Last month, Show-Me Institute Policy Researcher Michael Rathbone visited Westminster Christian Academy in Saint Louis County to deliver a guest lecture to eighth grade U.S. history students. The subject of the lecture was the Great Depression, and the information contained within was frequently contrary to the conventional wisdom that "big business" or "greed" caused or prolonged the Great Depression, instead showing how government intervention encouraged, worsened, and prolonged what might otherwise have been a brief recession.

On May 13, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Patrick Ishmael appeared on Channel 2's Jaco Report in Saint Louis to discuss the merits of voter ID reform in Missouri.

View the video on Fox 2's website by clicking here.

Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding was once again a guest on Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on May 10, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: gay marriage, the principal of Clayton High School's alleged use of a fake facebook account to spy on students, the possible revocation of state funding for the Sue Shear Institute, the St. Louis Rams' request for a new roof for the Edward Jones Dome, Scott Boston's controversial remarks about Senator Claire McCaskill, and the recent discussion and Wall Street Journal article about whether wild horses should be culled in Missouri.

Click here to watch video of the event.

Gary Voss has run the West County Lanes in Ellisville for almost three decades.  He’s never been given a tax subsidy, and he doesn’t think the Sansone Developers or Walmart should either.

In this second Show-Me Forum of 2012, Show-Me Institute Policy Analysts David Stokes and Patrick Ishmael presented some thoughts on tax credits in Missouri to a crowd in Columbia, Mo.

Newly elected Mayor Adam Paul is against giving a TIF for a new Walmart near the intersection of Clarkson and Manchester. The Ellisville City Council has given preliminary approval for the TIF, but Paul thinks public opinion may still prevail.

The Ellisville City Council has given preliminary approval to a TIF for a new Walmart near the intersection of Clarkson and Manchester. The final vote is scheduled for May 2nd. Residents like Liz Schmidt are baffled by the council’s move. In her opinion, residents have already made their feelings clear about the TIF.

The Ellisville city council has given preliminary approval for a TIF to fund development of a Walmart at the corner of Clarkson and Manchester. That vote overrides the county TIF commission, and apparently, the will of a majority of Ellisville residents. David Stokes takes a look.

Should a private country club, even one with a rich golf history, be subsidized by taxpayers?  Show-Me Institute Policy Researcher Michael Rathbone takes a look at Norwood Hills Country Club in Saint Louis County.

Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding was once again a guest on Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on March 22, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: The unruly St. Charles County Republican caucus, the NFL "bounty scandal" and Rams' new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams role in it, Occupy St. Louis participants' recent defacing of the Compton Hill Reservoir, comment policy change on the Post-Dispatch website, developments in the Missouri republican party and the tea party's role, and whether employers should be allowed to ask for prospective employees' facebook passwords.

Click here to watch the video of the event.

The Roaring '20s didn't just happen. At the Show-Me Institute's Speaker Series on Feb. 28, author Amity Shlaes said the President known as "Silent Cal" deserves a lot of the credit for the booming economy. Shlaes, who has written the book Coolidge (due for release June 26), says Calvin Coolidge did what some might consider impossible today. He cut taxes and the federal budget.

At the Show-Me Institute's Speaker Series on Feb. 28, author Amity Shlaes talked about one of America's least remembered Presidents...Calvin Coolidge. Her book, Coolidge, will hit bookstores June 26, and Shlaes feels today's leaders could learn something from "Silent Cal." Shlaes says Coolidge's tight budgets and tax cuts brought America out of recession and helped trigger the economic boom known as the Roaring '20s.

In Saint Louis County, the TIF council recently rejected a TIF proposal from an Ellisville Walmart, but now the City of Ellisville is attempting to approve the subsidy proposal anyway.

As David Stokes briefly mentions in this vlog, the sales tax status of Ellisville in Saint Louis County encourages this kind of tax-incentive competition.

This video, created by the Economic Freedom Project, demonstrates the power of free markets to create and restore — in this case showcasing Joplin, Mo and the volunteers, workers, and residents acting in a market free from government help or excessive regulations.

On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Amity Shlaes spoke at Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business at an event organized and co-sponsored by the Show-Me Institute. The topic of the talk was Shlaes' latest book Coolidge — due for release June 26 — which discusses the presidency of Calvin Coolidge with a focus on the effectiveness of his laissez-faire policies in restoring the turbulent economy of the early 20's to "normalcy."

At a Show-Me Institute policy breakfast December 6th, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams spoke of the difficulty of removing a bad teacher from a city classroom. Isn’t it time for reform?

Make your own video and submit it here.

In these two video clips from our recent Show-Me Forum, State Sen. Kurt Schaefer and State Rep. Chris Kelly offer two different viewpoints on Missouri's state budget troubles.

In these two videos, Wendell Cox explains some of the ideas and implications of his recent policy study for the Show-Me Institute. Is Saint Louis poised to see a population resurgence? Is "smart growth" harming the areas that implement it?

Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding returned to Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on February 9, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: Missouri's recent and expensive "beauty contest" presidential primary, the federal-level employer contraception mandate, potentially eliminating Missouri's income tax, and Kansas City's proposed new land bank.

Click here to watch the video of the event.