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	<title>Reason Archives - Show-Me Institute</title>
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	<description>Where Liberty Comes First</description>
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	<title>Reason Archives - Show-Me Institute</title>
	<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/ttd-topic/reason/</link>
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		<title>Charging Nothing and Liking It</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/charging-nothing-and-liking-it/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2024 00:37:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/charging-nothing-and-liking-it/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We all know that governments—especially the federal government—are wasteful, but it seems to be getting worse, not better. Do you remember when the Department of Defense spent half a billion [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/charging-nothing-and-liking-it/">Charging Nothing and Liking It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We all know that governments—especially the federal government—are wasteful, but it seems to be getting worse, not better. Do you remember when the Department of Defense spent half a billion dollars to create a pro-American army in Syria and <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/4-or-5-in-syria-trained-by-us---500m-spent-527009859993">trained about 5 new soldiers</a> for it? Not 5 percent. Not 55. Just 5.</p>
<p>The federal government has spent billions on internet expansion and hasn’t connected a single new home. California has increased its <a href="https://www.cagw.org/thewastewatcher/california-high-speed-rail-goes-way-track">high-speed rail budget from $33 billion to $135 billion</a> and still hasn’t laid down any track fifteen years after the program began. It’s insanity.</p>
<p>Another huge federal program with local implications that has failed miserably is the program to install thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the nation. $7.5 billion was appropriated toward this goal in 2021 as part of the bloated stimulus package, and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/05/congress-ev-chargers-billions-00129996">by the end of 2023, zero chargers had been installed.</a></p>
<p>2024 has witnessed the installation of a few new chargers. As of this summer, the program is up to eight. All of this for something the private sector could provide. But if you leave it to the private sector, they might not install chargers exactly how the federal government wants them to, and that’s (apparently) the problem. The federal rules are so unnecessarily yet intentionally complex that they are the cause of the delays. As <a href="https://reason.com/2024/05/30/7-5-billion-in-government-cash-only-built-8-e-v-chargers-in-2-5-years/#:~:text=Now%2C%20six%20months%20later%2C%20the,fast%20chargers."><em>Reason</em> magazine writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Why so little progress? Alexander Laska of the center-left Third Way think tank told Autoweek&#8217;s Jim Motavalli that the federal cash &#8220;comes with dozens of rules and requirements around everything from reliability to interoperability, to where stations can be located, to what certifications the workers installing the chargers need to have.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Who cares what <a href="https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/12726">certifications the workers have</a> as long as the chargers work? And who cares where they are located as long as they are located somewhere a car can get to? The federal government cares, of course, because the complexity of the rules is exactly what <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice">gives bureaucrats their power</a> and allows officials to reward supporters.</p>
<p><a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/energy/protections-from-ev-charging-station-mandatesfor-some/">EV charging mandates</a>, subsidies, and regulations, are all unnecessary. Where there is a demand for chargers, the private sector will supply them. This is no more complex than the gas stations that have been filling up cars for over a hundred years. (Did you know that <a href="https://www.saferack.com/the-first-gas-station/early-gas-stations/#:~:text=1905%20%E2%80%93%20The%20first%20dedicated%20gas,at%20420%20South%20Theresa%20Avenue.">the first gas station in America was in St. Louis</a>? I didn’t.)</p>
<p>$7.5 billion for eight EV chargers in three years. So typical.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/charging-nothing-and-liking-it/">Charging Nothing and Liking It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>What Should We Do About Facebook?</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/what-should-we-do-about-facebook/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:49:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Corporate Welfare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://showme.beanstalkweb.com/article/uncategorized/what-should-we-do-about-facebook/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Robby Soave joined The Mark Reardon Show on 97.1 FM Talk (KFTK-St. Louis) to discuss his new book, Tech Panic, cancel culture, his upcoming virtual event with Show-Me Institute, and [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/what-should-we-do-about-facebook/">What Should We Do About Facebook?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://reason.com/people/robby-soave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robby Soave</a> joined <a href="https://www.audacy.com/971talk/podcasts/mark-reardon-show-304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Mark Reardon Show</a> on 97.1 FM Talk (KFTK-St. Louis) to discuss his new book, <em>Tech Panic,</em> cancel culture, his upcoming virtual event with Show-Me Institute, and more.</p>
<p><iframe title="Spotify Embed: Robby Soave: What Should We Do About Facebook?" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/0NxSGnaG4vKr3AxhxnrgvT?si=wjNcdrRmREmBplNJ_bJb7g&amp;utm_source=oembed"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/show-me-institute-podcast/id1141088545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on Apple Podcasts </a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/showme-institute-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on Sticher </a></p>
<p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/show-me-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on SoundCloud</a></p>
<h2>Event Information</h2>
<p>This is a virtual event.</p>
<p>In a time when some people argue that Big Tech has gotten too big, Robby Soave’s message is simple: don’t panic. In his new book, <em>Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn’t Fear Facebook and the Future</em>, Robby argues that whatever challenges the future holds, we will be better prepared to handle them as a country, as a society, and as individuals if the government hasn’t vaporized social media via some giant, metaphorical “Unfriend” button.</p>
<p>Robby is a senior editor at <em>Reason </em>and has also been published in <em>The New York Times, The Daily Beast, </em>and <em>U.S. News &amp; World Report</em>. Named on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2017, he became well known for his correction of a <em>Rolling Stone</em> article on sexual assault at the University of Virginia and his correction of the highly reported incident concerning Catholic high school students at the Lincoln Memorial in 2019.</p>
<p>Please join the Show-Me Institute and Reason for an evening of conversation. The webinar link will be sent to you after you register.</p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #800000;"><a style="color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PDGrlhkURXiSBuHYLMF5ig">Register</a></span></h1>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/what-should-we-do-about-facebook/">What Should We Do About Facebook?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Podcast: America&#8217;s Big Tech Panic with Robby Soave</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/podcast-americas-big-tech-panic-with-robby-soave/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Oct 2021 21:48:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/podcast-americas-big-tech-panic-with-robby-soave/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>In this episode, Susan Pendergrass speaks with Robby Soave, a senior editor at Reason. Join Robby for a virtual event on Thursday, October 21 for a discussion about big tech, [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/podcast-americas-big-tech-panic-with-robby-soave/">Podcast: America&#8217;s Big Tech Panic with Robby Soave</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In this episode, Susan Pendergrass speaks with <a href="https://reason.com/people/robby-soave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robby Soave,</a> a senior editor at Reason.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Join Robby for a virtual event on Thursday, October 21 for a discussion about big tech, cancel culture and more. <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #800000;"><a style="color: #800000;" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PDGrlhkURXiSBuHYLMF5ig" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Details and registration information here</a>.<br />
