Student Achievement Rises with More Charter Schools
Missouri has long resisted the expansion of charter schools into any suburban or rural area. Opponents of charter schools argue...
Want More Housing? Get out of the Way
If there is an affordable housing shortage in Kansas City, why is that so? Could the very housing policies meant...
Does Building Market-Rate Condominiums Help the Affordable Housing Market?
Affordable housing was a big issue in the recent Kansas City mayoral race, and there may be more legislation coming...
Aquarium Project Repeats Familiar Mistakes
Local media in St. Louis is abuzz over the imminent completion of the Union Station renovation project. The St. Louis...
Thank You to the Urban League of Greater Kansas City
I remain grateful to the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, and to its president Gwen Grant, for including my...
It Might Take Stan Kroenke to Reform Missouri’s Special Taxing Districts
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a great piece by Jacob Barker on an effort by the city of Wentzville to...
St. Louis’s Ridiculously High Sales Taxes
It is often claimed that Missouri is a low-tax state (which it is not), but it is painfully clear that...
The Entirely Predictable Failure of Sports Teams Subsidies
The River City Rascals are taking their ball and going home. This was not entirely surprising as the team was...
The Myth of Supposed Market Failures
Markets are said to be failing when supply doesn’t respond to demand—like a beachside shop refusing to sell sunscreen. When...
St. Louis Blight Authority: Philanthropy Might Provide What Markets Cannot
St. Louis has many serious problems. One is the city’s downwardly spiraling population, which has been in decline for decades....
We Could Give Teachers a Ten Percent Raise Next Year
In a recent op-ed, I asked, “Why do our best superintendents always leave?” The answer was obvious—the pension system. After...
Getting Sent Back to School
What a mixed-up world we live in. In order to keep her daughter in the school she has chosen, a...
Fall 2019 Internships
The Show-Me Institute is pleased to offer internship opportunities for Fall 2019. Internships are open to current undergraduate and graduate...
Up and Up: Sales Taxes Across the State
Making long-term projections can be tricky business, but figuring out where sales taxes across the state are going is straightforward:...
Better Is a Relative Term
Rumor has it that later this month Major League Soccer (MLS) will announce the next cities to be blessed with...
New Downtown Royals Stadium Would Cost City a King’s Ransom
In a recent debate, Kansas City Mayor-elect Quinton Lucas addressed a proposal for a downtown stadium by stating, “We need...
Many Missourians Are Moving . . . To Missouri
If you live in a rural community in Missouri and it feels like your neighbors are moving away, you might...
What’s Wrong with St. Louis Economic Development Incentives? Everything
Growing a business is difficult. Business owners who have successfully overcome all the usual obstacles have my respect. Policymakers can...
Why Are Other Organizations Doing DESE’s Job?
“Kind of crazy.” That’s how the director of school improvement for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)...
School Choice Fails, While Corporate Welfare Succeeds in the Missouri Legislature
No one enters the legislature saying, “I’m going to be the champion of corporate welfare.” Many, however, do say they...
