Charter Schools Boost College Completion
I graduated from high school in 1999. Since then, I have had few interactions with anyone who works for my...
A Skunk at the Pre-K Garden Party for Cigarette Taxes
The English language offers several beautiful idioms to describe someone unwelcome at a social gathering. The most common, “a skunk...
Job Growth in Missouri: Depends on Where You Live
Missouri’s nonfarm employment growth over the past year significantly lags nearly every other state. The picture is somewhat brighter for...
Report: Saint Louis, Kansas City *Not* Among Most Cost-Friendly Cities for Business
Recently, the Post-Dispatch prominently published an article claiming that, “St. Louis is among the top 10 most cost-friendly cities to...
Race-Based School Choice Policies May Be in Violation of the Equal Protection Clause
Sometimes we realize what we thought was a good idea at the time was really a terrible idea. No, I’m...
Is School Consolidation an Issue of Local Control?
Which Missouri school district spends the most money per pupil? If you guessed the Clayton School District, you’d be wrong....
Still Movin’ On Out
In a recent analysis of Missouri’s migration patterns since 2004, Michael Rathbone and I found that Missouri’s net out-migration—more people moving...
The Good and Not-So-Good News from Missouri’s Labor Market
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its report on state employment (see Table 5) allowing us to see how...
Gruber on Arkansas Private Option: “Mathematically Impossible” to Be Budget Neutral
November was a bad month for Obamacare. Over just a few weeks, voters not only handed a series of punishing...
Iowa, Nebraska, and Arkansas Legislators Gear Up for Income Tax Cuts
In 2014 the Missouri Legislature passed a modest income tax reduction which, given its size, by no means solved the...
Does Kansas City Need Rail Transit?
After downtown voters rejected a taxing district for the expansion of Kansas City’s streetcar, rail proponents are looking for a...
Medicaid Expansion Proponents Should Be Faithful To Missouri’s Values
One of the bigger news items this week was the introduction of a Medicaid expansion proposal. Along with instituting some...
False Pride: Missouri’s Governor Shouldn’t Be Boasting About “Low” Unemployment
As first appearing in the Weekly Standard on July 7th, 2013 (a slightly different version ran in the July 14th...
Dismantling The Post-Dispatch’s Piece About Education (Part 3 of 4)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board recently issued an opinion piece riddled with errors, faulty assumptions, and half-truths. This post...
Help Wanted: High-Performing Teachers Need Not Apply
As the Chicago teacher’s strike carries into its second week, many interesting facts are coming to light. We know the...
Missouri Can Compete – Despite Recent Poor Performance
Consider two teams on divergent paths — the Missouri Tigers and the Missouri Widgets. Clearly, the football Tigers are on...
School Choice by Mortgage
I recently accepted an offer to join the Show-Me Institute. This means my family and I will be relocating from...
A Free Speech Win In Saint Louis
St. Louis resident Jim Roos, in front of the offending sign. Photo by the Institute for Justice. Good news for...
Growth by State
Many variables affect a state’s economic growth, including public policy, natural resources, geographic location, business centers, etc. The large number of contributing...
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished in Michigan, the Literal Nanny State
Lisa Snyder watches her neighbors’ children for less than an hour every day while they wait for the school bus....