</span></h4>
<p>Robby&#8217;s latest book is <a href="http://amzn.to/3a8dcNV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn&#8217;t Fear Facebook and the Future </a></p>
<p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/show-me-institute-podcast/id1141088545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on Apple Podcasts </a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/showme-institute-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on Sticher </a></p>
<p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/show-me-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen on SoundCloud</a></p>
<p><iframe title="Spotify Embed: America&amp;apos;s Big Tech Panic with Robby Soave" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/6MbVMqicvlcXrDJSLB3Cq8?si=xqTvgw0eT5uTgEe5aaLccQ&amp;dl_branch=1&amp;utm_source=oembed"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/podcast-americas-big-tech-panic-with-robby-soave/">Podcast: America&#8217;s Big Tech Panic with Robby Soave</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>October 21 Event: Tech Panic &#8211; Why We Shouldn&#8217;t Fear Facebook and the Future with Robby Soave</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/tech-panic-why-we-shouldnt-fear-facebook-and-the-future-st-louis/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2021 19:23:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://showme.beanstalkweb.com/article/uncategorized/tech-panic-why-we-shouldnt-fear-facebook-and-the-future-st-louis/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>This event is now a free and virtual event! In a time when some people argue that Big Tech has gotten too big, Robby Soave&#8217;s message is simple: don&#8217;t panic. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/tech-panic-why-we-shouldnt-fear-facebook-and-the-future-st-louis/">October 21 Event: Tech Panic &#8211; Why We Shouldn&#8217;t Fear Facebook and the Future with Robby Soave</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This event is now a free and virtual event!</p>
<p>In a time when some people argue that Big Tech has gotten too big, Robby Soave&#8217;s message is simple: don&#8217;t panic. In his new book <em>Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn&#8217;t Fear Facebook and the Future</em>, Robby argues that whatever challenges the future holds, we will be better prepared to handle them as a country, as a society, and as individuals if the government hasn&#8217;t vaporized social media via some giant, metaphorical &#8220;Unfriend&#8221; button.</p>
<p>Please join the Show-Me Institute and <em>Reason </em>for an evening of conversation. Register to receive the Zoom link.</p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PDGrlhkURXiSBuHYLMF5ig">Register</a></h1>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/tech-panic-why-we-shouldnt-fear-facebook-and-the-future-st-louis/">October 21 Event: Tech Panic &#8211; Why We Shouldn&#8217;t Fear Facebook and the Future with Robby Soave</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Arizona is Pushing Universal Licensing? Yes Please!</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/arizona-is-pushing-universal-licensing-yes-please/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/arizona-is-pushing-universal-licensing-yes-please/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>If you’re licensed to fix hair, or fix plumbing, or fix ankles in another state, it’s sort of silly that Missouri would start with the presumption that you can’t fix [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/arizona-is-pushing-universal-licensing-yes-please/">Arizona is Pushing Universal Licensing? Yes Please!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you’re licensed to fix hair, or fix plumbing, or fix ankles in another state, it’s sort of silly that Missouri would start with the presumption that you can’t fix those things in our state, too. Missouri has made positive <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/health-care/jaws-defeat-volunteer-health-services-act-veto-overridden">strides</a> on licensing in the <a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/18info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=70477609">past</a>, but there’s plenty more that could, and should, be done.</p>
<p>And that’s why it was exciting to see Arizona take <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2019/02/11/arizona-could-become-the-first-state-to">a big step toward that ultimate policy goal</a> of greater licensure reciprocity, by putting forward <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2019/03/27/why-do-you-need-a-license-to-blow-dry-ha">“universal licensing” legislation</a>. From the Reason write-up:</p>
<p style="">A bill introduced Monday in the Arizona General Assembly would allow anyone with an occupational license from a different state to automatically qualify for the same license in Arizona without having to retake classes and pass tests again—though they would have to pay a fee to the state board that administers the license, and would have to demonstrate that they were in good standing with the licensing authorities in their previous state. So-called &#8220;universal licensing recognition&#8221; would make it easier for licensed workers to move to Arizona and would do away with time-consuming and expensive requirements for license-holders who want to move across state lines&#8230;</p>
<p style="">Arizona already recognizes licenses from beyond its own borders for military families, and the new bill would extend that same privilege to other workers.</p>
<p>Last month the bill <a href="https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/72039">passed out of the Arizona House on a bipartisan vote</a>, and it’s now before the Arizona Senate for further consideration.</p>
<p>The Arizona bill could go further in its reforms than it currently does. First, the bill’s provisions apply to “a person who establishes residence in [Arizona]”; incidental contact by an out-of-state practitioner, as might happen in a telemedicine context, isn’t enough to enjoy the licensing relief of the bill. Second, the bill still allows Arizona regulators to impose some financial and examination burdens on these workers, so time will tell whether the regulatory state in Arizona will be defanged here, or whether in practice these licensing boards will just get more creative in enacting barriers to professional entry.</p>
<p>Arizona’s bill is an incremental reform, but as increments go, it would be a pretty sizable chunk of better policy. It will be interesting to see if the bill becomes law, and if it does, how many states follow suit shortly thereafter. Missouri policymakers should keep a close eye on this legislation. It isn’t perfect, as I’ve noted, but it could be a good starting point for truly universal and reciprocal licensure reform.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/arizona-is-pushing-universal-licensing-yes-please/">Arizona is Pushing Universal Licensing? Yes Please!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Education Department to Revisit Title IX Guidelines for Sexual Assault Investigations</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/education-department-to-revisit-title-ix-guidelines-for-sexual-assault-investigations/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Sep 2017 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/education-department-to-revisit-title-ix-guidelines-for-sexual-assault-investigations/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>On Friday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded a “Dear Colleague” letter that the Obama administration had issued in 2011 detailing how universities should handle accusations of sexual assault. The [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/education-department-to-revisit-title-ix-guidelines-for-sexual-assault-investigations/">Education Department to Revisit Title IX Guidelines for Sexual Assault Investigations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Friday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded a “Dear Colleague” letter that the Obama administration had issued in 2011 detailing how universities should handle accusations of sexual assault. The Department will open a period of public comment on the issue and draft new rules in the coming months.</p>
