• Publications
    • Essay
    • Case Study
    • Policy Study
    • Report
    • Testimony
    • Other
    • Newsletter
  • Blog
    • Daily Blog
    • Podcasts and Radio
    • Video
    • Infographics
    • Commentary / Op-Eds
    • Events
  • Events
  • Donate
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Show-Me Institute Board of Directors
    • Fellows and Scholars
    • Our Authors
    • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Explore Topics
    • Education
      • Accountability
      • Education Finance
      • Performance
      • School Choice
    • Health Care
      • Free-Market Reform
      • Medicaid
    • Corporate Welfare
      • Special Taxing Districts
      • Subsidies
      • Tax Credits
    • Labor
      • Government Unions
      • Public Pensions
    • State and Local Government
      • Budget and Spending
      • Courts
      • Criminal Justice
      • Municipal Policy
      • Property Rights
      • Transparency
      • Transportation
    • Economy
      • Business Climate
      • Energy
      • Minimum Wage
      • Privatization
      • Regulation
      • Taxes
      • Welfare
      • Workforce
Show Me InstituteShow Me Institute
Show Me InstituteShow Me Institute
Support the Show-Me Institute
  • Publications
    • Essay
    • Case Study
    • Policy Study
    • Report
    • Testimony
    • Other
    • Newsletter
  • Blog
    • Daily Blog
    • Podcasts and Radio
    • Video
    • Infographics
    • Commentary / Op-Eds
    • Events
  • Events
  • Donate
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Show-Me Institute Board of Directors
    • Fellows and Scholars
    • Our Authors
    • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Explore Topics
    • Education
      • Accountability
      • Education Finance
      • Performance
      • School Choice
    • Health Care
      • Free-Market Reform
      • Medicaid
    • Corporate Welfare
      • Special Taxing Districts
      • Subsidies
      • Tax Credits
    • Labor
      • Government Unions
      • Public Pensions
    • State and Local Government
      • Budget and Spending
      • Courts
      • Criminal Justice
      • Municipal Policy
      • Property Rights
      • Transparency
      • Transportation
    • Economy
      • Business Climate
      • Energy
      • Minimum Wage
      • Privatization
      • Regulation
      • Taxes
      • Welfare
      • Workforce
Economy / Regulation

Get Your Law On

By Josh Smith on Dec 4, 2008

According to an article from the Post-Dispatch, it’s bill-writin’ season! And you know what that means: Missouri legislators are proposing legislation based on every constituent’s letter that begins, “There oughta be a law …”

Here are the highlights:

  1. A ban of beer bongs, Jell-O shots and Mardi Gras beads on Missouri rivers.
  2. A ban of cell phone use while driving, with certain exceptions.
  3. A ban on those political robo-calls that some of the folks who just got elected used to try to sway voters.
  4. A bill that would allow veterans in Missouri to deduct their military retirement income from state income taxes.

The free-market knee-jerk to the first bill is that it’s likely unhelpful. In fairness, these are public areas, so perhaps the government should have purview. It smells a bit like prohibition to me, but that’s certainly overreaction.

What could I say about the second proposal that hasn’t already been said here?

The third proposal has little to do with the market, again. It is, however, an interesting application of public choice theory, I think.

The fourth proposal is one that I can really get behind. I don’t wish to favor former military personnel as such, and am aware that this will create a distortion in the market (incentivizing military service slightly), but I am in favor of reducing taxes in essentially all cases.

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email
  • Print
About the author

Josh Smith

More about this author >
    Footer Logo
    Support the Show-Me-Institute
    Showmeinstitute.org is brought to you by Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity.
    • Publications
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Donate
    • About
    • Contact

    Reprint permission for Show-Me Institute publications and commentaries is hereby granted, provided that proper credit is given to the author. We request, but do not require, that those who reprint our material notify us of publication for our records: [email protected]

    Mission Statement
    Advancing liberty with responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy.

    © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved