Private Water Company in the News
A small, private water company in Southwest Missouri is in the news because one of its pumps failed a few...
Don’t Hate the Players, Hate the Game
The Post-Dispatch has an excellent article that illustrates one reason why government tax incentives for private development almost always fall...
The Best Job Creation Strategy? Government Non-Intervention
Last week, I attended a Legislative Action Seminar sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce here in Saint Louis. Sitting...
Benefits of Tax Credits Concentrated in Urban Regions, Costs Diffused Throughout Missouri
Last week, I spoke to Roseann Moring at the Springfield News-Leader about the Tax Credit Review Commission‘s recent recommendations. (Here...
Sub Shops and Sales Taxes: A Delicious Natural Experiment
A couple of weeks ago, I embarked on an audacious experiment. I dreamed an impossible dream that one day, if...
Show-Me Institute in the Media
The primary purpose of Show-Me Daily is to facilitate conversation and debate about policy issues in Missouri, from a free-market...
Police Raids and Occupational Licensing: Coming to a State Near You
Here is something I hope we never see in Missouri: Police raids to arrest unlicensed barbers in Florida and California....
Supreme Court Considers Education Tax Credits
The Supreme Court is revisiting the use of tax credits as a mechanism for funding education, and whether religious schools...
Musings on the Hotel Tax Vote
It may have been a very small issue, but some of the best news out of Tuesday’s election was the...
With the Right Strategy, STL’s New Developer in Chief Could Move City Forward Quickly
The Post-Dispatch reports that Barbara Geisman is stepping down from her post as Saint Louis’ deputy mayor for development. Geisman...
Real Estate Development With Public Dollars Provides No Demonstrable Net Benefit
Missouri’s Fifth Senate District — which includes downtown St. Louis — was the recipient of nearly $1 billion in state...
“Government Should Be Operated Like a Business,” Part Two of Two
In my last post, I argued that inherent differences between government and business prevent government from operating like a business....
Urban Planners Give Award to St. Louis, Part 2
A few days ago, the American Planning Association (APA) named Wydown Boulevard, which runs through Clayton and the city of...
Proposals for New Hotel Taxes in Suburban Saint Louis Misguided
Unlike most other taxes within Saint Louis County, the hotel tax is nearly always the same wherever you stay. That’s...
Giant Disappointment for Kansas City
A City Council committee in Kansas City has tabled (aka, killed) a proposal that called for simply studying the idea of...
Blighting and Taking Private Property Not the Right Fix for Vacancies
The Kansas City Star’s editorial board wrote recently that the city should deal with vacant houses and buildings more aggressively,...
Law to Expand Health Coverage Limits Health Coverage
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last March requires insurers to spend at least 80 to 85 percent...
You’ve Been on a Fast Train, and It’s Going Off the Rail
Transportation expert (and sometimes Show-Me Institute author) Randal O’Toole wrote an editorial for USA Today about the folly of huge...
Billy Goats Not So Gruff
KSDK is running a nice little story about the entrepreneurial success of the Billy Goat Chip Company in Saint Louis:...
Awarding Funding for Low Performance Encourages Failure
According to this Post-Dispatch article, only the worst-performing schools were eligible for recent School Improvement Grants awarded by the U.S....