<p>The Obama administration’s guidelines had come under criticism as more and more individuals accused of sexual assault came forward to argue that their due process rights were being violated.</p>
<p>The “Dear Colleague” letter (and subsequent communications by the Department of Education) offered several bits of problematic guidance. First, the letter directed universities to follow what is called a “single investigator” model when pursuing these claims, meaning that a university employee would, as Emily Yoffe of the <em><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-campus-rape-policy/538974/">Atlantic</a> </em>wrote, act as “detective, prosecutor, judge, and jury” for the case. There is a reason why we separate those responsibilities in our court system.</p>
<p>Standard rules of evidence that we would expect any court of law to follow did not have to be followed. Because of the opaque nature of these investigations, those accused did not have a right to submit evidence on their own behalf or cross-examine witnesses or experts. In fact, those accused of these crimes did not even have to be notified of the specific complaint against them. It was a recipe for disaster.</p>
<p>At the core of all investigations is the balance between the rights of the accused and the rights of the accusers. As both Yoffe and Robby Soave of <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2017/09/07/devos-title-ix-example-cases-rape">Reason.com</a> have documented in heartbreaking detail, current processes have failed both of these groups. Due process helps to ensure that the guilty are punished and that the innocent are not. With an issue as serious as sexual assault, it is that much more important that fair and transparent procedures are followed. Let’s hope that this period of public comment brings them back into balance.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/education-department-to-revisit-title-ix-guidelines-for-sexual-assault-investigations/">Education Department to Revisit Title IX Guidelines for Sexual Assault Investigations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>L&#8217;Affaire Middlebury</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/laffaire-middlebury/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/laffaire-middlebury/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Economist Herbert Stein is famous for the quotation “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” For many years, Stein was a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/laffaire-middlebury/">L&#8217;Affaire Middlebury</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Economist Herbert Stein is famous for the quotation “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”</p>
<p>For many years, Stein was a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where I am an adjunct fellow and Charles Murray is the W.H. Brady Scholar in the social sciences. Last week, Dr. Murray attempted to give a speech at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, and well, you’ve probably heard <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-middlebury/">how that went</a>.</p>
<p>It was the most violent instance in the recent trend of out-of-control protesters on college campuses silencing speakers with whom they disagree. Just days after Dr. Murray’s talk, the philosopher Peter Singer, who I think can fairly be put at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Dr. Murray, had a lecture <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2017/03/09/student-protesters-shouted-down-the-effe">shouted down by students with megaphones</a>.</p>
<p>This cannot continue. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I think the events at Middlebury represent a turning point in the free speech battle on college campuses. My perusal of the media coverage of the event shows near universal condemnation of the students’ actions. From the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/opinion/smothering-speech-at-middlebury.html">New York Times</a> to <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445528/charles-murray-middlebury-college-speech-protests-shouted-down-academic-freedom">National Review</a>, educated people of all political stripes have opposed it. Dr. Murray himself has praised the administration at Middlebury, which is rightfully embarrassed and has committed to fixing the problem.</p>
<p>Time will tell, and the concrete steps Middlebury takes will be important, obviously. But I think the tide is turning. If you follow writers like <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/author/katherine-timpf">Kat Timpf at NRO</a> or <a href="https://reason.com/people/robby-soave/all">Robby Soave at Reason</a>, it seems like not a week will go by without some speaker that deviates even a tiny bit from the orthodoxy on some issue getting shouted down. Liberals are being protested, conservatives are being protested, and seemingly apolitical folks are being protested. It’s like that scene from Oprah’s “favorite things” episode when she gave everyone a car: “AND <em>YOU</em> GET A PROTEST! AND <em>YOU</em> GET A PROTEST!”</p>
<p>Ironically, the upside is that it isn’t just conservatives who are being shouted down anymore. This has the effect of widening the group of people who<em> oppose</em> the protests. It’s easier to be a bystander when you disagree with the person who is being protested. It’s harder when you feel your own tribe is under attack.</p>
<p>Things that cannot continue, won’t. This has to end, and the sooner the better.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/laffaire-middlebury/">L&#8217;Affaire Middlebury</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Come Together, Right Now, on Charter Schools</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/come-together-right-now-on-charter-schools/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[School Choice]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/come-together-right-now-on-charter-schools/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When the editorial boards of the&#160; Washington Post and the Gray Lady, as well as opinion pieces in National Review, Reason Magazine, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch all agree on [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/come-together-right-now-on-charter-schools/">Come Together, Right Now, on Charter Schools</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When the editorial boards of the&nbsp; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-naacp-opposes-charter-schools-maybe-it-should-do-its-homework/2016/10/11/473bbb36-8d75-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?utm_term=.53ce89cf9fc7">Washington Post</a> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/opinion/a-misguided-attack-on-charter-schools.html">Gray Lady</a>, as well as opinion pieces in <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439377/naacp-charter-schools-its-wrong-they-work">National Review</a>, <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/10/the-naacp-is-attacking-charter-schools-a">Reason Magazine</a>, and the <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/a-community-resource-worth-fighting-for/article_7cfe8655-8c10-5ad7-ac82-281a5d285289.html">St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a> all agree on supporting an issue, you know they&rsquo;re probably on to something.</p>
<p>What is that issue, you ask? Is it that puppies are cute? That apple pie is delicious? That Ken Bone is the hero we desperately need?</p>
<p>Nope, its Charter schools. Specifically that charter schools help low income and minority children.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/upshot/a-suburban-urban-divide-in-charter-school-success-rates.html">The research literature is unambiguous</a>. While suburban and rural charter schools are often statistically indistinguishable from their neighboring traditional public schools, urban charter schools consistently demonstrate significant positive results for their students. Yes, there is a distribution, with some performing far better than others. No, they cannot single-handedly solve every social ill of inner-city communities. But on average and in aggregate, they provide a better education for students than those children would have without charter schools in the mix.</p>
<p>This is why <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/st-louis-public-schools-says-it-s-owed-million-from/article_051bef08-264d-590c-acb5-bede59dc6e72.html">lawsuits</a> trying to stop charter schools are bad for poor kids. This is why limiting charter schools to within the boundaries of the Kansas City and St. Louis school districts is short sighted. This is why major advocacy organizations for African-Americans <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/08/07/naacp-members-call-for-ban-on-privately-managed-charter-schools/">taking stances</a> against them is potentially harmful.</p>
