Illinois Explores Free-Market Energy Policy
I recently wrote about how one of our neighbors, Kansas, is making moves to bring nuclear energy to the state....
Information Overload and Missouri School Report Cards
Have you ever started reading the warning label on an over-the-counter drug like aspirin or ibuprofen? Ever finished one? Probably...
On Hold for Telemedicine
After a disappointing end to the 2024 legislative session, when Missouri’s policymakers missed the call for telemedicine reform, there’s reason...
Missouri Must Do Better at Controlling Spending
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. Elections and inaugurations are a time for reflection and...
Missouri is Shrinking
In each decade of the past 50 years, Missouri’s population growth has failed to keep pace with the nation. From...
Absurd Light Rail Project Marches Onward
Metro is hosting a series of public meetings on its proposed new light rail line in St. Louis. Now called...
Kansas City and St. Louis Road Quality
Our roads are crucial for commerce, safety, and daily life. Yet the state’s extensive road network presents challenges that have...
Let’s Grow Missouri, Literally
We often talk about growing Missouri in abstract ways. We want to grow the economy, grow the tax base, grow...
Slashing the Income Tax to Zero
As a former Tennessee resident, I think I am still mentally recovering from paying a state income tax. It’s not...
Universal Basic Income Programs Are Guaranteed Failures
Universal Basic Income (UBI) programs (sometimes called Guaranteed Income programs) are expanding around the United States, unfortunately. In St. Louis,...
MidAmerica Airport and MetroLink Deserve Each Other
They used to be two empty ships passing in the night, but now MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Illinois and...
Teacher Pay: You Can Go with This, or You Can Go with That
The 2001 music video for “Weapon of Choice,” a big beat, electronic song by Fatboy Slim (with Bootsy Collins), featured...
Raising the Student/Teacher Ratio Would Increase Teacher Salaries
In policy, as in our daily lives, our decisions have trade-offs. I can buy a new car and make payments...
Breaking: The Actual Starting Teacher Salary According to DESE
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other major media outlets in Missouri, continually claim that Missouri teachers are, on average, the...
WSJ Takes Aim at Illinois, Ignores Missouri
The Wall Street Journal recently published an editorial that expressed legitimate shock about the relationship between teacher ratings and rates...
Corruption Allegations: Disappointing but Hardly Surprising
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Business Journal. In 1977, the Chicago Sun Times newspaper bought...
EV Charging Stations Don’t Need Mandates to Succeed
Elected officials who want to put more electric vehicles (EVs) on the road face a Catch-22. Drivers won’t buy more...
Missouri Gets a D Grade in Electric Competition
Missouri’s report card for electric competition is in, and it’s not good. According to a new study from the University...
Want Better Electricity Prices? Be More Like Illinois
One of the benefits of a cross-border rivalry is the ability to learn from your competitor (with Missouri sometimes learning...
Why We Need to Take Pension Costs Seriously
Our friends at the Illinois Policy Institute have a new report out on education spending in the Land of Lincoln....
