How Are We Recovering? (Part 1)
The economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been much more rapid and robust than people initially predicted. It’s possible...
Let’s Look at Some Numbers
The Missouri Legislature is hard at work on the budget for the next fiscal year. One of the biggest components...
The New York Times Talks Property Assessments in St. Louis County
The New York Times had an excellent article on property taxation issues a week ago. The article had a nationwide...
Why is Missouri Suing the President Over the Environment?
Missouri—along with eleven other states—is suing the president over his administration’s handling of an environmental policy instrument billed as “the...
We Have the Money. Let’s Expand Education Options for All Students
In the latest round of federal stimulus, Missouri will receive about $2 billion in funding for public education. Of this,...
If This Is a War, Who Needs Peace?
Apparently, Missouri is continuing its “war on public education.” According to a recent op-ed by a columnist at the Northwest...
How Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) Work
Download Infographic Here How ESAs would be funded ESAs are not paid for through the state budget – Under the...
An Inconvenient Truth
The Missouri Legislature is considering allowing parents in larger communities (more than 30,000 residents) to access a portion of their...
Homeschooling in Missouri Nearly Doubled in 2020
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of its Household Pulse Survey, an effort by the government to...
St. Louis City’s Earnings Tax Is Not the Lowest in the Country
The earnings tax was one topic of conversation during a recent forum for St. Louis mayoral candidates. During the forum,...
Medicaid Expansion Brings Missouri to a Constitutional Crossroads
Missouri’s House Budget Committee took a historic step this week by voting down the bill that would fund Medicaid expansion....
Almost Heaven
West Virginia is a beautiful state with a reputation problem. Along with gorgeous mountains and phenomenal outdoor amenities like golf,...
Some St. Louis School Districts Are Responding to Parents
Apparently, parents like options, and school districts like keeping students. What a concept. This past year has forced public school...
TIF and the Pandemic, Part Two
In my previous post on the struggle of county health departments during the pandemic, I touched on funding levels for...
TIF and the Pandemic, Part 1
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported recently on the struggles of county health departments in Missouri during the Covid pandemic. We...
Gas Tax Bill Undergoes Several Changes
A bill in the Missouri Legislature that would raise Missouri’s fuel tax has undergone several important changes. Instead of raising...
SMI Podcast: A Road Map For Education Reform – Bill Mattox
On this episode of the podcast, Bill Mattox joins Susan Pendergrass to discuss what Missouri can learn from Florida’s fight...
An Opportunity Taken or Missed?
I was speaking to a colleague in another state recently and he made an interesting observation about two trends that...
Do Federal Regulations Impact Missourians?
Did you know that professional, scientific, and technical services (a broad category that includes legal, payroll, engineering, and advertising services...
Boonville TIF: A Slippery Slope
One of the first lessons I learned growing up in Boonville was to say what I mean and mean what...