<p>In a time of deep division, charter schools are an issue where we can come together. Let&rsquo;s get to it.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/come-together-right-now-on-charter-schools/">Come Together, Right Now, on Charter Schools</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>What Does It Mean to &#8220;Have Health Care&#8221;?</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/what-does-it-mean-to-have-health-care/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2015 01:56:34 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Free-Market Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/what-does-it-mean-to-have-health-care/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>This question has come into sharp focus just five years after the Affordable Care Act&#8217;s (ACA) passage. Does it mean having insurance? Or does it mean having accessible, affordable, and fundamentally [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/what-does-it-mean-to-have-health-care/">What Does It Mean to &#8220;Have Health Care&#8221;?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This question has come into sharp focus just five years after the Affordable Care Act&#8217;s (ACA) passage. Does it mean having insurance? Or does it mean having accessible, affordable, and fundamentally personal care?</p>
<p>These may sound like philosophical questions, but the answers have very real consequences, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/sunday-review/insured-but-not-covered.html?_r=0">this story</a> in the <em>New York Times</em> shows.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Alison Chavez, 36, who is self-employed, signed up for a marketplace plan in October 2013 that she hoped would be an improvement on her previous plan. She had recently been given a diagnosis of breast cancer and was just beginning therapy, so she was careful to choose a policy on the Covered California marketplace that included her physicians.</em></p>
<p><em>But in March, while in the middle of treatment, she was notified that several of her doctors and the hospital were leaving the plan’s network. She was forced to postpone a surgery as she scrambled to buy a new commercial policy that included her doctors. “I’ve been through hell and back, but I came out alive and kicking (just broke),” she wrote in an email.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>
Obamacare tries to treat the symptoms of a sick American health care system—the rising cost of insurance—but it doesn&#8217;t really treat the underlying sickness, the rising cost of care. And that&#8217;s ultimately what we expect when we &#8220;have health care&#8221;: care. It&#8217;s just not necessarily what people receive under the ACA.</p>
<p>In that context, it&#8217;s understandable that many Americans are looking for alternative care models that meet their needs, not the needs of a government bureaucrat. The &#8220;direct care&#8221; model is one of the most promising. The direct care model is simple; for a set fee, patients and doctors can contract for health care services. These care &#8220;subscriptions&#8221; guarantee access to a doctor of the patient&#8217;s choosing, oftentimes because the doctor is limiting the number of total patients he or she will take over that period. Instead of paying for insurance and getting poor care or no care at all, patients pay for care and receive . . . care. Imagine that.</p>
<p>An article published in <em>Time Magazine</em> late last year sums up <a href="http://time.com/3643841/medicine-gets-personal/">what makes direct care arrangements attractive.</a></p>
<blockquote><p><em>The driving insight here is that primary care and specialized care have two very different missions. Americans need more of the first so they’ll need less of the second. And each requires a different business model. Primary care should be paid for directly, because that’s the easiest and most efficient way to purchase a service that everyone should be buying and using. By contrast, specialty care and hospitalizations—which would be covered by traditional insurance–are expenses we all prefer to avoid. <strong>Car insurance doesn’t cover oil changes, and homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover house paint. So why should insurance pay for your annual checkup or your kid’s strep swab?</strong> [Emphasis mine]</em></p></blockquote>
<p>
You can think of it as &#8220;a la carte care&#8221; or &#8220;<a href="http://fox4kc.com/2014/12/23/is-this-wealth-care-or-the-next-big-thing-in-medicine-and-will-you-suffer/">concierge care</a>,&#8221; or something else, but it is indisputably care—care that the patient has chosen and can actually access. The potential for direct care extends even to more specialized care, too. At the Surgery Center of Oklahoma (SCO), <a href="http://www.surgerycenterok.com/pricing/">the surgeons post the prices of their services online</a>, with prices oftentimes a fraction of what other hospitals and insurance companies charge patients. This 2012 video from Reason TV explains the lower-cost, and arguably more personal, SCO model.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0uPdkhMVdMQ?rel=0" width="608" height="342" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>It is no wonder several proposals now floating around the Missouri Legislature aim not only to protect direct care arrangements, but also to facilitate them. One proposal would insulate direct care arrangements from undue bureaucratic interference; another would initiate a pilot program to make direct care available to the poor. Both are well worth the consideration of Missouri legislators, especially before the legislature&#8217;s session comes to a close next month.</p>
<p>Direct care has the potential to help patients like Alison find and keep the doctors they want—and not have that relationship jeopardized by some middleman insurance relationship. Amidst all the problems of America&#8217;s post-Obamacare medical system, direct care represents a bright shining possibility for a better model for our health care: one that puts the patient first, not the government.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/what-does-it-mean-to-have-health-care/">What Does It Mean to &#8220;Have Health Care&#8221;?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>New Video on Public Financing for NFL Stadiums</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/new-video-on-public-financing-for-nfl-stadiums/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2015 23:07:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/new-video-on-public-financing-for-nfl-stadiums/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Recently, Reason released a video on public financing for stadiums. In it, they show how sports stadiums are bad public investments from an economic standpoint, which we have reported here [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/new-video-on-public-financing-for-nfl-stadiums/">New Video on Public Financing for NFL Stadiums</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Recently, Reason released a video on public financing for stadiums. In it, they show how sports stadiums are bad public investments from an economic standpoint, which we have reported here <a href="/2015/03/domes-development-downtown-saint-louis.html">many</a> <a href="/2015/03/saint-louis-riverfront-stadium-maintenance-dimension.html">times</a>. Check out the video and see the answer to the question: “Even though study after study has shown little to no economic benefit, why do cities continue to be so stupid when comes do building stadiums?”</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1LDjTgMEGU?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/new-video-on-public-financing-for-nfl-stadiums/">New Video on Public Financing for NFL Stadiums</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>What Is the Right Level of Regulation in Public Education?</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/accountability/what-is-the-right-level-of-regulation-in-public-education/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Accountability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/what-is-the-right-level-of-regulation-in-public-education/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Back in September the Show-Me Institute released my paper, “Decentralization Through Centralization,” in which I examined the development of the nation’s first all-charter school district in New Orleans. Though a [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/accountability/what-is-the-right-level-of-regulation-in-public-education/">What Is the Right Level of Regulation in Public Education?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Back in September the Show-Me Institute released my paper, <a href="http://www.showmeinstitute.org/publications/case-study/education/1216-decentralization-through-centralization-the-story-of-the-recovery-school-district.html">“Decentralization Through Centralization,”</a> in which I examined the development of the nation’s first all-charter school district in New Orleans. Though a mouthful, the title was my way of highlighting the tension that exists in the decentralized New Orleans system, which has been created with greater centralized control. In the paper, my co-authors and I highlight several potential pitfalls that might occur because of the power vested in a centralized entity. This week, <em>Reason</em> released a video highlighting another potential pitfall of the New Orleans Recovery School District model—regulatory creep.</p>
