Columbia Should Privatize Its Water and Electric Utilities
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Columbia is currently considering raising its municipal water rates. The proposed...
Transparency Yields Results
It was only a matter of time before the benefits of hospital price transparency became evident. Recently, the St. Louis...
The Type of Audit We Can All Agree On
If there is one thing local government in Missouri needs more of, it is audits. I don’t mean Comprehensive Annual...
Transparency Stalled
It ain’t over ’til it’s over, but the chances Missouri’s general assembly takes action on healthcare price transparency in 2024...
Let’s Jump on the Nuclear Energy Bandwagon
A few months ago, I delved into a fascinating bill being debated in Congress, the ADVANCE Nuclear Act, which had...
Harsh Budgeting Truths
Just how broken is Missouri’s budget? Last week, Missouri’s House of Representatives finished work on its nearly $51 billion version...
April 30: Insider’s Hour with Show-Me Institute in Columbia, MO
What’s happening as the session wraps up in Jefferson City? Missouri’s $50 billion budget, healthcare price transparency, and a proposed...
How Will the Four-day School Week Progress in Light of SB 727?
The enormous 167-page education bill, Senate Bill (SB) 727, recently passed out of the Missouri Senate and is heading to...
March 21 in St. Louis: The Insider’s Hour with Show-Me Institute
What’s happening in Jefferson City? Get the scoop on the expanding Missouri budget, transparency in healthcare pricing, and free-market policies...
Considering the Four-Day School Week? Pilot It and Evaluate It
I am often engaged in policy discussions. Every now and then, someone I am speaking with says something that makes...
Missouri Needs Better Stewards
Is Missouri’s budget trajectory unsustainable? Yes, but given the discussions in Jefferson City over the past few weeks, you’d think...
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Teacher Pay Plan
Raising teacher pay is once again a hot topic in Jefferson City, and once again the ideas being floated to...
State of the State, Source of Income, and Triumphant Returns
David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Patrick Tuohey join Zach Lawhorn to discuss: – Key takeaways from Governor Parson’s State of...
As Legislature Returns, Whose Priorities Will Take Priority?
Happy New Year! After a lackluster 2023 legislative session, hope springs eternal for 2024 as the Missouri Legislature returns to...
A Better Way to Pay?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the state’s new gas tax refund program and how its first year was...
Ashland Wants to Make Its Sales Tax How High?
It may surprise you to know that cities in Missouri depend more on sales taxes and less on property taxes...
The Earnings Tax Changes We Need
Kansas City officials have repealed the changes to the earnings tax refund system they made last year. Last year’s changes...
Expanding the VIP List for Charter School Eligibility
In Missouri, only a select few are eligible for the VIP status of charter school eligibility. The “bouncer” until recently...
The Case Against Rebooting Film Tax Credits in Missouri
In 2013, Missouri ended its film tax credit program. Now there’s legislation moving in Jefferson City to revive the failed...
On Property Taxation
Of all the positions I hold, the one that probably surprises people the most is my opposition to changes to...
