Blog | Show-Me Institute | Where Liberty Comes First

14 Apr

How to Lose a City of St. Louis Guy in 10 Days

Posted by Avery Frank Criminal Justice, State and Local Government

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released new population estimates for cities around the country, and the City of St. Louis […]

14 Apr

Open Enrollment in St. Louis Schools: 55 Years in the Making

Posted by James V. Shuls Education, School Choice

A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When the Spainhower Commission issued its final report in 1968, […]

13 Apr

Let’s Talk About Zoning

Posted by David Stokes Economy, Regulation

Zoning reform is generating a lot of interest around the nation. I think that is great. The debate is primarily […]

10 Apr

WATCH: Developer Seeking $60 Million TIF in Osage Beach, Missouri

Posted by David Stokes Budget and Spending, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Municipal Policy, Special Taxing Districts, State and Local Government, Subsidies, Tax Credits

The Osage Beach TIF Commission will meet on April 17, 2023 regarding the Oasis at Lakeport project. More information here. […]

10 Apr

Nuclear Energy in Modern Missouri

Posted by Avery Frank Economy, Energy

Is nuclear power on the rise in Missouri? House Bill (HB) 225, which just passed through the House, would allow […]

07 Apr

Learning From Wisconsin with Will Flanders

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

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Will Flanders about what Missouri can learn from Wisconsin’s educational choice programs. Will Flanders is the […]

05 Apr

Missouri Charter Schools Top the Academic Growth Charts

Posted by Avery Frank Education, Performance

The first report from the Missouri School Improvement Program 6 (MSIP 6) was released recently, providing data on how each […]

04 Apr

Myth vs. Fact with Ben DeGrow

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

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Ben DeGrow about some common myths about school choice, the state of education reform in several […]

03 Apr

The “Bruno Principle” of School Finance—Don’t Talk About Total Expenditures

Posted by James V. Shuls Education, Education Finance

What do the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and most newspaper reporters have in common? They follow […]

03 Apr

DEI Statements, Biggest Budget Yet, and Pot Tax Vote Tuesday

Posted by David Stokes Accountability, Budget and Spending, Business Climate, Economy, Education, State and Local Government, Taxes

Patrick Ishmael, David Stokes, and Elias Tsapelas join Zach Lawhorn to discuss recent changes to language used in University of […]

31 Mar

DEI-blocking Bills and Amendments Rain Down in “Loyalty Oath” Aftermath

Posted by Patrick Ishmael State and Local Government

I’ve talked a lot in the last month about how the state shouldn’t allow institutions of higher learning to impose […]

30 Mar

St. Louis County Municipal Use Taxes Should Expand the Tax Base, Not the Size of Government

Posted by David Stokes Economy, Taxes

A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Business Journal. Use taxes in Missouri are simply sales taxes […]

29 Mar

Tax Refund: Failure to Launch

Posted by Elias Tsapelas Economy, Energy, Taxes

The results are in, and the first year of Missouri’s gas tax refund program couldn’t have gone much worse. Recently, […]

28 Mar

Legislature Must Remove the “Compact Exception” to License Reciprocity

Posted by Patrick Ishmael Economy, Regulation

I’ve talked a lot about licensing reform in the last decade, especially in the health care space. The reason is […]

27 Mar

University of Missouri System Walks Back “Loyalty Oaths” in Job Listings

Posted by Patrick Ishmael Accountability, Education, Workforce

Last month I criticized a wide swath of Missouri public universities for requiring woke ideological attestations as a condition of […]

24 Mar

Tax Cuts, Tax Votes, and Open Enrollment

Posted by Elias Tsapelas Budget and Spending, Business Climate, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Education, Municipal Policy, Performance, School Choice, State and Local Government, Tax Credits, Taxes

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss the start of the second half of the […]

24 Mar

Tax Credit Insanity

Posted by Elias Tsapelas Corporate Welfare, Tax Credits

It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. […]

23 Mar

Tax Cut and Reform Package Passes the House

Posted by Patrick Ishmael Economy, Taxes

Earlier this year, Show-Me Institute analysts testified on both House Bills 816 and 660, back when they were still separate […]

22 Mar

China, Russia, and the Changing Global Landscape with Senator Jim Talent and James Jay Carafano

Posted by Zach Lawhorn Uncategorized

On March 21, 2023, the Show-Me Institute hosted a virtual event with Senator Jim Talent and Heritage Foundation’s James Jay […]

22 Mar

Ashland Wants to Make Its Sales Tax How High?

Posted by David Stokes Economy, Taxes

It may surprise you to know that cities in Missouri depend more on sales taxes and less on property taxes […]