<p>As Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, notes in the video:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>People like autonomy in the abstract, but they get real nervous about it. If any one of a hundred or a thousand schools does something goofy, there’s always a natural temptation to say, &#8220;Well, we’re for autonomy, but let’s have a rule that doesn’t let you do X.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>
Over time, Hess suggests that these regulations mount. If not checked, the decentralized charter market could become a bureaucratic morass. So what is the right level of regulation? And is it possible for a decentralized school system to resist what Neerav Kingsland, former CEO of New Schools for New Orleans, calls “death by a thousand regulatory cuts”?</p>
<p>If you have seven minutes, you should check out the video.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/accountability/what-is-the-right-level-of-regulation-in-public-education/">What Is the Right Level of Regulation in Public Education?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Ridesharing an Option Regulators Want to Keep from Residents</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/ridesharing-an-option-regulators-want-to-keep-from-residents/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2014 19:15:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Municipal Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/ridesharing-an-option-regulators-want-to-keep-from-residents/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Recently, Ray Mundy, a professor at UMSL (also the head of a consultant group that works for the nation’s top taxi companies and part of the staff of Airport Ground [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/ridesharing-an-option-regulators-want-to-keep-from-residents/">Ridesharing an Option Regulators Want to Keep from Residents</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Recently, Ray Mundy, a professor at UMSL (also the <a href="http://www.ttlfconsulting.com/DRMundy.html">head of a consultant group</a> that works for the nation’s top taxi companies and part of the staff of Airport Ground Transportation Association, an <a href="http://agtaweb.org/about">airport taxi lobbyist group</a>), <a href="http://www.ktrs.com/ray-mundy-breaks-down-uber-with-martin/">was interviewed on a local radio station</a>. While Mundy failed to state his conflict of interest, he lost no time accusing ridesharing companies like Lyft and Uber of having improper background checks, using inadequate insurance, price gouging, and destroying the cab industry that the needy rely on. But in reality, his statements are misleading, and his recommendation to ban these services will only serve to hurt Missouri residents. I will take his issues point by point:</p>
<ol></p>
<li>Lyft and Uber have insurance gaps.</li>
<p>
</ol>
<p>
This statement may have had validity a few months ago, <a href="http://ridesharedashboard.com/2014/05/15/uber-and-lyft-new-insurance-policies-covers-drivers/">but this is no longer the case</a>. In July, both Uber and Lyft changed their insurance policies so that cars operate under liability insurance whenever the ridesharing apps are activated. Commercial insurance becomes primary (not secondary as Mundy stated in the interview) when a passenger has been accepted. Both Lyft and Uber detail their policies, and no driver or customer needs to use these systems if they find them inadequate. But regulators and those of Mundy’s persuasion would rather legislate <a href="http://reason.org/blog/show/burdensome-regulations-on-rideshari">additional insurance</a> (<a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/422978?uid=3739744&amp;uid=2&amp;uid=4&amp;uid=3739256&amp;sid=21104924897387">shown <em>not </em>to improve safety</a>) or ban ridesharing.</p>
<ol start="2"></p>
<li>Every time the taxi industry has been deregulated, it’s been reregulated.</li>
<p>
</ol>
<p>
This statement is empirically false, <a href="http://www.emmanuelcombe.org/moor.pdf">as a Reason study demonstrates</a>.</p>
<ol start="3"></p>
<li>Ridesharing companies do not perform adequate background checks.</li>
<p>
</ol>
<p>
Mundy claims Uber and Lyft drivers might be dangerous because they do not use the same type of background check as most cab companies. Peruse Uber’s <a href="http://blog.uber.com/driverscreening">qualifications for yourself</a>:</p>
<p><a href="/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/10/UBER-BACKGROUND-CHECKS-Uber-Blog.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-55219" src="/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/10/UBER-BACKGROUND-CHECKS-Uber-Blog.png" alt="UBER BACKGROUND CHECKS   Uber Blog" width="580" height="561" /></a></p>
<p>According the Mundy, these tests do not go back as far as taxi checks and do not include arrests where there are no convictions. That seems like a contrived standard, and once again, customers can decide whether they feel Uber or Lyft drivers are safe. But Mundy and other regulators would rather residents did not have such options.</p>
<ol start="4"></p>
<li>Uber and Lyft use price gouging.</li>
<p>
</ol>
<p>
Mundy, and other defenders of taxi regulations, do not like Uber and Lyft using variable pricing, such as charging more money at different times of night or when demand is higher. In reality, allowing for higher fares means drivers have a larger incentive to take fares at 2 a.m. or on New Year’s Eve. It allows the <a href="http://www.econlife.com/the-market-system-and-uber-taxi-fares/">price mechanism to match supply with demand</a>. But Mundy and other regulators would rather Saint Louisans wait <a href="http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/5-on-your-side/2014/01/02/new-years-eve-cab-shortage/4294571/">hours for cabs that don’t come</a> rather than have the choice to pay a higher fare.</p>
<ol start="5"></p>
<li>Uber hurts the poor, because cab companies cannot cross-subsidize service.</li>
<p>
</ol>
<p>
It is well known that, despite stringent regulations, taxis around the country <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/why-you-cant-get-a-taxi/308942/">refuse fares and avoid depressed neighborhoods</a>. The best protection against fare refusal and more service is a large, diverse supply of for-hire vehicles, which ridesharing can help provide. And what’s more, cities like Saint Louis spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year <a href="http://www.metrostlouis.org/">on extensive public transit and para-transit services</a> to serve the poor and the disabled. The for-hire vehicle market should not be regulated in order to duplicate those efforts.</p>
<p>If there is a common theme to Mundy’s and regulators&#8217; arguments, it is that city officials, and not city residents, should decide whether ridesharing companies are safe enough, charge the right amount, and provide the right kind of service. But in reality, the corrective action of riders and drivers making their own decisions regarding Uber and Lyft are a far better test of all those criteria, and even Mundy admits the popularity of ridesharing where it has not been quashed by city government. The reality is that most Saint Louisans <a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/transit_passenger_characteristics_text_5_29_2007.pdf">don’t see cabs</a> <a href="http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_B08006&amp;prodType=table">as an option</a>, because the service does not meet their needs. That’s a shame, because that hurts residents and hurts the city. But Mundy and the taxicab commission would rather keep it the way it is than let residents make their own choices.