Kirkwood Should Consider a Local Fuel Tax to Fund Its Transportation Needs, Not a TDD
The City of Kirkwood says it needs money to fund road maintenance and safety projects, and it wants to fill...
Taxpayer Funded Lobbying Continues
One of the practices I have long been opposed to is governments using tax dollars to hire lobbyists to lobby...
An Update on the University City Development
On Friday, March 12, David Stokes joined The McGraw Show on The Big 550 KTRS to discuss a judge ruling...
Hope on the Horizon for Missouri Students?
What a year. Last March 21, Governor Parson issued a statewide order to close every public school in Missouri due...
A Big Win for Taxpayers in Maryland Heights
As far as I know, the biggest defeat of a tax increment financing (TIF) package or similar tax subsidy (and,...
No, School Choice Does Not Defund Public Schools
A version of this commentary appeared in the Kansas City Star. School choice legislation is under consideration in the Missouri...
Will Boonville Repeat the Mistakes of St. Louis and Kansas City?
A version of this commentary was published in the Columbia Tribune. Tax-increment financing (TIF) is Missouri’s bad idea that refuses...
Do Boonville and Cooper County Need $40 Million?
Developers have asked the City of Boonville for a tax-increment financing (TIF) subsidy to “help” them build a new subdivision...
Capping LIHTC Isn’t Enough
Missouri’s low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) is a classic example of throwing good money after bad. The program—which provides $1-for-$1...
New TIF is a Bad Deal for Boonville
A new tax-increment financing (TIF) package is being proposed to subsidize a new, 400-home development in Boonville. As best we...
What Would Daniel Boone (or His Sons) Think of TIF?
A new tax-increment financing (TIF) package is being proposed to subsidize a new, 400-home development in Boonville. As best we...
A New “License Compact”? Why?
Last year, the Missouri Legislature passed a watershed law that established one of the first true interstate license reciprocity reforms...
Tax Incentive Reform Getting a Fresh Look from Legislators, Too
My colleague David Stokes wrote recently in the The Star about Kansas City’s pivot toward local incentive reform, a move...
How Transportation Public–Private Partnerships Can Benefit Missourians
Interstate 70 and several important Missouri roads need to be replaced soon but the Missouri Department of Transportation claims it...
Local Government Transparency Bill Gets Resounding 149-2 Vote in the House
If local governments can take your money, they should tell you how they’re spending it. And if they can’t or...
Three Health Care Experts Reiterate Importance of Making COVID Reforms Permanent
One of the revelations of the coronavirus pandemic has been how important online town halls can be to the public...
To-go Drink Legislation Speaks to Important Issue
Regulatory action that allows restaurants to serve to-go cocktails is one step closer to becoming permanent. While this is obviously...
Tax Incentive Reforms Would Benefit Kansas City
A version of this commentary appeared in the Kansas City Star. Ulysses S. Grant was known to say that in...
Local Gas Taxes Are the Secret Garden of City Road Funding Options
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Tribune. When troubled or sickly aristocratic English youth needed a place to...
Signs of Progress on Local Tax Subsidies in Missouri?
I am an optimist at heart. In my world, the glass is half-full, usually—more than ever during the pandemic—with tonic...
