Earnings Taxes and St. Louis’s Catch 1%.
A version of this commentary was published in the St. Louis Business Journal. As voters in the City of St. Louis...
Why Haven’t We Fixed This Law Yet?
Whatever our policy inclinations, we should all agree that government ought to be for the public good, transparent, and accountable....
Missouri’s Troubling Sales Tax Mosaic
What do owners of the luxurious Intercontinental Hotel in Kansas City and the St. Louis Cardinals have in common? They’re...
When Scoring a 60% gets you $16 Million
Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals, let the city know he was “ticked off” when he heard...
Parking Fees Alone Cannot Fund MetroLink Expansion
Saint Louis City Mayor Francis Slay wants to spend $2.2 billion on a new north–south MetroLink line, originally reported at...
It Takes a Village to Raise a Subsidy
The Cardinals recently announced plans to move forward with a second phase of development at Ballpark Village, an entertainment district...
Saint Louis’s Central Business District: The Heart of What?
Last week, a murder a few blocks from the Saint Louis Convention Center turned attention toward both the safety and...
On Rams Relocation, Saint Louis Media Is as Fickle as Stan Kroenke
We recently discussed how the Rams, and by extension the Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke, just slammed the Saint Louis metropolitan...
Deflate-gate in Saint Louis: Air goes out of a plan for a new subsidized football stadium
In stimulating tourism, trade, and economic growth, the Roman Coliseum may be the world’s only sports stadium that has repaid...
Saint Louis Property Taxes, Part 3: The Tax Breaks
In my previous two posts on Saint Louis City’s real property tax base, I discussed how various government bodies and...
Group Pushes for Higher Downtown Taxes
Last week, multiple news outlets reported that representatives of Downtown STL, a taxpayer-funded organization, wants to set up a transportation...
An Idea for Better Transit in Missouri: Raise Fares
Public transportation in Missouri’s major cities is heavily subsidized; taxpayers cover more than 80 percent of total costs in Saint Louis and...
The Fallacy of Tailgate Economics
News flash: Saint Louis is in danger of losing its football team. City and state officials are working feverishly on...
School Choice, Let Me Be Me
Where did you go to high school? “The question” is as much a part of the Saint Louis identity as the...
Does Ballpark Village Really Need Subsidies?
We are two months into the baseball season and while the Cardinals might be off to a slower start than...
Spending ‘Brewster’s Millions’ On Missouri Public Schools
Imagine your great uncle passes away and leaves you a huge sum of money, but there is a catch. To...
Budget Battle Breakdown
When entering into an argument, it is necessary to have a common ground from which to argue. For example, in...
Is St. Louis the next Detroit? (Not in my view)
As first appearing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on August 16, 2013: When the St. Louis Cardinals played the Detroit...
Saint Louis Gets Ballpark Village And You Get The Bill
The Missouri Development Finance Board has approved its “share” (according to reports, $5 million) in bond purchases to help fund...
Let’s Face It: Federal Money Being Used To Lobby Saint Louis County
I do not smoke. But I am curious about radio ads that are advocating for stronger anti-smoking laws in Saint...
