A resolution currently under consideration by Missouri’s General Assembly would eliminate the state’s individual and corporate income taxes, and broaden the sales tax instead. The plan includes establishing a low-income rebate program. Despite the possibility of added administrative work in the short term, resources could ultimately be allocated more efficiently.
Missouri’s oral health is among the worst in the nation, partly because of the state’s shortage of dentists. Programs in Alaska, England, Australia, and Canada have had success with dental therapists, who can provide a wide range of dental services at a low cost. Missouri could also benefit from dental therapists if the state’s professional licensing law did not stand in the way.
The Missouri auditor’s office and others have recently suggested either capping or eliminating the amount that can be retained by businesses for remitting sales tax collections. It’s important to remember, however, that the compliance process costs time and money. When the government compels somebody to perform a service, they should be compensated.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down most of the federal restrictions on campaign financing. Missourians who believe that moneyed interests carry too much sway with political candidates can try to change the incentive structure by forming a voting block dedicated to casting ballots for candidates whose campaigns spend less money.
The individual health insurance mandate being considered in Congress would violate individual liberties secured by the U.S. Constitution. A proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution in response to the proposed mandate might be a useful step toward protecting individual freedoms.
Despite their popularity, tax credits for film productions don’t promote lasting job growth or bring in significant tax revenue. Many productions can cost more in state funding than they generate in temporary economic activity. Eliminating the commercial property tax surcharge or the earnings tax would be a more efficient route to increased economic growth.
House Joint Resolution 36 (2009), the “Fair Tax” bill, called for replacing personal and corporate income taxes with a broad, revenueneutral 5.11-percent sales tax. The legislation also called for a tax rebate to be disbursed on the first day of each month to qualified families in the state. In our view, Missouri’s economy would grow faster if HJR 36 were enacted. However, through a combination of misinformation, miscalculation, and the promotion of myths, HJR 36 was unfairly maligned.
Missouri and Tennessee are border states that resemble each other in many ways. Despite the states’ similarities, Missouri has historically been the more populous and prosperous of the two, owing in part to its size advantage and in part to historical factors. Throughout the 1900s, however, Tennessee’s population and economy have gradually caught up to Missouri's; its population is now about 5 percent larger than its neighbor to the northwest, it has a higher per-capita GDP, and its per-capita GDP now trails Missouri's by only a few percentage points. In order to evaluate why Tennessee’s economy has grown at a faster rate than Missouri’s, it is important to consider the impact of one of the most significant and enduring differences between the two states: macroeconomic tax policy.
Lawrence W. Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education, explains the causes of the Great Depression of 1929–1941 and outlines the clear lessons that historical episode provides for modern economic crises.
Missouri’s economic development and growth rates are chronically below average. During the past 10 years, employment has grown 8.8 percent nationally, while Missouri has boosted jobs by only 6 percent. Economists have provided one explanation for the state’s lagging performance: Missouri’s personal income tax rates.
The emergence of charter schools raises two important questions related to their impact on students’ academic achievement. First, what does the evidence say about how charter schools affect the achievement of their students — are charter school students learning more or less than they would have in traditional public schools? Second, what does the evidence say about how competition from charter schools affects the performance of nearby traditional public schools? The answers to these two questions should provide insight as to the broader question of whether the charter school model can be considered a successful type of education reform.
In February 2009, Congress dedicated $8 billion of stimulus funds to high-speed rail projects. In April 2009, President Barack Obama released his high-speed rail “vision” for America, which includes 8,500 miles that the Federal Railroad Administration had identified as potential high-speed rail routes in 2001. In June, the FRA announced its criteria for Missouri and other states to apply for high-speed rail grants out of the $8 billion in stimulus funds. Yet the FRA has no estimates of how much high-speed rail would ultimately cost, who would ride it, who would pay for it, and whether the benefits can justify the costs. A realistic review shows that high-speed rail would be extremely costly and would add little to American mobility or environmental quality.
The Constitution of Missouri includes more provisions addressing the property rights of citizens than that of any other state. The careful restrictions it places on the use of eminent domain show that, in ratifying the Constitution, the people of the Show-Me State intended to prevent the abuse of eminent domain to benefit private parties. Despite these protections, however, few states today have so dismal a record of eminent domain abuse as Missouri. And, in 2008, despite the constitutional and statutory restrictions on the government’s ability to take one person’s home, business, or house of worship and give it to another private owner, the Missouri Supreme Court chose to expand the power even further, placing the property rights of all Missourians in even greater jeopardy.
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Show-Me Daily
Check out Show-Me Daily, the Show-Me Institute's blog, where we provide fresh news and views on Missouri public policy every day.
Eminent Domain Amicus Brief
On Nov. 29, 2007, the Show-Me Institute filed a brief of amicus curiae in the Missouri Supreme Court eminent domain case City of Arnold v. Homer Tourkakis. Read SMI's argument in favor of strong property rights.
From Equity to Adequacy to Choice
On Oct. 30, 2007, the Show-Me Institute sponsored a conference about issues associated with public school finance and educational adequacy lawsuits. Visit the conference website to view the agenda, read working papers, and browse bios of presenting academics.
