We Love the Kids

Posted on by Calvin Harris II

Back in October, I discussed some of my thoughts about Proposition 1. Just to refresh your memory, Saint Louis County was faced with a new annual tax of one quarter of a cent to fund programs for the mental health and well-being of area youth. Well, the proposition passed on Tuesday by an overwhelming 61 percent of the vote. Now, St. Louis County tax dollars will help to collect $40 million to create a steady stream of funding for emergency shelters, transitional living programs for older youth, outpatient substance abuse treatment, and services to teen mothers.

Here at the Show-Me Institute, we truly love the kids. The purpose of my op-ed was to just open up new alternatives to old problems. It would have been really interesting to see if/how the community might have come together to support at-risk youth through charitable tax credits. Whether or not we could have collected $40 million just from charitable giving is debatable. Nonetheless, it think it could help strengthen some of that social fabric that we seem to have lost in our society.

Unlike most of the staff here at Show-Me, I do not have an economics background (I am sure many of you might be able to tell. Wink wink, Vroman). I did, however, major in sociology as an undergrad, and am currently studying social policy in graduate school. One of my favorite books of all time is Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam. The book talks about many issues, such as the drastic decrease in civic engagement in the United States, and the demise of social capital. I always thought that social capital and civic virtue were closely related. The only difference is that social capital focuses on the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when it is embedded in a sense network of common social relations. A society of many benevolent but isolated individuals does not have a strong social fabric. Thus, forcing a tax on St. Louis County will not solve the issues plaguing the region’s youth.

This is evident from the reaction of the campaign manager of Putting Kids First, who “praised St. Louis Countians’ concern for children.” Making people pay taxes for youth programs does not show that the constituency cares. It just shows that they are obedient taxpayers. Only close interactions enable people to build communities and allow them to commit themselves to each other, therefore knitting social fabric.

Not a Great Day for Light Rail in Missouri

Posted on by Jacob Voss

They weren’t the most popular or eye catching items on the ballot yesterday, but both Proposition M in St. Louis County and the Kansas City Light Rail Proposal were voted down. While we here at the Show-Me Institute never take an official stance on specific political proposals, we do have several pieces of literature about Metro and Missouri transportation. Here are two pieces specifically about Proposition M. Here is a review of Kansas City’s transit plan. Although it’s too late to vote, it’s never too late to become informed about these measures. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to catch my bus before its line is shut down.*

* That was just a joke. Everyone knows I drive a Danger Ranger.

English Only

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

It’s official: As a result of yesterday’s referendum, English will now be the official language of public proceedings in Missouri.

Although, as regular readers know, I have long been opposed to the English-language initiative, I can’t say the new amendment will have some huge detrimental effect on the state. State business is already conducted in English, so no changes will need to be made there. And we’ve already had a meaningless law on the books for 10 years proclaiming English our common language, which did little harm.

The amendment is unlikely to benefit anyone, either. An extra paragraph to a constitution they can’t yet read is not going to be the deciding factor in influencing immigrants to learn English, especially because they already have so many substantial inducements to do that. Furthermore, the idea of a language assimilation dearth is laughable, at a time when schools are scrambling to hire teachers of Spanish, Chinese, and Italian, and the federal government pays Americans to study other languages.

This initiative was aimed at reassuring some people that their culture and language will be upheld. I agree that celebrating English is worthwhile, but there are more material ways to do that than amending the state Constitution. Speaking and writing English, learning new vocabulary words, and studying great works of English literature would all achieve the same goal. And our appreciation of English needn’t detract from our respect for other languages, setting up a false dichotomy between “English lost forever” and “English only.”

Charters Gain Ground Right and Left

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

The pattern of traditional public schools losing students to charter schools appears in Kansas City, too.

There are many good articles about charter successes out there. For now, I’d like to point to this one about charter schools in Oakland, California. The profiled schools insist on maintaining long hours, piling on math and reading homework, and imposing strict discipline in their classrooms. They’ve gotten great results with disadvantaged students, including some who are learning English for the first time. Several of the best charters around the country have taken a similar approach.

Charters’ policies may appear harsh to critics, but parents have noticed that they’re effective. In places like Kansas City and St. Louis, more and more families are voting with their feet.

David Stokes on Dateline NBC

Posted on by Calvin Harris II

It’s that time of year again — election time in Missouri. There really is not too much to blog about today. If there was, you wouldn’t be able to read it anyway, for I am sure most of your day would be consumed with standing in poll lines and watching the results of the elections. There are many initiatives on the ballot; feel free to visit Policy Pulse and our main website to educate yourself about some of the issues.

I just wanted to make note that one of our policy analysts, David Stokes appeared on Dateline NBC last night, campaigning for his preferred candidates on his own time in Chesterfield, Mo. Feel free to check out the clip.

Charters Take Off in St. Louis

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Parents are embracing public schools in St. Louis. No, really, I’m serious. (The schools that people are excited about happen to be charter schools, rather than traditional run-of-the-mill public schools.) The Grade reports that charter school enrollment in the city of St. Louis continues to go up, up, up.

Surprisingly, mention of charters even made its way into this interview with Sandra Tsing Loh, an enthusiastic supporter of government-run education. Some observers applaud charters because they offer alternatives to failing urban districts. Loh has a different perspective:

As long as that gets them into public schools, I think that’s fine.

More Issues With Trash

Posted on by Calvin Harris II

“There was a time when a good reputation and a handshake sealed business deals.” These are the words of Robert Sanders, owner of Sanders Hauling. For more than four decades, he has serviced many citizens in Town and Country. Despite this, an editorial in today’s Post-Dispatch really made me ponder the future of small hauling businesses in the area. At an Oct. 16 meeting, the task force chairman revised a previous proposal, deciding to go with a single citywide bid. According to the article, “The winner would offer smaller haulers sub-contracting roles, allowing them to still do rear-yard pick-up but under the big hauler’s contract.”

We have discussed this issue as much as any other on this blog, and seen varied perspectives from our staff. I totally agree with the previous posts of Justin Hauke and Michael Pakko; district trash plans demonstrates a “collective mindset that has been imposed on constituents with a certain degree of arrogance.” This is evident in the way Town and Country passed this proposal. Passing a recommendation 2-1 while someone is spending an anniversary with a loved one sounds like upscale student council drama. I think this proposal presents a threat to individual freedom of choice for the citizens of Town and Country. I mean, it’s typical of small businesses in Missouri. People have a strong proclivity for small companies because they are personable, loyal, and — most importantly — DEPENDABLE. Although I understand the rationale behind the a government’s decision to monopolize trash and hauling (e.g., creating less wear and tear on streets), I think we should leave the choice up to the people.

The greatest thing about this editorial is the comment by John Hoffmann, a Town and Country Alderman that vehemently opposed the new proposal. From the article:

“Let the free enterprise system take its toll,” he said. That way, he added, “little guys” like Sanders will have a “fair and even” chance.

Hmm … “Let the free enterprise system take its toll?” That sounds so familiar.

Low-Cost Op-Eds About High-Cost Light Rail

Posted on by David Stokes

Show-Me Institute contributors and scholars have recently submitted a number of opinion pieces about the proposed Metro tax increase in Saint Louis County. This augments the writing we released previously about light rail in Kansas City. With both issues on the ballot Tuesday, if you live (or shop) in either place, please take some time to review the articles. For St. Louis, we have pieces arguing the measure is a good idea and a bad idea, another in which an intern looks at both sides, and one from an economist’s perspective. For Kansas City, we have some great detailed work by Randal O’Toole.

We were honored to have Wendell Cox agree to write a piece for us. His work is an inspiration to many people involved in think tanks around the world.

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