Red Tape

One thing that government officials do well is establish barriers to market innovation and erect hurdles for entrepreneurs to clear. The Show-Me Institute is committed to showing how burdensome regulations stand in the way of economic growth and individual prosperity. Market solutions lose their strength when bound by red tape.

Recent Publications

Stretcher Vans Could Provide Private Transportation Solution for Disabled
June 26, 2009

Metro transit cuts have left many disabled individuals in the Saint Louis area without affordable transportation options. Stretcher vans could provide an alternative, but a few unnecessary government-mandated licensure provisions, such as EMT or paramedic training requirements, increase the cost of service without providing an essential benefit.


Testimony Before the City Council of Clayton, Mo.
May 13, 2009

One of the reasons that America has long been known as the “land of opportunity” is that its citizens are understood to have the freedom to make decisions for themselves. Rather than having their lives dictated to them, as is the case in so many nations across the world, Americans engage in the pursuit of happiness by cultivating an extremely broad array of tastes and interests. For many, this includes the choice to smoke.


Kick Anti-CWIP Laws to the Curb
March 27, 2009

It’s currently illegal for public utilities to fund expansions through charges to current customers, but AmerenUE insists this type of funding structure is necessary in order to build another nuclear power reactor. Attitudes toward nuclear energy have changed over the years, and anti-CWIP laws should be repealed as relics of another era.


Regulations Targeting Payday Lenders Won't Solve Financial Problems
December 17, 2008

Payday loans carry extremely high interest rates, leading some Saint Louis officials to seek a regulatory fix limiting new stores. However, the suggested limits would not change the underlying need for emergency funds faced by many without access to traditional forms of credit. Limiting competition would leave them more vulnerable.


Fewer Licensing Laws Would Make Missouri Freer, More Prosperous
December 9, 2008

Out of all 50 states, Missouri requires licenses for the least number of occupations. This benefits Missouri residents in many ways, but the number of licenses is still too high; many studies document the harm that occupational licensing can do. People should not have to seek the permission of the government before they choose an occupation.


Occupational Licensing of Massage Therapists in Missouri and Kansas
December 4, 2008

The licensing of occupations in Missouri could be could be costing consumers more for some services. Although a nationwide survey by the Reason Foundation last year listed Missouri as the state with the fewest statewide occupational licensing requirements, many occupations are still subject to unnecessary restrictions on who may enter the profession. This drives up prices and can, in many cases, spur business owners to locate elsewhere. This case study focuses in particular on massage therapists. It compares the prices of massage therapy in Missouri, which licenses therapists statewide, and Kansas, which doesn’t. It looks at price comparisons in the metropolitan Kansas City market and compares Springfield to Wichita. The study documents how massage therapist licensing in Missouri leads to higher costs for consumers in Springfield, and leads to more businesses locating in on the Kansas side of the state line in Kansas City.


'Missouri Clean Energy Initiative' Fraught With Hidden Costs
October 21, 2008

The “Missouri Clean Energy Initiative” requires utilities to produce higher percentages of power through renewable sources. The mandate has obvious visible benefits, but the costs aren’t as easy to see. The initiative gives utilities the incentive to circumvent the spirit of the law while providing an eco-friendly public relations shield.


Saint Joseph's Licensing Laws Construct Barriers to the Free Market
August 5, 2008

Saint Joseph is considering licensing contractors who work within the city. However, occupational licensing adds costs and decreases competition without improving quality or safety. The free market is best served by competition, not by restricting how somebody can make a living.


Misguided Textbook Transparency Act Would Increase Student Costs
May 29, 2008

Although Missouri’s Textbook Transparency Act is intended to lower the costs of higher education, the actual provisions of this bill will not achieve that purpose. Informational mandates and regulation of the ways that textbooks can be sold would decrease marginal producer profits, in many cases passing those costs on to students.


Taxes — With a Capital T, and That Rhymes With P, and That Stands for Pool
April 18, 2008

Counties in Missouri have for decades had the power to levy annual license fees on any public establishment that hosts a pool table. A holdover from earlier times when pool halls were seen as social ills, the tax remains in many areas today. This amounts to an endorsement of some types of recreational activities, and a punishment of others.


A Better Solution to Missouri's Long-Term Nursing Home Care
January 24, 2008

Many of us who have elderly family members living in nursing homes feel a natural urge to protect them through government regulation. But before passing new legislation, it’s important to determine whether the proposed regulations will actually have the desired effect of protecting Missouri’s elderly citizens.


'Gouging' a Misleading Term for Supply and Demand
December 17, 2007

Natural disasters and terrible weather inevitably lead to warnings about price gouging. But high prices during emergencies are simply a measurement of supply and demand. If prices aren’t allowed to rise, people who don’t really need scarce goods tend to buy more than they should, and businesses tend to produce less than they should, leading to shortages.


Payday Loan Reform Bad for Borrowers
September 27, 2007

Those calling to reform the payday loan industry are misguided in their attempt to help consumers. Interest rates for such loans are exorbitantly high, it’s true, but that’s because the borrowers tend to be high credit risks. Capping those rates would likely drive some desperate consumers to even more odious sources of credit. Programs to increase financial literacy would be a much more effective solution.


Taking the CON Out of Certificate of Need Laws
March 22, 2007

Most industries are open to all firms willing to make the necessary initial investments to enter the market. If I want to open a bar in my neighborhood, can clear the zoning restrictions, and have the necessary capital to rent a space, fill it with booze, and market it to my prospective customers, then that bar will open, with me as its proprietor. This open process creates an environment in which businesses compete for customers, encouraging the innovation that leads to higher quality and lower prices. Requiring a prospective bar owner to obtain a permission slip showing a need for another bar in their neighborhood would obviously be ridiculous. Unfortunately, this is exactly the requirement made by the state of any entrepreneur looking to offer health care services.


Real Estate Law Keeps Out Competitors
November 21, 2006

Imagine if the law required every restaurant to serve its customers a four-course meal. Cafeterias and fast-food chains would be out of business. Eating out would become more expensive. There would be fewer restaurants to choose from, and a lot of people might just stay home for dinner. The only people who would benefit from such a law are the owners of upscale restaurants. They’d make out like bandits as the law put their competition out of business.