The Gang that Couldn’t Plow Straight
There’s an old warning that “the plural of anecdote is not data.” But there sure are a lot of anecdotes...
It Has Been a Great Week for Economic Development Agencies in Missouri
This has been a fun week for those of us who feel that economic development agencies in Missouri are the...
Opportunities Squandered in St. Louis Affect All of Missouri
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Business Journal. Opportunity cost. The concept is so simple that a...
Even with an Updated Route, MetroLink Expansion is a Waste
Plenty of federal funds are available after President Biden signed a 1 trillion-dollar infrastructure bill into law last November, and...
How to Put Missouri on a Faster Path to Recovery
Hoping to prepare for a busy summer of reopening, several restaurants last week in St. Louis’s Central West End held...
Return of the Resource Curse: The Trouble That Comes from Too Much Money
Versions of this commentary appeared in the American Spectator and the Columbia Missourian. Imagine painting yourself into a corner—as someone...
CID Dies
I don’t know what the City of Chesterfield is thinking by rejecting the recent community improvement district (CID) proposal for...
Fixing the “Delmar Divide” with a TIF?
Developers are asking for millions in tax subsidies for a redevelopment project with the hopes of fixing St. Louis’s “Delmar...
Serious TIF Reform May Be in the Cards in 2020, With A Tweak
As we’ve often noted, tax-increment financing (TIF) in Missouri drains millions of dollars from legitimate government uses every year, often...
St. Louis Officials Recommend “Blight Designation” for . . . A Gated Parking Lot
When is blight not really blight? Apparently, when tax incentives are involved. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St....
Another Study Is Just What St. Louis Doesn’t Need
Kicking bad habits can be tough. When you know you’re doing something that’s bad for you, planning to quit is...
The Most Unkindest Tax of All
We’ve written a great deal about the various forms of taxation in Missouri. Some taxes are too high, some may...
Correction to Saint Louis TIF essay
The Show Me Institute’s recently-released paper, “Tax Increment Financing in Saint Louis,” contains an error. That error was quoted in...
How Much Can Saint Louis Taxpayers Take?
Saint Louis is beating out cities like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in one very important respect. No,...
Are We Paying Some Developers to Develop Less?
Last week the Post-Dispatch reported on a proposed $130 million luxury tower in the Central West End, to be named...
Riding the Dream-Train to Development Bliss
We’re no real-estate experts, but what you see above (the Sunnen Station on the MetroLink Blue Line) clearly isn’t “beachfront...
Saint Louis Should Learn from MetroLink’s Disappointing Past
Mayor Slay is talking up plans for a billion-dollar-plus expansion of Saint Louis’s light rail system, the MetroLink. This means that...
Saint Louis’s Central Business District: The Heart of What?
Last week, a murder a few blocks from the Saint Louis Convention Center turned attention toward both the safety and...
The Saint Louis Convention Center: How Critical is it?
Just how much is the Saint Louis Convention Center costing Saint Louis, and what benefits would planned upgrades bring? These...
As Uber Surges, Riders Reap the Benefits
As another New Years’ Eve has come and gone, more writers in Saint Louis and across the nation have spilled...
