What Is Going On with the KCI Project?
No one seems to know what is going on with the KCI new single terminal project. Or if they do...
How Not to Study Economic Development Incentives
Economic development incentives are all the rage. And they aren’t all multi-billion-dollar packages to attract a new Amazon headquarters. Many...
KCI Airlines Links New Terminal Costs with . . . Service
How many times have proponents of a new terminal at KCI told us that the costs of enplanements do not...
Were the #NewKCI Construction Cost Numbers Ever Real?
Last Thursday on the Kansas City Public Television program Ruckus, panelist Jim Heeter dropped the following bomb about the large...
The Tax Burden in Kansas City Is High
On Ruckus the other day, panelist Woody Cozad mentioned that taxes in Kansas City are high. He’s right. My colleague...
Food Deserts and Demand
The Kansas City Star published a 2,500 word front page story on Sunday that asked, “Why do so many stores...
Kansas City’s Unrelenting and Unaddressed Homicide Problem
Four years ago, when Kansas City’s homicide rate was down, City leaders were eager to let people know. “There is...
Kansas City Star Editorial Board Gets It Half Right
In a recent column, The Kansas City Star editorial board bemoaned the instinct of Mayor Sly James to be opaque...
The Risk of City-issued Bonds
Kansas City leaders tell us that the bonds issued by the Kansas City Industrial Development Authority to fund the construction...
More of the Same for the New KCI Project
For years, Kansas City Mayor Sly James asserted that revenue generated at the airport cannot be redirected to the city....
Downtown Subsidies Forever
The economic development subsidy regime downtown has become a policy paradox. If previous subsidies successfully created a vibrant economic center,...
Want More Great Teachers? Then Pay Great Teachers More
The Kansas City Star has been running a series on public policy called the “Missouri Influencer Series.” The series highlights...
Gratuitous “We Told You So” on KCI Airport Vote
City leaders were surprised to learn the other week that things were amiss with planning the new airport terminal. As...
Kansas City Airport Stumbles Along
One year ago, Steve Vockrodt of The Kansas City Star wrote an excellent piece on the “original sin” of the...
The Asterisk in Streetcar Reporting
Bill Turque over at The Kansas City Star wrote the standard piece on this week’s streetcar extension vote, and gave...
Are Sales Taxes to Fund Pre-K a Good Idea?
Kansas City Mayor Sly James is working on a proposal for a sales tax increase to fund expanded pre-K education....
The Great GASB
Three cheers for The Kansas City Business Journal for writing about the costs to taxpayers of economic development subsidies offered...
Should Five Percent Appear Too Small…
The Beatles famously sang the above lyric in their song Taxman. It comes to mind because, believe it or not,...
What Kansas City Millennials Want
KCUR published a piece on a recent study of what millennials in Kansas City actually want by way of housing...
The Airport and Transparency
In the lead-up to the November vote on tearing down Kansas City International Airport’s terminals and building a new $1.2...
