David Stokes, a policy analyst with the Show-Me Institute, testifies before the Missouri House of Representatives Job Creation and Economic Development Committee, about the economic effects of pending legislation, House Joint Resolution 81. Stokes argues that the commercial surcharge rates established 25 years ago long outdated, and that legislation allowing local officials to reduce those rates in response to changing economic conditions would provide a strong incentive for businesses to stay in Missouri.
Dave Roland, a policy analyst with the Show-Me Institute, testifies before the Senate Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee and the House Special Standing Committee on General Laws about SJR 25 and HJR 57, also known as the Health Care Freedom Act, which would offer citizens the opportunity to modify the Missouri Bill of Rights to formally recognize their right to decide for themselves whether they will participate in any private health care system. Under this amendment, the government would not be permitted to prevent citizens from offering or accepting direct payment for health care services, and neither could it substantially limit the purchase or sale of health insurance in private health care systems.
A recent Show-Me Institute study documents the extremely large costs and very questionable benefits that a significant investment in high-speed rail would bring Missouri. Other estimated figures that have been publicized regarding the construction of high-speed rail left out cost overruns, operating expenses, repair and maintenance, and more. The burden for those additional costs would fall on the state of Missouri and its taxpayers — not the federal government.
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.
In order for MoDOT and other transportation agencies to have the ability to seriously consider public-private partnerships — state officials would be well advised to consider passing wide-ranging enabling legislation that would authorize agencies, particularly MoDOT, to enter into these types of projects when careful analysis has deemed them to be both viable and beneficial.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit my comments about the upcoming sales tax vote in Saint Louis County, the proposed service cuts if the tax increase does not pass, and more. This testimony follows up on comments I made last month, at Metro’s invitation, at the Missouri Public Transit Association’s convention. The primary point of this testimony is not to comment on the proposed service cuts, but to suggest alternative means of financing and providing mass transit in general. These ideas will hopefully be given consideration, whether or not voters pass the sales tax increase, although they may become imperative should the measure be defeated.
David Stokes, a Show-Me Institute policy analyst, makes recommendations for provisions that should be included in the proposed Franklin County charter.
In June, Show-Me Institute policy analyst David Stokes submitted this testimony to the Saint Louis County Capital Investment Blue Ribbon Commission, about Saint Louis County's capital investment proposals. He argued that it's necessary to consider the economically harmful aspects of tax increases alongside the infrastructure needs that those increases are proposed to finance.
David Stokes, a Show-Me Institute policy analyst, makes recommendations for provisions that should be included in the proposed Jefferson County charter.
