Blog | Show-Me Institute | Where Liberty Comes First

Empty classroom, four-day school week, 4dsw, Missouri education policy, school choice

10 Oct

Four-Day School Week Votes and School Choice in Missouri

Posted by Scott Tanner Education, School Choice

The four-day school week (4dsw) has become quite popular in the Show-Me State. More than 180 of our state’s 518 […]

New housing construction, housing regulation, zoning, housing supply

09 Oct

What’s Wrong with the Housing Market?

Posted by Scott Tanner Economy

If you’ve been in the market for a home recently, you know prices are through the roof. Prices went up […]

09 Oct

Unsafe Schools and Parental Empowerment with Tiara Jordan-Sutton

Posted by Susan Pendergrass Accountability, Education, Education Finance, Performance, School Choice

Susan Pendergrass talks with Tiara Jordan-Sutton, Founder and Executive Director of Activate Missouri, about school safety, parental power in education, […]

Empty classroom, open enrollment, school choice, Missouri education policy, voluntary open enrollment

07 Oct

The Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO)

Posted by Susan Pendergrass Accountability, Education, School Choice

The Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO) is a federal safeguard created under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which ensures […]

Amazon delivery, online sales taxes, use taxes, municipal revenue, Missouri taxes

06 Oct

Use Taxes on the Ballot in Missouri This November

Posted by Scott Tanner Economy, Taxes

There are several cities seeking to impose use taxes during special elections on November 4. These cities include Ladue and […]

06 Oct

The Free-City Project for Missouri

Posted by Mike Ederer Municipal Policy, State and Local Government

A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. In 2001, a group of very libertarian-minded activists launched […]

School hallway, school choice, education options, charter schools, MOScholars

02 Oct

What Are My Schooling Options as a Missouri Parent?

Posted by Scott Tanner Education, School Choice

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with a parent who wanted to know what schooling options were available […]

Hospital waiting room, Missouri Medicaid policy, Medicaid, PTD shifting, PTD enrollment, Medicaid enrollment

01 Oct

Medicaid in Trouble?

Posted by Scott Tanner Health Care, Medicaid

Missouri’s Medicaid enrollment numbers are telling a story, but it may not be one that the federal government wants to […]

St. Louis Metro, St. Louis transportation, Green Line St. Louis, North-South line, Bus Rapid Transit

30 Sep

Green Means Stop

Posted by Scott Tanner State and Local Government, Transportation

Earlier this week, the City of St. Louis and the Bi-State Development Agency, better known as Metro, officially cancelled the […]

30 Sep

The Fiscal Facts Behind School Choice with Marty Lueken

Posted by Susan Pendergrass Accountability, Economy, Education, Education Finance, Performance, School Choice, Taxes, Uncategorized

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Marty Lueken, director of EdChoice’s Fiscal Research and Education Center, about the 2025 Fiscal Fact Book. […]

26 Sep

MetroLink Line Canceled, SNAP Reform, and Missouri’s Reading Crisis | Roundtable

Posted by Zach Lawhorn Accountability, Budget and Spending, Business Climate, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Education, Municipal Policy, Performance, Property Rights, Regulation, Special Taxing Districts, State and Local Government, Tax Credits, Taxes, Welfare

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss: the cancellation of the St. Louis MetroLink Green […]

Grocery store checkout, SNAP, One Big Beautiful Bill, welfare spending

25 Sep

More SNAP Changes: Restoring Thrift

Posted by Scott Tanner Economy, Welfare

Four years ago, the federal government orchestrated the largest year-to-year growth in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in history. […]

22 Sep

Springfield Needs Charter Schools

Posted by Mike Ederer Education, School Choice

A version of the following commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. Of Missouri’s four largest cities—Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and […]

Wildwood, tax subsidies, tax incentives, tax abatements, property taxes

19 Sep

Wildwood’s Big Mistake

Posted by Scott Tanner Corporate Welfare, Subsidies

During my time at the Show-Me Institute, I have regularly cited Wildwood as an example of a city that exercised […]

Kansas City, PortKC, subsidies, government transparency

18 Sep

Correction: PortKC Ignoring Its Own Audits for Five Years, Not Four

Posted by Scott Tanner State and Local Government, Transparency

In a recent column for The Kansas City Star, I pointed out that the port authority of Kansas City, PortKC, […]

Empty classroom, education policy, Missouri education, charter schools, charter school performance, education during COVID

17 Sep

Charters Have Outperformed Traditional Public Schools Post-Pandemic

Posted by Scott Tanner Education, Performance

Charter schools are public schools that operate with greater flexibility than traditional public schools, as they are exempt from many […]

Nashville, Tennessee, nuclear energy, Tennessee nuclear projects, nuclear advisory council

16 Sep

Tennessee Lands Another Nuclear Project

Posted by Scott Tanner Economy, Energy

I really love my hometown of Clinton in East Tennessee. It’s a beautiful place where I grew up, went to […]

16 Sep

The Rise of Equitable Grading with Adam Tyner

Posted by Susan Pendergrass Accountability, Education, Education Finance, Performance, School Choice

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Adam Tyner, national research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, about his new report, “Equitable” […]

Student reading book, third-grade retention, retention policies, learning to read, literacy tests

12 Sep

Students Who Can’t Read Benefit from Third-Grade Retention

Posted by Scott Tanner Education, Performance

This is the headline from a recent study I conducted in Indiana with my coauthor NaYoung Hwang. We study a […]

Consumer-regulated electricity, energy regulation, wind energy, nuclear energy, New Hampshire House Bill 672

11 Sep

Is Consumer-Regulated Electricity Going Worldwide?

Posted by Scott Tanner Economy, Energy

Electricity demand from data centers is exploding. This surge has spurred an intense buildout of new generation capacity, as businesses […]