In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school assignments based on race are unconstitutional. The ruling has sparked a firestorm among people who believe that this change in precedent could create de facto segregation in public schools. There’s a much better way to solve the problem of institutional racism in U.S. education than through the use of government-issued mandates. A system of competitive school choice gives people of every background the chance to provide their children with the best educations possible. Why not allow parents the choice to send their children to schools where they would do well? If schools had to compete to attract students, a greater diversity of race, ideology, and socio-economic background would occur naturally, without bogging down both schools and students in burdensome, unworkable regulations.

The federal government has employed several methods in its attempts to erase the legacy of de jure segregation — all of which have had mixed results. From school busing to increased funding for select school districts, these efforts to improve schools for all children have not proven to be cure-alls. The changes have, at times, produced feelings of anger and bitterness. Judges and government officials developed plans for where to send children to school without understanding individual school dynamics, effectively rejecting input from parents who want a say in where to send their children. Communities with the potential for harmony become, instead, resentful — and increasingly view attempts to achieve diversity in a bad light.

School choice would improve the dynamics necessary to create educational diversity. Everyone wants their children to receive good educations. No matter their background or race, parents want their children to attend schools with high-quality teachers and curriculum. One excellent example of this phenomenon is Metro High School in Saint Louis. The school’s academic reputation and success attract the interest of parents from a wide variety of backgrounds. Diversity is not a problem there, with an approximate 50-50 split of black and white students. Because parents of all backgrounds want their children to attend, there is no need to enforce diversity in cases like this.

Some critics are afraid that school choice would exacerbate segregation in schools. They believe that vouchers would be used primarily by white families who would relocate their children to better schools with a white-majority student body, leaving behind lesser-quality schools with a black-majority student body — resulting in de facto segregation. Others fear that vouchers would end up leaving behind poor black children whose parents don’t care enough about their children’s educations to use the vouchers they’re given, and switch their children to better schools. This wouldn’t be the case, though, because all people — not just the privileged — would have the ability to decide which schools to patronize with their educational vouchers or tax credits. Schools that see their enrollment drop drastically would be forced to implement equally drastic reforms in order to stay in business. They’d either improve their educational methods or somebody else would take over the school and reform it for them, in an effort to attract students. This would better serve children who are “left behind” in today’s system.

If parents are able to remove their kids from schools that have failed, those schools will have an incentive to educate children with quality and efficiency — lip service and bureaucracy would no longer suffice. In addition, none of this would depend on student body demographics. The views that all people share about educational quality would lead to a natural emergence of real diversity — because everybody, regardless of race, creed, or socioeconomic status, wants their children’s schools to work.

Working toward greater diversity in schools is an admirable goal, but the current system has brought more problems than solutions. Through school choice, reinforced with vouchers or tuition tax credits, real diversity can follow from the commonalities we all share. Parents want their children to have access to the best schools possible — no matter who else attends them.

Maurice Harris is an intern at the Show-Me Institute, a Missouri-based think tank. He is currently studying political science and history at Knox College.

The post School Choice Would Bring Greater Student Diversity appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Passenger train ridership in the St. Louis-Chicago corridor is up more
than 40 percent since October, when Amtrak added two trains to the
three that already offered daily round-trip service.

I am semi-glad that Amtrak is doing well, since people are taking advantage of the increased service. I use Amtrak frequently, myself. As a college student who doesn’t want to spend a ton of money driving from home to school, Amtrak is a great option to save some dollars. Yet the problem I have with Amtrak is that it requires heavy ongoing subsidies from federal and state governments, because it’s been unable to turn a profit. One major reason is that it is prone to delays, because it doesn’t have a right-of-way — freight trains have priority. Hopefully, one day taxpayers won’t have to subsidize Amtrak, and private rail service that operates at a profit will return.

The post Amtrak is Successful … I’m Surprised! appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Legislation like this, which removes regulations that limited choices for cable subscribers and competitors of existing cable franchises, opens the door to fair competition and better array of services that people can choose from. As we have discussed here at the Show-Me Institute, unleashing the Missouri cable industry will bring many great benefits.

The post AT&T Cable Is Spreading appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

A long line of interest groups urged lawmakers Tuesday to approve new
and expanded subsidies for developers, cattle ranchers, small business,
rural business and numerous other types of business.

