The largest landholder in Saint Louis may do more to thwart development than to encourage it. The Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) is tasked with putting abandoned, tax-delinquent properties back into productive use, but rejects many purchase offers. The LRA should stop trying to pick winners and losers in the market for vacant land.

The economic evidence clearly reveals that minimum wage laws decrease employment among unskilled workers and prevent them from acquiring the skills they need to climb the socioeconomic ladder. Wages do not rise because of government mandates, they rise as workers acquire more skills and create more goods and services at lower costs.

Missouri Sen. Jolie Justus is taking aim at the initiative process, which allows citizens to band together to put laws and constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot. The initiative petition process is an important check on political power, and restricting it further will serve only to erode Missourians’ ability to limit legislative excess.

In spite of research showing that occupational licensing makes services more expensive without improving their quality, Missouri’s licensing boards have dedicated hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to prevent talented, diligent workers from offering their services to other citizens, by establishing new legal barriers to entering a profession.

Measures to impose severe licensing restrictions on HVAC work in Saint Louis–area homes would limit competition and drive up prices, benefiting current HVAC workers at the expense of future competitors and the public. The new regulations would do nothing to improve safety. Rather, they are a transparent attempt at what economists call “rent seeking.”

Payday loans are far from a perfect source of credit, and the desire to protect people from the high interest rates that typically accompany such loans is well-intentioned. However, studies show that banning or imposing caps on high interest rates leads former payday loan borrowers to rely on even more damaging options, like utility shutdowns and overdrafts.

SWAT raids have received deserved attention in the news lately, but similar raids take place many times every day, often with tragic results and little public scrutiny. Missouri should require police to keep public video recordings of SWAT raids, and limit the use of SWAT teams to situations where they are more likely to defuse danger than create it.

Although Kansas City officials deserve credit for wanting to update and revamp the city’s business and occupational licensing system, the city would be better served by rescinding as many license requirements as possible. This would consistently encourage business development and economic growth, rather than artificially constricting it.

A current proposal to increase the Federal Reserve’s level of regulatory oversight would have negative consequences. The Fed’s own track record during events leading up to the recent economic crisis indicate that it is a poor watchdog, failing to provide information when it would have helped, and later fostering uncertainty through market intervention.

Metro transit cuts have left many disabled individuals in the Saint Louis area without affordable transportation options. Stretcher vans could provide an alternative, but a few unnecessary government-mandated licensure provisions, such as EMT or paramedic training requirements, increase the cost of service without providing an essential benefit.

It’s currently illegal for public utilities to fund expansions through charges to current customers, but AmerenUE insists this type of funding structure is necessary in order to build another nuclear power reactor. Attitudes toward nuclear energy have changed over the years, and anti-CWIP laws should be repealed as relics of another era.

Payday loans carry extremely high interest rates, leading some Saint Louis officials to seek a regulatory fix limiting new stores. However, the suggested limits would not change the underlying need for emergency funds faced by many without access to traditional forms of credit. Limiting competition would leave them more vulnerable.

Out of all 50 states, Missouri requires licenses for the least number of occupations. This benefits Missouri residents in many ways, but the number of licenses is still too high; many studies document the harm that occupational licensing can do. People should not have to seek the permission of the government before they choose an occupation.

The “Missouri Clean Energy Initiative” requires utilities to produce higher percentages of power through renewable sources. The mandate has obvious visible benefits, but the costs aren’t as easy to see. The initiative gives utilities the incentive to circumvent the spirit of the law while providing an eco-friendly public relations shield.

Saint Joseph is considering licensing contractors who work within the city. However, occupational licensing adds costs and decreases competition without improving quality or safety. The free market is best served by competition, not by restricting how somebody can make a living.

Although Missouri’s Textbook Transparency Act is intended to lower the costs of higher education, the actual provisions of this bill will not achieve that purpose. Informational mandates and regulation of the ways that textbooks can be sold would decrease marginal producer profits, in many cases passing those costs on to students.

Counties in Missouri have for decades had the power to levy annual license fees on any public establishment that hosts a pool table. A holdover from earlier times when pool halls were seen as social ills, the tax remains in many areas today. This amounts to an endorsement of some types of recreational activities, and a punishment of others.

Franklin County residents are considering adopting a charter form of government, which would give them the flexibility of increased local control. Charters in other Missouri counties have led to economic growth, population increases, and government stability. Would a charter be a positive change for the people of Franklin County?

Natural disasters and terrible weather inevitably lead to warnings about price gouging. But high prices during emergencies are simply a measurement of supply and demand. If prices aren’t allowed to rise, people who don’t really need scarce goods tend to buy more than they should, and businesses tend to produce less than they should, leading to shortages.

Those calling to reform the payday loan industry are misguided in their attempt to help consumers. Interest rates for such loans are exorbitantly high, it’s true, but that’s because the borrowers tend to be high credit risks. Capping those rates would likely drive some desperate consumers to even more odious sources of credit. Programs to increase financial literacy would be a much more effective solution.