While the governor’s announcement didn’t precisely outline what he had in mind for Show-Me DOGE (department of government efficiency) or the timeline for implementing it, there’s reason to believe such an endeavor would be worthwhile for Missouri. Given the numerous examples of waste found by the federal DOGE effort thus far, and the fact that Missouri’s budget has nearly doubled in the past five years, it’s likely that a closer look at our state finances would be able to uncover significant savings.

Last month, my colleague Aaron Hedlund and I published a guide for establishing a Missouri Office of Government Efficiency (MOGE). Our guide explained Missouri’s recent runaway spending growth, discussed the benefits of the executive branch leading the charge of finding inefficiencies and cost savings, and outlined key principles that would increase the likelihood of success for any DOGE-type effort.

The ideas from our guide were informed by the work of then-California Governor Ronald Reagan back in 1967 that used private funding and non-government experts to provide an unbiased outside perspective on California’s government. All told, Reagan’s effort was able to find more than 2,000 areas for reform in short order, and if all were implemented, would have saved taxpayers more than $500 million, which adjusted for inflation would amount to about $4.2 billion today. Unfortunately, only about half of Reagan’s recommendations were ultimately implemented.

Reagan’s experience makes it clear that buy-in from both the legislative and executive branches of Missouri’s government will be necessary for success. The good news is that both chambers of Missouri’s general assembly have already established their own committees on government efficiency and have begun working diligently.

It’s long past time for a serious effort in Jefferson City to rein in the state government’s excess, and it’s great news that so many of our elected officials have stated their interest in taking up the task. Missouri’s general assembly has already started its work. Now it’s the governor’s turn to follow suit and seize the opportunity to rightsize our state’s government.

The post Where’s Show-Me DOGE? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

In December 2024, in Springfield, Missouri, the Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity hosted an event featuring Dr. Aaron Hedlund, Chief Economist at the Show-Me Institute, and Elijah Haahr, former Missouri Speaker of the House and host of The Elijah Haahr Show on KWTO.

The discussion focused on the 2025 economic outlook for Missouri and the U.S., exploring issues such as unsustainable government spending, the growing national debt, and the Federal Reserve’s role in shaping inflation, housing, and labor markets.

This episode is a recording of that event.

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

The post 2025 Economic Trends for the U.S. and Missouri with Aaron Hedlund and Elijah Haahr appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Download the full 2025 Blueprint here

In this episode, Susan Pendergrass, James Shuls, Elias Tsapelas, Aaron Hedlund, David Stokes, Patrick Tuohey, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss The 2025 Blueprint: Moving Missouri Forward. They discuss topics like statewide school choice, income tax reform, local government transparency, Missouri’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, nuclear energy policy, and more.

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

About The 2025 Blueprint:

The Show-Me Institute’s mission is to advance liberty with individual responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy. Our vision is for Missouri to be a place where entrepreneurs can pursue their dreams, parents are free to direct the education and upbringing of their children, and a growing economy provides opportunities for all. Critical to achieving this vision is a state government that understands the value of freedom in the lives and future of our people.

The 2025 Blueprint: Moving Missouri Forward explores 17 policy areas in which common-sense reform could immediately and positively impact everyday life for Missourians. Issues covered range from education and healthcare to unemployment insurance and budget reform. Each article identifies a problem that affects the citizens of our state, provides background information and analysis, proposes one or more solutions, and then boils the solutions down into actionable recommendations. We believe that the proposals our policy team has assembled can put Missouri on the path to a healthier economy, a better public education system, and a more vibrant and flourishing civil society.

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

The post A Blueprint for Missouri in 2025 appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Download the 2025 Blueprint Here

Listen to the podcast: Susan Pendergrass, James Shuls, Elias Tsapelas, Aaron Hedlund, David Stokes, Patrick Tuohey, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss The 2025 Blueprint

The post The 2025 Blueprint: Moving Missouri Forward appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

On August 12, the Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity hosted a virtual event where Elias Tsapelas, director of state budget and fiscal policy at the Show-Me Institute, and Aaron Hedlund, chief economist at the Show-Me Institute, made the case for a Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The event explored the limitations of the current Hancock Amendment, proposed reforms to better protect taxpayers in the state, and more.

