Setting the Record Straight About Missouri’s New ESA Program
Earlier this week, Susan Pendergrass wrote a blog post addressing some of the criticisms levied by The Kansas City Star...
Is Medicaid Expansion Going to Court?
Missouri will not be implementing Medicaid expansion on July 1st, and the question of when it eventually happens, or if...
Movement on Occupational Licensing Legislation
House Bill 273, a collection of occupational licensing measures, has passed the Missouri Legislature and is waiting to be signed...
Here’s A Crazy Idea: Tax Yourself.
Versions of this commentary were published in the Springfield News-Leader and the Columbia Tribune. Longtime United States Senator and Chairman...
Highlights of the Legislative Session
On May 18, David Stokes joined The McGraw Show on KTRS to break down the end of Missouri’s legislative session....
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Big shock—now that the Missouri legislature has finally created a program to give school choice to students from low-income families...
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...
The latest on a Gas Tax Increase and are Tourists “Free Riders”?
On May 13, David Stokes joined The Gary Nolan Show to discuss a gas tax increase that is headed to...
Excellent: Legislature Passes Bill Holding Local Governments Accountable
Congratulations to Rep. John Wiemann and others for passing House Bill 271, a now greatly expanded bill whose original language,...
How Are We Recovering (Part 2)
As discussed in my previous post, our economy seems to be recovering quickly relative to other recessions, but employers are...
Charter School Students Are Public School Students
Imagine two teenage siblings with jobs—a rarity these days. Their parents require them both to pay for their own transportation...
Suggested Change to Missouri’s Nuclear Construction Bill
A new bill in the Missouri Legislature proposes easing regulations on nuclear and renewable power construction. House Bill 261 would...
The School Choice Victory in Missouri Was a Long Time Coming
The political theorist Max Weber said that politics is “the slow boring of hard boards” and boy, school choice legislation...
A Huge Win for Missouri Families
Thankfully, the Missouri Legislature has recognized that one size does not fit all when it comes to education. The House...
Indexing Fuel Taxes
Paying tax on gasoline or diesel fuel by the gallon makes intuitive sense—the more gas you buy, the more tax...
PACE Loans Are Out of Line
A decade ago, Missouri created the Property Assessment Clean Energy (PACE) loan program to help homeowners and businesses get loans...
Missouri’s Population Growth Is Still Lagging
The U.S. Census Bureau just released its updated state populations from the 2020 census, and the results were not good...
Jackson County Assessment Facts, Part 3
This is the third in a series of posts on assessment practices in Jackson County, Missouri. It comes a mere...
Should Missouri Mandate Biodiesel?
Should the Missouri Legislature require all diesel fuel sold in Missouri be blended with corn and soybean oil? A bill...
Tides Turning Against TIF?
Public support is growing for efforts to protect local funding from bad tax-increment financing (TIF) deals, but will the elected...