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/ridesharing-an-option-regulators-want-to-keep-from-residents/">Ridesharing an Option Regulators Want to Keep from Residents</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Increasing the Health Care Supply to Meet Health Care Demand</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/increasing-the-health-care-supply-to-meet-health-care-demand/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 20:44:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Free-Market Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/increasing-the-health-care-supply-to-meet-health-care-demand/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Robert Graboyes is a senior research fellow for the Mercatus Center. Later this month Dr. Graboyes will release a report about health care innovation, which I intend to talk about at some [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/increasing-the-health-care-supply-to-meet-health-care-demand/">Increasing the Health Care Supply to Meet Health Care Demand</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Robert Graboyes is a senior research fellow for the Mercatus Center. Later this month Dr. Graboyes will release a report about health care innovation, which I intend to talk about at some length on this blog. In the meantime, I want to re-up the <em>Reason</em> video from earlier this year. The video features Dr. Graboyes talking about a wide array of reforms that would get care to the neediest among us. If you&#8217;ve read our work before, you&#8217;ve probably heard of many of the recommendations he talks about, <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/document-repository/doc_view/466-move-missouris-medicaid-program-forward-not-backward.html">including regulatory, Medicaid, certificate of need, and scope of practice reforms</a>. I highly recommend the video, particularly the section about prosthetics and 3-D printing, which captures well how quickly the market for health care could change in the coming years.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/free-market-reform/increasing-the-health-care-supply-to-meet-health-care-demand/">Increasing the Health Care Supply to Meet Health Care Demand</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Show-Me Now! Vo-Tech: Another Educational Choice</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/show-me-now-vo-tech-another-educational-choice/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2014 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[School Choice]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/show-me-now-vo-tech-another-educational-choice/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Show-Me Institute Intern Emily Watson talks about the importance of vo-tech education and congratulates Missouri&#8217;s General Assembly for legislation that allows Missouri high school students to apply vo-tech classes toward [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/show-me-now-vo-tech-another-educational-choice/">Show-Me Now! Vo-Tech: Another Educational Choice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Show-Me Institute Intern Emily Watson talks about the importance of vo-tech education and congratulates Missouri&#8217;s General Assembly for legislation that allows Missouri high school students to apply vo-tech classes toward their school requirements.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/12/13/dirty-jobs-mike-rowe-on-the-high-cost-of">Mike Rowe talks to ReasonTV about the high cost of college</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/show-me-now-vo-tech-another-educational-choice/">Show-Me Now! Vo-Tech: Another Educational Choice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Streetcars (Still) Do Not Reduce Miles Driven In Cars</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/streetcars-still-do-not-reduce-miles-driven-in-cars/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2014 21:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/streetcars-still-do-not-reduce-miles-driven-in-cars/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>NextRailKC.com is the website promoting the streetcar/lightrail extension in Kansas City. The site is supposed to present information, but more often than not, it offers data so cherry-picked that it can [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/streetcars-still-do-not-reduce-miles-driven-in-cars/">Streetcars (Still) Do Not Reduce Miles Driven In Cars</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://nextrailkc.com/faq/">NextRailKC.com</a> is the website promoting the streetcar/lightrail extension in Kansas City. The site is supposed to present information, but more often than not, it offers data so cherry-picked that it can only be considered intentionally misleading. This is a shame, because people are eager to understand the very complicated issues at hand.</p>
<p>Here we will address the site&#8217;s claim regarding Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). Previously, we have explained that <a href="/2013/02/light-rail-does-not-replace-cars.html">rail transit does not remove cars from the road</a>. But NextRailKC persists in making claims that, well, confuse people who honestly seek information.</p>
<div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/NextrailVMT1.jpeg" alt="NextrailVMT" width="602" height="258" /></div>
<p></p>
<div>The almost indecipherable graphic, which was produced for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and reposted on the NextRailKC site, seems to suggest that rail transit results in fewer vehicle miles traveled per person. But this is wrong on several points.</p>
<p>First, just as with <a href="/2014/02/an-open-letter-to-streetcar-supporters.html">economic development claims</a>, <strong>there is absolutely no peer-reviewed data to support the claim that rail reduces VMT. None.</strong> As written in <em><a href="http://reason.org/news/printer/charlotte-transit-agency-uses-infog">Reason Magazine</a>, </em>&#8220;VMT is influenced by a host of factors. Density is the most important but land-use, development patterns and politics also matter. The prevalence of transit is maybe the 25th most important factor.&#8221;</p>
<p>Second, the cities they chose skew the results to the point that they are meaningless.</p></div>
<p></p>
<blockquote><p></p>
<div>New York has lower VMT because it is extremely congested, located on water and built before World War II when cars were less prevalent on a pre-planned street grid. Even without its fantastic transit network it would still have a much lower VMT.</div>
<p>
Dallas has a lower VMT because congestion is much more severe. Worsening congestion to lessen VMT is a perverse policy goal. Further, Dallas is the poster child for how not to build rail. Despite populations increases and the addition of a light-rail network, fewer people take transit in Dallas in 2013 then before the light-rail network was built. When a region spends billions to build transit and the total number of people commuting by transit declines, you have made some major mistakes.</p></blockquote>
<p>
Kansas City&#8217;s population and density are not like the population and density in New York or Dallas. Additionally, Kansas City&#8217;s needs are different. We cannot look to New York or Dallas for any meaningful prediction of the impact of rail in Kansas City. The comparisons are absolutely meaningless, to the point of being misleading.</p>
<p>Perhaps most indicative of the city&#8217;s lack of desire to engage seriously with taxpayers is that officials NextRailKC can&#8217;t even be bothered to develop their own misleading infographics — instead, they chose to borrow Charlotte&#8217;s.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/transportation/streetcars-still-do-not-reduce-miles-driven-in-cars/">Streetcars (Still) Do Not Reduce Miles Driven In Cars</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Moving Companies, Start Your Engines!</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/moving-companies-start-your-engines/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 23:50:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/moving-companies-start-your-engines/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Missouri gets a high five from me today. (Or maybe a pound. That seems to be the cool thing these days.) Over the weekend, I read in Reason magazine about [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/moving-companies-start-your-engines/">Moving Companies, Start Your Engines!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Missouri gets a high five from me today. (Or maybe <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXc6x5JlJuw">a pound</a>. That seems to be the cool thing these days.) Over the weekend, I read in <a href="http://reason.com/issues/october-2012"><em>Reason</em></a> magazine about the repeal of an oppressive licensing law for home moving companies in Missouri.</p>
<p>Before the law was repealed, any potential new moving company had to submit an application to the state government to start the company. Existing moving companies then had the opportunity to say, “No thanks, we don’t want any more competition. You can’t start your business here. Sorry I am not sorry!”</p>
<p>Essentially, existing home moving companies were protected against fair competition from outsiders. By restricting competition, companies had more control to set prices for their services. They unfairly cast off competition that would allow Missourians to have more choices. And, entrepreneurs were excluded from making a living in their preferred occupation.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this piece of legislation did not pass the first time around. Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes <a href="/2011/05/great-article-about-the-harms-of-occupational-licensing-in-the-economist.html">wrote in 2011</a> about Missouri reducing home mover licensing requirements. However, the governor vetoed that particular bill in 2011.</p>