Also, in response to testimony by Tom Kruckemeyer, chief economist for the Missouri Budget Project, about possible damage the tax credits could cause the Missouri budget, state Rep. Will Kraus said something that throws economics out the window:

“Economic development is driven by tax credits"

Kraus should know that lasting economic development is driven by smart tax policy — i.e., lowering taxes and simplifying the tax code. Reducing taxes across the board allows all businesses to benefit, rather than  just a few industries. This would cause job expansion in all parts of the economy.

The harms of tax credits for targeted industries have been discussed on this blog and at the the Show-Me Institute frequently. The fact that other states are offering tax incentives does not mean we should do it as well. Missouri should take the lead in showing how economic growth happens through broad-based, common-sense tax and economic policy, not through giving handouts to favored industries.

The post Tax Credits Don’t Always Create Jobs appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

"The impact of Wal-Mart Supercenters on the local grocery industry is
an insidious attack on the region’s economy," Jim Dougherty, president
of Local 655 of the United Food & Commercial Workers, said Monday.
"Over the years, we’ve lost several thousand good-paying jobs because
Wal-Mart has siphoned off part of that business."

Yet grocers are taking steps to remain competitive with the coming Supercenters:

Among their moves: upscaling, in which the supermarkets have been
adding in-store gourmet coffee bars with Wi-Fi access; expanding
take-out food selections and areas; boosting the selection of organic
produce and natural foods; and upgrading wine and liquor departments.

Wal-Mart has been the recipient of both affection and hatred in the many years it has been a widespread chain store. One effect that cannot be denied, though, is the effect its competition has on prices — lowering them across the board when it opens a new store. And as difficult as competition can be for smaller competitors, in most cases this process doesn’t cause all the other grocery owners to shutter their stores.

In a free-market economy, people have the choice of where to shop, and that decision is based on individual tastes and preferences. For example, I go to Target frequently because I have a better shopping
experience there than at Wal-Mart, even though it’s a little more expensive. Businesses have survived competition with Wal-Mart because they have adapted — and continued to make a profit. I’m sure local grocers will do this even with Wal-Mart in town.

It’s the free market at work. Some people even enjoy it.

The post Big Bad Wal-Mart is Coming … Watch Out appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The residents, organized as the Ruth Park Preservation Committee, are
telling their neighbors about the project. The committee members say
the plan would harm the quality of life of their peaceful family
neighborhood. They say the driving range would make the neighborhood
less safe and would drastically increase traffic, decrease available
parking, lower property values and shine lights into neighbors’ homes.

The golf course has been funded through a subsidy because it has not been profitable. I understand that University City is trying to turn this around, but doing so at the expense of its citizens is a little unfair, espically when the golf course is zoned in a residential area. If the course cannot be profitable, the city should shut it down and save some of its taxpayers money, which can go toward more important uses, such as police and fire.

The post University City’s Residents Are Teed Off! appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The proposed Rogersville ethanol plant, just a few miles east of Ozark,
if built will use 1.3 million gallons of water a day! As will each new
subsidized plant built in Missouri.Hundreds of reliable Internet sources condemn ethanol production: for
its toxic emissions and effluents; as an ineffective gasoline
alternative; for dramatically raising food prices; but most
frightening, for its contamination and horrific waste of ground water.

Some politicians seem as though they’ve been led to believe that ethanol is the cure-all solution to our energy crisis. In reality, ethanol is more costly than gasoline; it takes more fuel to make a gallon of ethanol than that gallon produces for consumers. Also, ethanol’s environmental repercussions, as pointed out in the op-ed, make ethanol production a poor strategy for solving our foreign oil dependency. Instead of wasting tax dollars on a fuel that does more harm than good, let’s use it to conserve a substance we all need in order to live … water.

The post Ethanol Wins Out, Unfortunately appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

[A]fter the AP’s inquiry, the Revenue Department also acknowledged
that it had stopped notifying businesses in 2002 that they had overpaid
state sales and use taxes.

"Those funds were simply kept by the state, and a taxpayer may not have known that he or she had overpaid," Browning said.

This ostensible oversight probably stemmed from the fact that Missouri was in the midst of a fiscal crisis, using every revenue stream it could find to balance the budget.

But "with the downturn in revenue, and how desperately the Holden
administration was trying to hold things together, I can see how that
could have happened and probably did," said [former state Senator Wayne] Goode, who now is on the
board of directors for the Consumer Council of Missouri.

