Arise and Shine, Missouri lawmakers: You Have Nothing to Lose but a Long History of Bad Performance.
What’s wrong with you, Missouri lawmakers? Why so weak and feckless? This is your conscience calling. I speak to all...
Attacking Charter Schools with “Alternative Facts”
In a recent letter to the editor of the Joplin Globe, Caroline Tubbs, a public high school teacher, makes a...
Golden Parachutes for Bureaucrats
Joplin Superintendent C. J. Huff announced his retirement last month despite his contract expiring in 2018. A sunshine request from the Joplin...
Taxing Smokers Does Not Show Support of Education
As first appearing in the Columbia Daily Tribune: These days there are a lot of calls to make people pay...
Joplin School District Right To Be Concerned About Super TIF
Officials for the Joplin School District are admirably asking some tough questions about a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district....
New Year’s Resolutions for Missouri Public Policy: From the Cutting Room Floor
My recent editorial, “New Year’s Resolutions for Missouri Public Policy,” ran in the St. Louis Beacon and the Joplin Globe,...
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...
In Which I Am Compared to the Devil
One legislative sponsor of legislation to cap interest rates on Missouri’s payday loans, responded to my op-ed on the subject...
The Role of the Lieutenant Governor in Missouri
A few days ago, the Joplin Globe ran an editorial that discussed the micro issue of the relationship between Gov. Jay...
Caution: This Sign Has Sharp Edges
In Gray Summit, there is a road called, unimaginatively, Old Gray Summit Road. This is a curvy road with lots...
Well, Duh …
People respond to prices, incentives, and mandates. We all know that, although many people wish it were not so. Today’s...
Expect Road Delays
I apologize, Missourians. There will be road delays in the near future, and I’m not talking about traffic. According to...
Property Taxes in the News
The Kansas City Star has an interesting article on why property taxes keep going up despite the downturn in the...
Are There Really Townships in Missouri?
Yes, there are, and one of them just lost a lawsuit for, among other reasons, not properly following the open...
Take Two
Tax incentives for film producers might not be such a good idea after all. The Post-Dispatch reports that two directors...
Joplin Globe Gets It Wrong
Maurice earlier referenced the Joplin Globe’s editorial on toll roads in Missouri. I wish to add my thoughts. The Globe...
Driving in Missouri Takes its Toll
In an editorial published late last night, the Joplin Globe argues against instituting tolls on Missouri highways. The piece points...
Bad Use of Incentives
An editorial in the Joplin Globe titled "Good Use of Incentives" praises the proposed Missouri Quality Jobs Act: Without the...
Minimum Wage provides minimum advantages
Governor Blunt recently changed his mind about Missouri’s new Minimum Wage laws. Initially, January’s minimum wage increase applied only to...