Download the full Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights Policy Brief Here

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

The post Watch: The Case for a Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights Virtual Event appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

On May 15, 2024, Show-Me Institute Chief Economist Aaron Hedlund joined Pete Mundo on KCMO to break down the latest inflation data and discuss what it means for the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.

Photo credit:

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/partial-view-federal-reserve-fed-headquarters-2258307915

Photo ID: 2258307915

Photo Contributor: christianthiel.net

The post What Does the Latest Inflation Data Mean for the Fed’s Next Move? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Where:

Country Club of Missouri

1300 Woodrail Avenue

Columbia, MO 65203

When:

Tuesday, April 30

11:30 a.m. doors open

12-1:00 Panel Discussion and Q&A

Cost: $20.00 (includes lunch and beverages)

The post April 30: Insider’s Hour with Show-Me Institute in Columbia, MO appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post Beyond Reagan and Thatcher: The Future of Supply Side Economics appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post Cooling Inflation, Unwinding Medicaid, and Breaking Water Mains appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on Stitcher 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

The post Teacher Pay, Child Care Costs, and Unemployment Insurance appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post Opportunities for Tax Relief appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

On May 10, 2022, Aaron Hedlund, chief economist at the Show-Me Institute, and Tyler Goodspeed, Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, discussed the impact of decades-high inflation on the economy, workers, and consumers, as well as the role of the Federal Reserve in solving the problem and the risk of the next recession.

Listen to the podcast:

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on Sticher 

Listen on SoundCloud

The post Inflation in America: The Role of the Fed and the Risk of Recession appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on Sticher 

Listen on SoundCloud

The post Podcast: The COVID Economy, Masks in Schools and a CRT Hearing in Jeff City appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post Gas Prices are on the Rise appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Aaron Hedlund is chief economist at Show-Me Institute and an associate professor with tenure in the economics department at the University of Missouri-Columbia as well as a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

The post SMI Podcast: Lessons From The Last Economic Recovery appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The quotation above is from Aaron Hedlund’s new report, an exploration of what happens when tax rates change. Among the findings:

• The effect of tax policy on the size of the tax base can be as important as the actual tax rate.
• Looking only at the impact of taxes on the incentives of primary earners yields can lead to misleading projections about the revenue a tax hike will generate; a household’s secondary income earners, as well as those considering entrepreneurship or investments in their own human capital, can be more sensitive to tax rate changes than primary earners.

Click on the link below to read the entire essay.

The post Report: How Do Tax-rate Changes Impact Revenues appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

• Barry Langford, Chair of the Columbia College Criminal Justice program. Langford has taught at the school since 1994.
• Aaron Hedlund,  economics professor at the University of Missouri and visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
• Nicole Volkert, former prosecutor and municipal judge. Volkert has served both Monroe and Montgomery Counties and a legal advisor to the Columbia Police Department
• Jennifer Bukowski, a criminal defense attorney with over ten years of experience. Nicole founded the Bukowsky Law Firm seven years ago after serving as a public defender for three years.
• Eric Schmitt, Treasurer of the State of Missouri, elected in 2016. Previously, Eric served in the Missouri State Senate

The 90-minute presentation was packed with information. Panelists discussed criminal justice theory, the process and players from arrest to parole, over-criminalization, and the deleterious role of fees and fines, along with possible reforms. Some of the latter the Show-Me Institute has discussed before, including the cost of incarceration overall and reforms such as Raise the Age and reducing mandatory minimums. Panelists even pointed out the positive effects that education choice can have on incarceration likelihood.

The entire presentation is now available online (click above). The Show-Me Institute is grateful to everyone who participated.

The post Criminal Justice Reform Panel in Columbia appeared first on Show-Me Institute.