just speculate.
Schafer: Aetna sale spotlights CEO pay
Aetna Inc. CEO Mark Bertolini will collect about half-a-billion dollars when and if Aetna’s sale to CVS Health closes, according to the Wall Street Journal.…
Schafer: CVS-Aetna deal is about catching up to UnitedHealth
Of the two competitors, the one to bet on is the one that doesn't need to operate a big network of brick-and-mortar stores.
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