The Kansas City Pitch, which published one of my favorite articles last year in favor of replacing income taxes with a land tax, has a nice story today about the Show-Me Institute’s chairman of the board, Crosby Kemper, and his work with the Kansas City Public Library.
Twittering a Show-Me Institute Forum in Springfield
Here is Dave Catanese’s report from yesterday’s Show-Me Institute forum in Springfield. Thanks to Dave for covering the event, and for all of his “tweets.”
Addicted to Regulating
Alex Tabarrok reports on regulations purported to halt meth production (scroll down to the 7:20 a.m. post) and their short-lived effects. Economists found that restricting the sale of decongestants did reduce methamphetamine use for up to four months, after which things returned to normal.
So, the state regulates a legal substance and gets a temporary drop in illegal activity, then has to impose more and more regulations to try to get that effect again. Sounds … addictive.
Your Vote Counts
I don’t often look to the Drudge Report for blogging material, because I doubt Show-Me Daily readers care whether a robot was born with two heads or whatever, but it’s worth it to point out that elections can be really close. Those economists who say voting is irrational are just wrong.
Franklin County Charter Results
With 100 percent of the vote in, we have the results.
13,614 Total Votes Cast
13,424 people voted on Prop C
4,380 (32.63%) Voted For
9,044 (67.37%) Voted Against
It will be at least another two years till the issue can be revisited by the voters. I sincerely hope that both the opponents and proponents can come together on a compromise. This issue was surrounded with controversy, and hopefully next time (if there is a next time) it won’t be so heated.
See the results here.
Two Silly Banana Stories
First, at least one school district is encouraging parents to give their kids bananas to improve their MAP test scores:
Other schools base their test motivators on scientific research. At Hanna Woods Elementary in the Parkway district, for example, students taking the test will get goody bags from younger students that include No. 2 pencils and mints. Peppermint, according to research from the University of Cincinnati, can help increase concentration.
At Kennerly Elementary in the Lindbergh School District, the parent association encouraged parents to donate bananas, which are rich in mind-boosting potassium.
Does anybody seriously believe that students’ scores are low because they have a potassium deficiency? Bananas won’t have any effect on test scores, but they do provide a distraction from the things that do determine achievement, like quality of curriculum and teaching. It’s not entirely the districts’ fault, though. There are so many constraints on the hiring, firing, and rewarding of teachers that it’s easier to turn to bananas, despite the minuscule marginal returns.
And now for the second banana story: “fair-trade” bananas are available at Wash U. The bananas come with certification that the farmers who grew them were compensated appropriately. This is basically an extension of the locavore idea. All the bananas in a market are going to be priced about the same, because if one brand were much more expensive, it wouldn’t sell. So in order to pay farmers a lot more, you have to cut back on some other cost of bringing the bananas to market — like transportation costs. So, you buy more from farmers who are close by, and less from farmers who are farther away (and who are so in need of money that they offer bananas very cheaply). Transportation is just one example; there are other costs you can cut back on. You can work only with farmers you already know, and avoid spending money on finding new people to exchange with. The point is, there will always be some farmers out there who are farther away or harder to find, who will be hurt by “fair trade.”
Things I Am Watching for Tonight as Elections Come In
My list is mainly focused on St. Louis County, but you are encouraged to add other important races around the state to the comments section. I am definitely watching the Town and Country mayor’s race, to see whether that community wants to stay with the tried and true or go with the “maverick.” My bet is on tried and true.
Also of interest are the charter votes in the area. Franklin County, as we have discussed in depth, is deciding on a new county charter, while O’Fallon voters are choosing whether to amend theirs.
There are little-known but very important votes going down in the Mehlville and Monarch (Chesterfield) Fire Protection District. The decision that residents in those places have to make is how much influence the union should have over the fire board. On top of that, they have a first-of-its-kind vote in Mehlville to lower the tax rate ceiling, an issue we blogged about previously. If this succeeds, I predict other similar measures in taxing districts around the county.
And, finally, I understand there is some type of a mayor’s race in the city of St. Louis, and I know everyone will be on pins and needles as that one goes down to the wire. I think we will all have to stay up well past 7:10 p.m. before we know whether the incumbent has been reelected. Hey, when you do a good job, voters usually reward it.
Franklin County Charter Vote Tomorrow
Stuck Inside of Springfield With the D.C. Property Tax Blues Again
The above song title (switching out “Springfield” and “D.C. Property Tax” for “Mobile” and “Memphis,” of course) was the answer to one of the trivia questions Saturday night, when we won the annual Soulard Restoration Group trivia night for the fifth time in the five-year history of the event. This is close to our record of winning the Boys Hope Girls Hope trivia night eight times in nine years (we sat out the only year we didn’t win). So far, we are four for four in 2009 trivia nights, with the season coming to a close. What does all this have to do with the review of Rep. Roy Blunt’s property tax records, as reported in the Kansas City Star this morning? Nothing! I just wanted to brag. …
Which gets us into the debate over whether it is a big deal that Rep. Blunt and his wife may have received an undeserved property tax break for the past few years. Not surprisingly, some people think this is a very big deal. I tend to disagree, while also certainly feeling that if any back taxes are due — and it seems likely there will be some — that all those back taxes, including penalties and interest, must be paid as soon as possible (I hate stating the obvious, but sometimes you have to).
The almost-certain reason for the confusion is that Ms. Blunt used to live at the D.C. home as her primary residence, so she rightfully claimed the credit. At some point after her marriage, though, she started claiming Missouri as her primary residence, so she should have lost the credit. The Blunts asked a D.C. official to see that the credit was discontinued, but it wasn’t (emphasis added):
“The Blunts asked my office to see that the exemption … was removed,” wrote Councilman Jack Evans. “Both the Blunts and I were assured this has been done. I deeply regret that the assurances to the Blunts were not followed up on correctly.”
If the Missouri Highway Patrol can mistakenly forget to file charges against a potential DWI offender until after the statute of limitations runs, then I have no problem believing that some civil servant in D.C.’s city hall (or would that be “district hall”?) might tell someone the credit had been changed when it had not been, and then completely forgotten about it.
This is all about a very small amount of money, no more than $3,000 over five years. I find it impossible to believe that the congressman would have risked a scandal over five hundred bucks a year. I put this squarely in the same box as the back taxes due by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. It is a small amount of money. Somebody made an honest mistake (in the Blunts’ case, the error was in failing to confirm the credit had been discontinued). Fix the mistake, pay the back taxes, and move on. No big deal. (I don’t necessarily feel this way about all the back-tax issues in the Obama administration confirmation process, however. Knowing that you have to pay both sides of SS and Medicare, a situation I have experienced, is neither hard nor complicated.)
My wife and I always do our own taxes, which get somewhat complicated, because she is a partner in her law firm and has income from multiple states, so we owe returns for more than just Missouri. We work our tails off each year trying to get it exactly right, and believe that we succeed. We have probably spent 20 hours in the past week working on them. Part of me hates it, but a bigger part of me likes doing it so we get a clear sense of how much we pay to the government every year. The bottom line is that many people make small mistakes when the tax system gets complicated, and maintaining multiple homes — as just about everyone in Congress does — can be confusing. So, while the Star story is interesting and certainly a legitimate story, I don’t think it is that big a deal.