<p>This time around, it looks like there is real change for the home mover business. Markets and customers can now make the decision of who will provide services. The government may think it is doing a good service by imposing certain restrictions, but <a href="/2009/09/atrocious-article-about.html">occupational licensing</a> often results in <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/publications/case-study/red-tape/90-occupational-licensing-of-massage-therapists-in-missouri-and-kansas.html">harmful effects</a> to citizens and the <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/publications/commentary/red-tape/189-scrapping-licensing-codes-would-benefit-kansas-city.html">economy</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/regulation/moving-companies-start-your-engines/">Moving Companies, Start Your Engines!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>The Case for School Choice</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/the-case-for-school-choice/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[School Choice]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/the-case-for-school-choice/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>In a conversation with Reason.TV, Professor Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas makes the short case for school choice including charter schools, magnet schools, vouchers, and education tax credits [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/the-case-for-school-choice/">The Case for School Choice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In a conversation with <em>Reason.TV</em>, Professor Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas makes the short case for school choice including charter schools, magnet schools, vouchers, and education tax credits and explains why he is optimistic about the future of school choice in America:</p>
<p>This seems like as good a reason as any to remind everyone about the Show-Me Institute&#8217;s School Choice Week event tomorrow. <a href="http://www.showmeinstitute.org/events/476-the-cartel.html">The Show-Me Institute is sponsoring a showing of <em>The Cartel</em></a> at the Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) in Saint Louis on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 6:30 p.m. (registration starts at 6:00).</p>
<p>The documentary (you can <a href="http://www.thecartelmovie.com/">watch the trailer at the film’s website</a>) examines the failures of New Jersey’s public school system, which spends more per student than that of any other state but is still home to a frighteningly large number of failing schools. Director Bob Bowdon traces how money is frequently diverted from classrooms, and flows instead to administrators, union coffers, and political patronage positions. Although Bowdon focuses on New Jersey, the problems he uncovers are often the same as those we find here in Missouri and across America.</p>
<p>The special screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring two Missouri state representatives at the forefront of the education issue in our state: Rep. Scott Dieckhaus (R), the chairman of the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and Rep. Tishaura Jones (D), assistant minority floor leader and also a member of the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education. They will share their views on the issues that come before this important committee, and on which of those may find their way into legislation during the 2011 session.</p>
<p>The event is free, but if you would like to come, <a href="mailto:william.kay@showmeinstitute.org" target="_blank">please RSVP to our public relations representative, William Kay</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/school-choice/the-case-for-school-choice/">The Case for School Choice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Helping the Poor by Denying Them Access to Money</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/helping-the-poor-by-denying-them-access-to-money/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:50:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Municipal Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/helping-the-poor-by-denying-them-access-to-money/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>In yet another case of good intentions gone bad, the bill Congress passed last year to reform the credit card industry is driving up the price of credit and eliminating [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/helping-the-poor-by-denying-them-access-to-money/">Helping the Poor by Denying Them Access to Money</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In yet another case of good intentions gone bad, the bill Congress passed last year to reform the credit card industry is driving up the price of credit and eliminating many consumers from the credit card market altogether. Like millions of other Americans, I was just hit by a nearly $40 annual fee for a credit card I rarely use and have never missed a payment on, which is most likely <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895004575395823497473064.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read">attributable to the bill</a>. At <em>Reason</em>, Katherine Mangu-Ward <a href="http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/01/congress-forces-millions-to-cu">details some of the other damage</a> the bill has inflicted so far:</p>
<blockquote><p>Eight million Americans cut up their credit cards this year, according to <a href="http://www.easyir.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=DC2167C025A9EA04&amp;version=live&amp;prid=690593&amp;releasejsp=custom_144">new data out from credit bureau TransUnion</a>. Some of those plastic deserters were folks who faced scary economic conditions and decided to voluntarily cut back on debt spending. But for others, it wasn’t a matter of choice.</p>
<p>Millions of customers found themselves unceremoniously ejected from the ranks of the card-worthy thanks to last year’s Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, or Credit CARD Act. The new rules were <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Fact-Sheet-Reforms-to-Protect-American-Credit-Card-Holders/">supposed</a> to “protect American credit card holders” by stopping “unfair rate increases.” Instead, credit card companies prepared for their new straitened circumstances by booting customers who would no longer be profitable (read: poor people and other risky borrowers), and hiking interest rates for others. American Express even <a href="http://www.bromoney.com/money-news/free-300-bonus-closing-american-express-credit-card">offered</a> $300 bonuses to customers willing to pay off their cards and close their accounts—a deal designed to entice the kind of cash-strapped customers AmEx was soon to find less lucrative.</p>
<p>But as the new rules make it less appealing for credit card companies to offer their services to certain segments of the population, most of those people don’t revert to a cash-only state of nature. The appetite for credit doesn’t vanish when credit cards are harder to get. Instead, customers turn to options like installment plans, layaway, and payday lending for quick credit—and the fees they pay for those options are as high or higher than the credit card costs Congress and the White House found so objectionable. And in an economy that runs on plastic, debit cards replace credit cards for everyday purchases.</p></blockquote>
<p>
Congress has destroyed credit card access for many low income individuals, but many states have already eliminated second- and third-best options like payday loans, and there is pressure for Missouri or its localities to follow suit. For instance, in <a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20101201/OPINIONS05/12010359/Ray-Springfield-should-lead-state-in-saying-no-to-payday-loans">this editorial from the <em>Springfield News-Leader</em></a>, Pastor Roger Ray argues that Springfield should ban payday loans because &#8220;on a per capita basis, no state takes such reprehensible advantage of the desperate poor, fueling drug and alcohol addiction and gambling addiction with easy-to-get but hard-to-pay-back loans.&#8221; The rest of the editorial is packed with evidence-free assertions, overblown rhetoric, and enough fallacies that it would take a book to refute them all, so I will confine myself to the consequences that would follow from such a ban.</p>
