Missouri lawmakers have a big challenge in front of them to close a half-billion dollar budget deficit. But that did not stop them from wasting $ 7  million or more on Tuesday’s presidential primary election.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon mentioned the word jobs no fewer than 39 times in his State of the State address. He (and the current occupant of the White House) should take a less-is-more cue from a former U.S. president in thinking and talking about job creation.

MoDOT is considering charging a toll on I-70 in Missouri. This move is a positive change for Missourians, and good economic policy for our state.

Recognizing that the state of Missouri is in a budgetary hole, the Show-Me Institute has prepared a list of five New Year’s resolutions for lawmakers, educators and other public servants.

There is a new obsession in American political life — a rising concern over the issue of “fairness.” But how fair is “fair”?

A high-speed rail line across Missouri would be an enormous waste of tax dollars. Supporters of high-speed rail are using absurd claims of job creation and other misleading statements to argue for the project.

Jennings has led the way in Saint Louis County in making changes to its government that reflect a more regional approach to public services.

A proposed downtown trolley in Kansas City is neither a new idea nor the best use of taxpayer money. The money spent on these types of projects would be better spent on matters of higher priority.

The city of Sedalia stands to benefit from an overhaul of the hotel guest tax in Pettis County only if the savings are passed along to all voters and taxpayers.

The city of Nixa is considering imposing a community improvement district for a new street that will primarily access McCroskey Plaza. City leaders in Nixa should think twice before they embark on this course of action.

Two neighborhoods in Richmond Heights demonstrate how school district rankings and tax rates are capitalized into property values.

Some municipalities in Saint Louis County hope to become “point-of-sale” cities, thereby keeping a higher portion of sales taxes from the county pool. A better option would be to combine all general sales tax collections within the county into a single pool shared by every city. This would end a good deal of destructive beggar-thy-neighbor policy.

If city officials in Saint Louis truly want to seek out ways to eliminate the earnings tax, the biggest danger lies in continuing to pass millions of dollars of tax increment financing (TIF) and other tax abatements each year. It is also imperative to grow the potential property tax base by ending policies that restrict its growth. Such changes would benefit the city substantially.

A new Show-Me Institute essay provides new evidence demonstrating that earnings taxes have a significant negative impact on population and employment growth. For every percentage-point increase in an earnings tax, the population growth rate is reduced by an average 3.04 percentage points, and the employment growth rate drops by 2.32 percentage points.

If Kansas City voters decide to rescind the earnings tax, the city government wouldn’t collapse, but it would face a 10-year phase-out period. During that time, officials could adjust to the new realities through a combination of consolidation, privatization, service cuts, alternative tax increases or user fees, and scaling back tax subsidies.

If Saint Louis voters decide to rescind the earnings tax, the city government wouldn’t collapse, but it would face a 10-year phase-out period. During that time, officials could adjust to the new realities through a combination of consolidation, privatization, service cuts, alternative tax increases or user fees, and scaling back tax subsidies.

According to the Barack Obama administration, the annual federal budget deficit will be $1.645 trillion. This will require borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar spent. Far from kick starting the economy, such heavy reliance on deficit spending has only served to expand an already bloated public sector and to constrict the private sector.

A current legislative proposal seeks to eliminate Missouri’s income tax and replace it with a higher sales tax rate. It may not seem obvious to readers that one form of taxation is clearly better than the other, but economics teaches us a valuable lesson about how income taxes in particular slow down economic growth and prosperity.

Unwary patrons can be blindsided by the extra sales taxes stacked onto their bills in any of Missouri’s transportation development districts (TDDs). State statute requires businesses to “prominently display” the rate of their district’s increased sales tax at the cash register area, but this requirement is vague and often ignored altogether by TDD merchants.

Opponents of pending legislation to eliminate Missouri’s income tax and replace it with a higher sales tax rate have resorted to scare tactics in an effort to sway opinions. Do not be afraid. See through these wild claims and make up your mind based on the evidence that lower income taxes lead to faster economic growth.