Even though the state was facing a tough financial situation, which it could have prevented if the previous administration had spent wisely, officials should have reported overcharging and refunded overpayments immediately. Now, consumers have no way to get their money back, because state law does not require businesses to refund money for sales tax overcharging. Hopefully, legislators will learn from this and change state law to protect taxpayers from future instances in which Missouri government officials decide they don’t want to follow the rules.

The post Missouri Kept Extra Sales Tax Revenues appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

When legislators pick and choose which businesses get tax credits or
subsidies, the process becomes politicized. They will be influenced by
personal interest and political contributors. Government should not be
the one to decide what businesses get subsidies and tax credits, thus
putting competing businesses at a disadvantage.

She argues correctly that market forces and a low-tax environment for all businesses should be the mechanism that gives people incentives to start businesses. We have stated at the Show-Me Institute that the Quality Jobs Act is a bad idea overall, even in its scaled-down form, and that the state should instead lower tax rates across the board, and reduce regulatory red tape that discourages job creation. Rep. Harris has the right idea, and hopefully she can spread her message to her fellow legislators during the special session.

The post We Need More Lawmakers Like Belinda Harris appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The Special Administrative Board now running the St. Louis Public Schools joined the district superintendent and the presidents of the teachers and principals unions in a show of unity on Tuesday to declare a "fresh start" for the troubled district.

Schools open on Monday for the district, and its goal is to have full attendance on the first day. The new board and district officials, in their new display of unity, plan to make appearances across the city to encourage parents to send their kids to school on that first day. It will be crucial that attendance is high if the new board wants to show that it has legitimacy. Hopefully, their efforts — which range from church appearances to back-to-school festivals — will bring the high-percentage turnout they hope to instigate.

The post Is the St. Louis Public School District Ready? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The Star series said at the standard 60 degrees, a 231-cubic-inch
gallon of fuel delivers a certain amount of energy. At 90 degrees,
however, the same gallon expands to more than 235 cubic inches. Because
consumers are still buying 231-cubic-inch gallons, "hot fuel" forces
them to spend more to obtain the same amount of energy.

According to the editorial, this legislation would help save Missouri motorists $15 million dollars annually, because it would require gas stations to install automatic temperature-compensating equipment in all retail gasoline
station pumps. The updated technology would adjust the price of gasoline as it
expands during warmer temperatures.

As a previous post discussed this same issue, supply and demand efficiently determines the retail price of gasoline in a competitive market — bidding down the price slightly when temperatures have temporarily expanded supplies. In general, motorists don’t think about the energy output that a
gallon of gas gives their cars, because that information isn’t relevant in deciding where to buy gas. Focusing on the price per gallon at one station in comparison to a nearby station helps fuel consumers much more than figuring out price per energy-output-unit at varying temperatures. Websites can also help consumers compare the cost of gas.

These new regulations would produce is higher fuel prices for consumers that would amount to much more than the $15 million dollars that "hot fuel" is ostensibly costing consumers in Missouri now. Rather than trying to find short-term relief through short-sighted legislation, we should encourage market-based technological solutions in our search for a way to reduce consumer energy costs.

The post “Hot Fuel” Legislation Is a Step in the Wrong Direction appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Florissant Mayor Robert Lowery is getting very impatient with Ameren. He says they promised to put a number of electrical lines underground…and he hasn’t seen any digging.

Ameren responded that Florissant is first on its list to receive underground lines, but it is still doing the design work. Now, I know Ameren has been criticized for its response to the freak storms that hit the region during the past year, but when it comes to installing power lines, there should be an understanding that it takes time, planning, and finesse — you can’t just start digging in residential neighborhoods when you have to avoid gas and water lines. Mayor Lowery is understandably frustrated that Florissant’s residents always seem to be the ones to lose their power, but patience is necessary if we want Ameren to avoid a gas or water main break.

The post Patience, Mayor Lowery, Patience appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Their district, Riverview Gardens, has been in academic and financial
shambles. The former superintendent faces felony charges for stealing
and tax evasion. In June, the McCoys thought they had found a way out when the state
declared Riverview Gardens unaccredited. But they soon found doors
closing instead of opening.

According to state law, accredited school districts do not have to take students from unaccredited districts. Because of this, many families that cannot afford to send their children to private schools have very few options, which is the case for the McCoys. The state, rather than trying to give students who want to learn an opportunity to go to good schools, is keeping bright children rooted in failing circumstances, giving them no options. School vouchers, if we had them, would allow the McCoys to send their daughters to schools that might actually give them a good education.

