Columbia Feeling “Blue” About IBM’s Job Numbers
The silver lining in this recent report regarding the continued underperformance of the IBM call center in Columbia is that...
I “Think” We Have a Problem Here
When I read about the state’s decision to suspend one of its tax incentives to IBM because of low employment...
The Best Bargain I Ever Made
As first appearing in the September 30, 2013, print edition of The Weekly Standard: Though I never met the man,...
Help Wanted
Looking for work in Columbia? If job promises are to be believed, it may be time to give the overly...
What Is The Matter With Columbia?
The demolition of the Regency Hotel site. Photo by Timmy Huynh of the Columbia Missourian. Since 2005, the City of Columbia...
“Aerotropolis” Author Doesn’t Think Saint Louis Proposal Will Work
This week, we posted our case study on the so-called “Aerotropolis” proposal, which would create $360 million in state tax...
Where Are the Promised Jobs and Economic Activity?
Last May, IBM received $28 million in state tax credits and $3 million in incentives from the local government to...
Tax Credits: A Poor Strategy for Economic Development in Missouri
Not surprisingly, every person who has testified before the Missouri Tax Credit Commission during its regional meetings has spoken in...
My Next Career Move: Professional Rent-Seeker
It may be time for a career change for me. Although I enjoy working at the Show-Me Institute very much,...
Regarding Missouri’s New Tax Credit Review Commission
Now that the $150 million incentive package for Ford has passed, it’s apparently time to reverse positions and talk tough...
The Governor’s Revealed Preference
According to his biography: Governor [Jay] Nixon has put forward an agenda to make government more efficient, effective and responsive...
States Can Entice Businesses and Industries Without Tax Credits
Supporters for incentive programs, such as tax credits and tax increment financing (TIF), claim that businesses would not locate in...
Tax Credits Are an Undesirable Strategy for Missouri
There was some classic rent-seeking behavior in the editorial section of the Post-Dispatch yesterday: An architect touts historic preservation tax...
Ain’t Nobody’s Business if You Do
The Columbia Daily Tribune published an article about the opposition to SB 586, a bill on Gov. Jay Nixon’s desk...
North Carolina and American Express Provide a Good Example
According to an editorial in the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., American Express chose that state’s Guilford County as...
Mixed Message About Tax Credits
Forbes recently published an article that praises Gov. Jay Nixon, and describes him as “cutter-in-chief”: Nixon proposed to “right-size” government...
I Take Your Bank Before I Pay You Out
By now, it’s old news that state and local governments awarded IBM a $31 million incentive package to persuade the...
Thanks to Government Incentives, It May Be Cheaper to Locate a Service Center in Columbia, Mo., than in India
The Columbia Missourian recently published a summary of the $31 million incentive package that the state and local governments are...