<p>As I showed in <a href="http://www.showmeinstitute.org/publication/id.272/pub_detail.asp">my op-ed about this subject</a> earlier this year, restricting payday loans leads to more bounced checks, complaints to the Federal Trade Commission about lenders and debt collectors, utility shutdowns, and higher rates of bankruptcy. Payday loans are far from the best form of credit, but, in some cases, they are the best available to people. If Pastor Ray wants to eliminate payday loans in his community, I would encourage him and his congregation to start a fund to lend to low-income individuals at lower interest rates (or for free). If enough people share his sentiment, the payday loan industry can be eliminated without the force of law because very few people will opt for a more expensive loan over a cheaper one.</p>
<p>However, if the city government eliminates the loans by law, debtors will be forced to turn to even worse alternatives. I&#8217;m relatively certain Ray believes that a ban on payday loans would improve the lot of the poor, but that is an empirical question that most studies of the issue have answered with a resounding &#8220;no.&#8221; So, in the famous words of Oliver Cromwell, &#8220;I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.&#8221;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/helping-the-poor-by-denying-them-access-to-money/">Helping the Poor by Denying Them Access to Money</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Private Property and the First Thanksgiving</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/property-rights/private-property-and-the-first-thanksgiving/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 20:50:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Property Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/private-property-and-the-first-thanksgiving/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The popular New England origin story of Thanksgiving (there are other claims to the first American Thanksgiving) might not have been possible if the Pilgrims had continued to pursue their [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/property-rights/private-property-and-the-first-thanksgiving/">Private Property and the First Thanksgiving</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The popular New England origin story of Thanksgiving (there are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving#In_the_United_States">other claims</a> to the first American Thanksgiving) might not have been possible if the Pilgrims had continued to pursue their original, nearly communist, economic policies. Gov. William Bradford&#8217;s decision to allow the citizens of Plymouth to keep the fruits of their labor essentially saved the entire colony, as is explained (along with mocking Bradford&#8217;s English) in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66QdQErc8JQ">this short video from Reason TV</a>:</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/property-rights/private-property-and-the-first-thanksgiving/">Private Property and the First Thanksgiving</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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		<title>Yikes! Blight!</title>
		<link>https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/yikes-blight/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:20:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Municipal Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Property Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State and Local Government]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://showmeinstitute.local/yikes-blight/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We already know that city government can take your home through eminent domain, even if your property will ultimately be given to a developer for an overblown project that may [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/yikes-blight/">Yikes! Blight!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We already know that city government can take your home through eminent domain, <a href="http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=920&amp;Itemid=165" target="_blank">even if your property will ultimately be given to a developer for an overblown project that may never come to fruition</a>. But I was shocked to learn that the city of Montgomery, Ala., was bulldozing residents&#8217; homes for mere ordinance violations. To add insult to injury, the city then charged residents for the cost of bulldozing. Or perhaps that&#8217;s an additional injury.</p>
<p>Radley Balko, of <em>Reason</em> magazine, <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2267743/pagenum/all/" target="_blank">recently wrote about the reprehensible actions of Montgomery officials in <em>Slate</em></a>. From the article:</p>
<blockquote><p>Over the last decade or so, dozens—perhaps hundreds—of homes in Montgomery have been declared blighted and razed in a similar manner. The owners tend to be disproportionately poor and black, and with little means to fight back. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>Alabama state law <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/aug/04/20050804-120711-4571r/" target="_blank">actually</a> <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/aug/04/20050804-120711-4571r/" target="_blank">forbids</a> the use of eminent domain for private development. Instead, Montgomery deems property blighted based on a section of state law that gives code inspectors wide leeway. The owner must then correct the problem to the satisfaction of the inspectors, or the city will [&#8230;] [r]aze the property, bill the owner for the demolition, and then sell the property off to developers if the owner doesn&#8217;t pay. If you can&#8217;t afford repairs, you may well lose your home.</p></blockquote>
<p>
Terrifying. Not only will the city bulldoze your home for <em>ordinance violations</em>, but you will then have to pay for the destruction, and try to figure out what to do with your newly vacant land. As Balko points out in the article, this is actually worse than eminent domain. If the city takes your property through eminent domain, it at least has to pay for it.</p>
<p>The city of Montgomery has the power to do this by first issuing an ordinance violation citation, and then blighting the property, which enables the city to begin the condemnation process. That blight designation is key. Unfortunately, vague statutory language can enable overzealous city officials to blight property otherwise in good condition.</p>
<p>I used to think of &#8220;blight&#8221; as a word reserved for the very worst properties — those that are falling down, or, in the case of the city of Saint Louis, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/us/20brick.html?_r=1" target="_blank">buildings that have been hollowed out by brick thieves</a>. However, the city of Saint Louis recently demonstrated that a property can be blighted for any number of reasons. My favorite example, from the massive blighting done to enable the award of $400 million in tax increment financing for a large development project,  is that of <a href="http://www.newrootsurbanfarm.org/" target="_blank">New Roots</a>, an urban farm in north Saint Louis that was <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;vps=1&amp;jsv=178b&amp;oe=UTF8&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=115041168882354916169.000475499ca32f3c1550f" target="_blank">deemed blighted because of &#8220;excessive vegetation.&#8221;</a> Also on the egregious blighting list is the ABC news station on 13th Street, which was blighted because the building is more than 30 years old, though the property is appraised at nearly $700,000.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C000-099/0990000320.HTM" target="_blank">Missouri state statute defines a blighted area</a> as an area which may have:</p>
<blockquote><p>[&#8230;] predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, insanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site improvements, improper subdivision or obsolete platting, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, retards the provision of housing accommodations or constitutes an economic or social liability or a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use;</p></blockquote>
<p>
Some of the above definitions of blight are fairly concrete, but others are excessively vague. For example, what exactly &#8220;constitutes an economic or social liability&#8221;? What is a &#8220;menace&#8221; to &#8220;morals&#8221;? The vagueness in the referenced statute allows for the blighting of property such as the ABC news station for something pervasive in an old city — older buildings.</p>
<p>Bottom line: The city of Montgomery is a perfect illustration of the fact that a blight designation is not harmless. It can be a step in the direction of taking, or even bulldozing, a person&#8217;s home.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org/article/municipal-policy/yikes-blight/">Yikes! Blight!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://showmeinstitute.org">Show-Me Institute</a>.</p>
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