The post Children Being Left Behind appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Universal health care to me is the only way you are going to bridge the gap to guarantee all Americans health care, Sharpton said. The gap between black and white in health care in some areas is three-to-one in terms of services. The only way you are going to do that communally is with a universal health care plan that makes it all an even playing field. Unless that gap is closed, it will never be one truly American entity.

Health care in the African-American community is not as up to par as it is in the white community. But universal health care would bring everyone down to the same level. That won’t solve the problems in health care for anyone. As we have stated before at the Show-Me Institute, the U.S. health care system hasn’t been developed along free-market lines for decades.

The way to truly raise health care standards across the board is to open the market to everyone — not just a few HMOs, and especially not with the government maintaining centralized control of health care decisions. Pamela Hardin, first vice president of the Columbia branch of the NAACP, makes a great point that’s applicable not only to African-Americans, but to everyone:

It is the responsibility of citizens to educate themselves on health care programs.

The post Al Sharpton Wants Universal Health Care appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Oklahoma is a big turnpike state. A few years ago,
56 percent of Oklahomans responding to a statewide survey said they
would happily do away with tolls, and more than half were willing to
use state-lottery revenues for that purpose. Of course, state lottery
money wound up being earmarked for public and higher education. But the
fact is that Oklahomans were tired of forever being required to plop
down $3.50 to drive from Tulsa to Joplin or Tulsa to Oklahoma City.

The editorial suggests that Missouri could raise funds for transportation infrastructure instead by increasing the motor fuel tax for a period of time, or increasing vehicle and license fees.

Now, I understand that people may not like the idea of paying $2 or $3 every time they travel up and down I-70 or I-44. For example, I go to school in Illinois, and every time I drive to Chicago I’m annoyed by the tolls on I-88 as much as the next driver. But the money collected helps improve highways, and does it at the expense of the people and businesses that use those roads the most. Raising motor fuel taxes or increasing license fees would affect motorists who don’t use the highway at all — a far less justifiable fundraising base.

Also, I like the idea of having a guy like Little John collecting tolls on I-70.

The post Driving in Missouri Takes its Toll appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

A highly publicized Social Security tax cut for Missourians that Gov. Matt Blunt recently signed into law also nixed a real-estate tax deduction for non-residents — essentially increasing Missouri taxes for people who work here but live out of state.

Because of this, Kansas lawmakers might launch a counterattack by passing a law that would restrict Kansas non-residents from the same benefit. Yet, all of this hullabaloo really results in not much of a tax increase at all for the average Kansans who works in Missouri:

[T]he more than 1,400 neighboring Kansas residents who commute to Buchanan County may pay more taxes to the state of Missouri next year, but they should break even after paying their Kansas taxes, explained Gerald Williams, a certified public accountant with Sumner, Carter, Hardy, Rich and Co. in St. Joseph.

Mr. Williams on Tuesday provided to the News-Press calculations from multiple mock filing scenarios for Kansas he figured under the new law.

"In most instances, it makes no difference," he said. "You may pay more to Missouri and less to Kansas, but when you add them together, it’s the same amount, out of pocket."

Kansas has a higher tax rate, but also provides a credit to Kansans for income taxes they pay out of state, which offsets the higher taxes in Missouri, he explained.

Kansas residents who don’t itemize their deductions will see no difference, while other filers can expect little or no change. In rare instances, he found filers could pay between $40 to $50 more than in prior years.

So Kansans will not really be affected by the ending of these tax breaks. The Kansas politicians who are making this an issue sound like the residents of Shelbyville, getting upset at Springfield for getting the upper hand, preventing them from having the lemon tree they desire.

The post A New Border War is Starting appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The face of public education in Saint Louis is changing. Although court challenges continue, the city’s school board has become superseded by a new transitional board appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt, Mayor Francis Slay, and Lewis Reed, president of the Board of Aldermen. It’s a change that makes sense: During the past four years, the city’s school board has devolved into a group where members attack both each other and those who criticize them for failing to do the job they were elected to do. This bickering has taken focus off of the school district’s worsening financial situation and declining student achievement. The new transitional school board should keep a few things in mind if it wants to avoid the same problems created by the elected board.

