In the 1970s, St. Louis Public Schools and the State of Missouri were sued for maintaining a segregated education system in the city. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the ruling and school districts in the area began working on a plan to fix the problem of segregated schools. The solution, from a 1983 settlement agreement, was to allow black students in the city to attend predominantly white schools in the county and to allow white students in county schools to attend predominantly black city magnet schools. This “voluntary” program was to improve integration in the city and county.

Although well-intentioned, this policy has become a roadblock for black students wanting to attend a high-quality school in the city. Take Edmund Lee, for example. As Fox 2 reports, Edmund is a bright African-American 3rd-grader at Gateway Science Academy in St. Louis. Gateway is one of many high-quality charter schools in the city. Edmund’s family will be moving soon to the county, but would like to utilize the transfer program to allow him to continue at the school he loves. There is just one problem—he’s black. Black county students cannot transfer into the city, because that wouldn't help integration efforts.

Of course, this problem is not new, and it goes both ways. White students in the city cannot transfer to Clayton, Kirkwood, or any of the high-performing county schools because they are white.

The case of Edmund Lee may not just be sad; it may also be illegal. In 2012, the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas found a similar policy to be in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Arkansas allowed students to transfer to another public school, provided they improved the racial balance of the schools.  As in the transfer program in St. Louis, black students in predominantly black schools could transfer to predominantly white schools and white students in predominantly white schools could transfer to black schools.

The court wrote, “The legislation was no doubt properly motivated in its desire to end segregation, but the question that must be addressed is whether the legislation infringes on federally protected rights.” In the end, the court decided the law did violate the rights of individual under the 14th amendment.

A similar fate could be in store for the St. Louis transfer program. For those who believe that the goal of the program is a noble one, wouldn’t it make sense to expand the program so that all students, regardless of race, could choose to attend the schools that fit them best? Doing so would not only avert the danger of violating the 14th amendment, but it would also allow students like Edmund Lee to continue attending the schools they love.

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View the video on Fox 2’s website by clicking here.

If the above is unavailable, try here.

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We have the same objections as we had last year. If shipping cargo out of Lambert makes economic sense, why do taxpayers need to subsidize it? Why not just lower taxes for all businesses? As the Aerotropolis proposal has shed more of its baggage en route to this latest forwarder credit, it is fascinating that the argument for the project has turned from “we need all of it!” to “just a little will do.” We may have simply just reached the “bargaining stage,” or alternatively are seeing the last-ditch attempts of Aerotropolis supporters to get something, anything out of this mess.

If the freight forwarder credit resurrection affirms anything, it is that tax credits need reform. Indeed, there is ample room to clip the tax credit waste and cut taxes, and we have talked about this issue again and again. It makes no sense to be adding programs to a tax credit system that is already bursting at the seams and rife with tax credits of dubious value. Tax credit redemptions are expected to reach nearly $700 million in 2013 — ranking right up there with this year’s gargantuan budget deficit. And yet, state officials continue trying to pick winners and losers.

Missourians can judge for themselves whether Missouri’s economic development status quo has served them well. It seems the legislature is more than happy to serve up more of the same.

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Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes recently appeared on
Channel 2’s Jaco Report in Saint Louis in support of the idea that the
minimum wage is harmful for the Missouri economy. Appearing opposite Stokes and arguing in favor of the minimum wage was Lara Granich, Director of the Missouri Jobs with Justice coalition.

View the video on Fox 2’s website by clicking here.

Related Links

Policy Study: The Economic Effects of Minimum Wages: What Might Missouri Expect from Passage of Proposition B?

Policy Study: The Impact of Missouri’s Proposed $6.50 Minimum Wage on the Labor Market

Commentary: Minimum Wage Hike Is Poorly Targeted at the Poor

Commentary: The Minimum Wage Hurts Those It Is Designed to Help

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• An op-ed printed in the Kansas City Star.
• Commentary on KWMU 90.7 NPR in St. Louis.
• Debate on KWMU in which Dr. Howard Wall discussed his new essay documenting the economic harm of local earnings taxes.
• Our op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• I have appeared on the air with Mark Reardon at KMOX, Darla Jaye at KMBZ, and Jamie Allman at 97.1 FM to discuss the issue.
• Further interviews and comments on the earnings tax will be airing today on KMOX, tonight on Fox 2 news, and Sunday morning on the Jaco Report.

I encourage everyone who votes on Tuesday to cast the most informed ballot you can. If Show-Me Institute research helps you decide either way, we are fulfilling our educational mission.

The post The Earnings Tax Debate: Argle-Bargle or Foofaraw? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Research assistant John Payne will be a guest on the Freeman Bosely Jr. morning show on KATZ 1600 AM, once again talking about the St. Louis–area Metro transit system. His segment is scheduled to start somewhere between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m. If you want to listen but are not in St. Louis (or don’t have a radio), you can listen online at www.gospel1600.com. You can also read John’s op-ed about MetroLink expansion and watch his recent appearance on Fox 2 news.

Also today, policy analyst Dave Roland will be the keynote speaker at the Missouri Libertarian Party Convention in Jefferson City! He’ll be speaking about the importance of capturing the hearts and minds of Missourians in our efforts to spread the ideas of liberty and take practical steps toward increased freedom. The Show-Me Institute doesn’t engage in electoral politics, but we’re always happy to share our ideas with others — so, Democrats, Republicans, Greens, what have you, be sure to let us know when you’d like us to speak at your events, as well. We’d love to talk to you.

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For more information about St. Louis transit, read Payne’s recent op-ed about MetroLink, which also ran on the Riverfront Times blog and in the St. Louis Business Journal. His commentary attracted some attention from a Metro board member, who responded on our blog, followed by a short rejoinder by Payne.

The Show-Me Institute ran a trio of pieces in October 2008 about transit funding in St. Louis, considering the problem from different angles. We’ve also been fortunate enough to publish a few pieces analyzing Kansas City light rail plans, by transit scholar Randal O’Toole and policy analyst David Stokes. Although these latter pieces considered the issue specifically as it relates to the Kansas City area, many of the broad observations about light rail costs and efficiency apply just as well to St. Louis.

The post SMI Research Assistant John Payne on FOX 2 tonight at 10:00 appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

I liked the mention of merit pay and rewarding teacher quality. But the next suggestion — that we create more positions for teachers like "mentors" and "leaders" — doesn’t seem like it could transform the profession as radically as Ed in ’08 hopes. Some schools already have programs that allow teachers to mentor each other, which is nice but hardly innovative policy. This would be a good time to bring up charter schools, tuition tax credits, or another policy that would allow families to choose schools and allow schools to compete, but once again Ed in ’08 lets the opportunity slip.

Ed in ’08 in asking, "How do we improve American education?" and doing a good job of calling attention to this issue. Sadly, the conversation doesn’t go very far because the policy change it throws out for discussion are too cautious. If this were a multiple-choice test, I’d have to answer, "None of the above."

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