On Aerotropolis and High-Speed Rail
Over the weekend the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a commentary written by Ripley Rasmus of the consulting firm HOK. In...
Del Blighto
News that the flying saucer–shaped Del Taco might be demolished has the Saint Louis community of architectural preservationists up in...
Elsberry Votes Down a Gas Tax Increase
Elsberry, in Lincoln County, voted down a local gas tax increase proposal yesterday. Considering that the vote requires a two-thirds majority...
Try Selling More Vacant City Property
Yesterday, Saint Louis city aldermen spent more than seven hours discussing cuts to the city’s budget. They made cuts to...
Ms. Harbin and Ms. Spalding Go to Jeff City
Yesterday, Christine Harbin and I testified about the proposed “Aerotropolis” subsidy bill before the Missouri Senate Jobs, Economic Development and...
Smoke and Mirrors in Creating Jobs in Missouri
Steve Giegerich had a great article about tax credits on the front page of the Post Dispatch yesterday. I encourage...
A Five-Year Plan for the Earnings Tax
Voters in Kansas City and Saint Louis have clearly stated their desire to maintain those cities’ earnings taxes. Macroeconomic municipal...
Where’s the Evidence That the China Hub Makes Financial Sense?
In August 2010, Mike Jones, chairman of the Midwest China Hub Commission, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a key...
Wait … Shouldn’t Missouri Have a Firm Commitment From China Before Awarding $480+ Million?
Several Missouri legislators are looking to pass a tangled package of state tax credits and other subsidies for developers, cargo...
China Hub Tax Incentives More Expensive Than Advertised
Saint Louis politicians, media, and bloggers have enthusiastically embraced proposed legislation that would create a package of tax credits and...
Two Thumbs Down for Downtown Theater Subsidy
Last Friday’s St. Louis Business Journal reports that movies will soon return to downtown St. Louis more than eight years after...
The Earnings Tax Debate: Argle-Bargle or Foofaraw?
Show-Me Institute scholars and analysts have been activily involved in debates about the earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas...
Why Spend More Than $400 Million to Subsidize Warehouse Construction?
From today’s Post-Dispatch: “St. Louis’ dreams of becoming a gateway for Chinese air cargo are going to need some more...
Op-Ed by David Stokes About the St. Louis Earnings Tax in the Post-Dispatch Yesterday
Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an op-ed that I wrote about the upcoming vote on the earnings tax in...
Anything Can Be Replaced With Something “Better”
Show-Me Daily writers have complained repeatedly about Saint Louis paying companies to move into the city. But in a new...
New Report: Tax Incentives Fail to Produce Results in Saint Louis
The East-West Gateway Council of Governments released a report that largely confirms what the Show-Me Institute has been saying all...
DED Awards $8 Million in Tax Credits to Developer Ruled Ineligible by Courts
In 2010, it appeared that the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) could sink no further. After all, the agency...
Students: Apply to Work at the Show-Me Institute This Summer!
The deadline to apply to be a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow — a program that includes two weeks of...
“Wha’eva, I Do What I Want”: The DED Goes Off the Reservation
I thought that the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) could sink no further. After all, the agency recently awarded...
Post-Dispatch Supports Difficult Decisions, Not “Cherry-Picking”
Even though the Tax Credit Review Commission has delivered its final recommendations, the debate about the appropriateness of targeted tax...