First: Do the job you were created to do. The transitional school board’s primary focus is to stabilize the district’s governance and finances. The elected board had tried to micromanage the day-to-day operations of the school district — a job that should be left to the superintendent, who is responsible for implementing district policies and regulations, and developing the educational plans of the district. This role is filled better by one person than by a panel filled with people who have conflicting goals, and who can’t be present every day to make sure the district is running smoothly. When elected officials misunderstand the school board’s proper place in public education, a power struggle can form between the board and the district administrators — with both groups trying to maintain a greater amount of control over the district. If the transitional school board wants to succeed where past boards have failed, it should leave education to the superintendent and the administration, focusing instead on the finances.

Two: Be more open. The previous school board made many decisions behind closed doors, ranging from firing Creg Williams and hiring Diana Bourisaw to making decisions that have damaged the financial integrity of the district. Saint Louisans are tired of decisions being made in this fashion, with little involvement from the general community. The transitional board must be open to the public, reaching out to parties who will work together to find solutions to the problems facing the district. This would help to allay the suspicion many people in the district feel toward the transitional team.

Three: Work with people. The previous school board chose who it would deal with based on individual support for its measures. In this process, it ignored or disparaged people who stood opposed to measures the board supported. The transitional board will need to bring together a fragmented community filled with people who have turned against each other because of the actions of the last school board. In turn, people angered by the state takeover will need to work with the transitional board to get things accomplished. All segments of the community have valuable insights to contribute, and during the last four years the school board has not often listened to them.

Instead of demonizing the new board, the community should see this as a truly clean slate. Now is the time to put aside grudges and work on a plan to put this district back on track. As every Saint Louis Public Schools superintendent and board member has said for the past four years, we need to make the best decision for the children.

Maurice Harris is an intern at the Show-Me Institute, a free-market think tank based in Clayton. He is currently studying political science and history at Knox College.

The post How the Transitional School Board Can Succeed in Saint Louis appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

For the past seven years, most Missouri motorists have had to make two
stops to have their biennial safety and emissions tests. That will
change on Sept. 4, when Missouri shifts the emissions tests from a
dozen contractor-run test centers back to private repair shops.

Combining the two tests at a single place is a great idea. It offers motorists time-saving convenience by reducing the number of required stops, and helps eliminate the infamously long wait times at emissions test centers. Now I wish I had waited to buy my car in September, so I could have taken advantage of this.

The post Missouri is Making Motorists’ Lives Easier appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Young focused on a $4 million housing project in Springfield that
was financed with $11 million in state and federal tax credits for
historic buildings and low-income housing.
After doing the math, Young concluded taxpayers were providing more
than $300,000 for each of the 32 apartments in the rental housing
project.

Young saw this as a waste of tax dollars and looked into why the MHDC was appropriating so much money. He discovered that the state does not audit much of the money received by housing developers, outside of independent audits paid for by developers.

Young has begun studying economics on his own, and requesting MHDC documents through the Sunshine Law. He goes to their meetings and asks questions about why the commission’s ineffective largesse. The state could use more of this type of active citizenship.

State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, an MHDC member, appreiciates what he is doing:

He is a citizen who has taken an interest in the commission and who
hopefully wants to make it a better program, said state Treasurer
Sarah Steelman, who was MHDC chairwoman when Young made his statement. I’ve always had the opinion you never want to deter people from taking
an interest in what government is doing.

There should be more citizens like Young, Steelman said.

The political system needs people like Greg Young. Taxpayers often don’t know where their money is being spent, and even when they do, many just complain and move on. Young went a step further and decided to take action. If more citizens did that, government would be more responsive to citizens’ needs. I congratulate Mr. Young and hope he keeps up the good fight.

The post A Taxpayer Fights for Answers appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The audits say taxes are raised without a public vote and little
government oversight. Montee said the previous audit recommended
various changes in the law to improve the process, but that legislators
have done little to address the concerns.

TDDs and their governing boards are created by court order, sometimes instigated by the petitions of developers. From there, the tax rate is approved by the board. Limited input from the public, or from officials outside the TDD process, has led to a lack of oversight on how the money is spent, and the actual amount of the tax:

She [Montee] found a variety of problems, such as competitive bids for the work
not being done properly or at all; districts charging a higher sales
tax rate than authorized; and a lack of documentation proving the right
amount was paid to reimburse developers for their costs. In one
instance, the developer’s costs were counted twice.

This audit follows up on one conducted by the auditor’s office on TDDs last year. Hopefully, these findings will spur changes in the law that increase accountability. Most importantly, there should be public input to make sure taxpayers are aware of the tax rates that affect them.

The post Transportation Development Districts and Their Problems appeared first on Show-Me Institute.