David Stokes talks property assessments on KTRS TV.

David Stokes talks sales taxes with McGraw Milhaven.

Recently, and especially leading up to the 2012 Pesidential Election, there has been much talk about inequality of both wealth and tax burden among the American people. In a talk at Saint Louis University, UCLA Economics Professor Lee Ohanian dispelled some of the popular but mistaken ideas about the relative income growth of rich and poor, the tax burdens each group bears, and how best to restore prosperity for every American.

Most lobbyists who vie for tax dollars are privately funded. But some public entities — cities, public employee groups and others — hire lobbyists using taxpayer dollars, in order to lobby higher levels of government for even more tax dollars. Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes discusses the concept briefly in this video, and at length in a recent paper.

On December 6, Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich stopped by the Show-Me Institute's office in the Central West End of Saint Louis to discuss his work and his office for a packed-house crowd. Among the topics Schweich discussed: how his office has saved taxpayer money, and how much; the state auditor's office's new rapid response team; Auditor Schweich's personal bio and how he came from practicing law, to international law enforcement, to returning to Missouri to become State Auditor; and Auditor Schweich's favorite part of his current position — helping small towns throughout the state find their financial footing.

At the Show-Me Institute's Speaker Series on September 12, American Enterprise Institute CEO Arthur Brooks spoke about the fairness argument.

What's the Spend-O-Meter? Michael Rathbone explains!

Show-Me Institute Executive Director Brenda Talent was a guest on Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on July 26, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: The tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and what impact if any the event should have on gun policy, the recent Post-Dispatch coverage of the Clay vs Carnahan congressional race, Governor Nixon's new television ad's omission of his party affiliation, U.S. Olympic Team uniforms manufactured in China, and the GSA convention locating (or not) in Saint Louis.

Click here to watch the program online.

Mike Ferguson — formerly of the Eagle in Columbia, currently director of Missouri News Horizon — spoke on the topic of the 2012 Missouri Legislative Session at the most recent Show-Me Forum in Columbia, MO. The speaker gave a media perspective on what did and did not happen, and why. One focus of the talk was the republicans, who control the legislature, not wishing to rock the boat during an election year, and thus being unwilling to discuss or move forward on important issues to the state, such as roads, education, and tax credits.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Early in the morning of February 8, 2012, Jonathan Williams of the American Legislative and Exchange Council (ALEC) and Joseph Haslag, University of Missouri Professor of Economics, presented their thoughts and findings relating to the current and potential future of Missouri's economy to an enthusiastic audience in the Show-Me Institute's office in the Central West End of Saint Louis. Among the topics discussed were the impact of tax rates and regulation on economic growth and investor uncertainty. An in-depth audience Q&A followed the presentations.

In this Show-Me Forum discussion, two Missouri state legislators discuss the precarious state of the Missouri budget and answer probing audience questions about Missouri's fiscal future.

The Missouri Department of Transportation, MODOT, is looking into ways of funding necessary maintenance on the main east-to-west highway across Missouri — Interstate 70. One funding option is to raise the gas tax state-wide. An alternative proposal from MODOT is to institute a toll on the highway. In this video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes suggests the the latter option makes more sense economically, as the people using the highway will be the ones paying for it. This video is a companion to Stokes' recent op-ed, which can be found here.

Do people visiting Missouri take advantage of the Show-Me State's lower excise taxes? Right now, the state of Missouri earns tax revenue by having comparatively lower tax rates than neighboring states. Lower tax rates lead to lower prices on gasoline, tobacco, and alcohol — and Missouri's many regular visitors can and do take advantage of this.

In this video, the Show-Me Institute's David Stokes and Amy Lutz interviewed several Chicago Blackhawks fans visiting for a Saturday night hockey game against the Blues. Many, but not all of them, knew that Missouri's tax rates were lower. But after learning of the lower tax rates, all of them planned on purchasing items such as gasoline while in town.

Lower taxes can lead to higher revenues — and keeping taxes low will keep the money flowing into the state of Missouri.