Last month, Show-Me Institute Policy Researcher Michael Rathbone visited Westminster Christian Academy in Saint Louis County to deliver a guest lecture to eighth grade U.S. history students. The subject of the lecture was the Great Depression, and the information contained within was frequently contrary to the conventional wisdom that "big business" or "greed" caused or prolonged the Great Depression, instead showing how government intervention encouraged, worsened, and prolonged what might otherwise have been a brief recession.

Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding was once again a guest on Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on May 10, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: gay marriage, the principal of Clayton High School's alleged use of a fake facebook account to spy on students, the possible revocation of state funding for the Sue Shear Institute, the St. Louis Rams' request for a new roof for the Edward Jones Dome, Scott Boston's controversial remarks about Senator Claire McCaskill, and the recent discussion and Wall Street Journal article about whether wild horses should be culled in Missouri.

Click here to watch video of the event.

In this second Show-Me Forum of 2012, Show-Me Institute Policy Analysts David Stokes and Patrick Ishmael presented some thoughts on tax credits in Missouri to a crowd in Columbia, Mo.

The Roaring '20s didn't just happen. At the Show-Me Institute's Speaker Series on Feb. 28, author Amity Shlaes said the President known as "Silent Cal" deserves a lot of the credit for the booming economy. Shlaes, who has written the book Coolidge (due for release June 26), says Calvin Coolidge did what some might consider impossible today. He cut taxes and the federal budget.

At the Show-Me Institute's Speaker Series on Feb. 28, author Amity Shlaes talked about one of America's least remembered Presidents...Calvin Coolidge. Her book, Coolidge, will hit bookstores June 26, and Shlaes feels today's leaders could learn something from "Silent Cal." Shlaes says Coolidge's tight budgets and tax cuts brought America out of recession and helped trigger the economic boom known as the Roaring '20s.

In these two video clips from our recent Show-Me Forum, State Sen. Kurt Schaefer and State Rep. Chris Kelly offer two different viewpoints on Missouri's state budget troubles.

Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding returned to Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on February 9, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: Missouri's recent and expensive "beauty contest" presidential primary, the federal-level employer contraception mandate, potentially eliminating Missouri's income tax, and Kansas City's proposed new land bank.

Click here to watch the video of the event.

Early in the morning of February 8, 2012, Jonathan Williams of the American Legislative and Exchange Council (ALEC) and Joseph Haslag, University of Missouri Professor of Economics, presented their thoughts and findings relating to the current and potential future of Missouri's economy to an enthusiastic audience in the Show-Me Institute's office in the Central West End of Saint Louis. Among the topics discussed were the impact of tax rates and regulation on economic growth and investor uncertainty. An in-depth audience Q&A followed the presentations.

In this Show-Me Forum discussion, two Missouri state legislators discuss the precarious state of the Missouri budget and answer probing audience questions about Missouri's fiscal future.

The Missouri Department of Transportation, MODOT, is looking into ways of funding necessary maintenance on the main east-to-west highway across Missouri — Interstate 70. One funding option is to raise the gas tax state-wide. An alternative proposal from MODOT is to institute a toll on the highway. In this video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes suggests the the latter option makes more sense economically, as the people using the highway will be the ones paying for it. This video is a companion to Stokes' recent op-ed, which can be found here.

Do people visiting Missouri take advantage of the Show-Me State's lower excise taxes? Right now, the state of Missouri earns tax revenue by having comparatively lower tax rates than neighboring states. Lower tax rates lead to lower prices on gasoline, tobacco, and alcohol — and Missouri's many regular visitors can and do take advantage of this.

In this video, the Show-Me Institute's David Stokes and Amy Lutz interviewed several Chicago Blackhawks fans visiting for a Saturday night hockey game against the Blues. Many, but not all of them, knew that Missouri's tax rates were lower. But after learning of the lower tax rates, all of them planned on purchasing items such as gasoline while in town.

Lower taxes can lead to higher revenues — and keeping taxes low will keep the money flowing into the state of Missouri.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011, The Show-Me Institute partnered with the John Cook School of Business to present a lecture on the topic of job creation with featured speaker Andrew F Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants.

Puzder argued before an engaged crowd that the current regulatory burden and financial uncertainty brought about by recent federal healthcare legislation are precisely the things standing between entrepreneurs across the country and the creation of jobs. Puzder put it quite clearly: Reduce regulations, and watch unemployment fall.

Part of President Obama's job creation strategy includes a tax break for hiring new workers. In this video Andrew Puzder explains why he thinks that this will not result in new jobs.

Kansas City legislators are considering a plan that would bring back trolley cars to the downtown area. Amid a potpourri of video of these bygone tools of transit, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Patrick Ishmael explains how this anachronism may cost Kansas City taxpayers millions of dollars.

In February of this year, the Show-Me Institute published a study by Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding, detailing the operations and history of the oldest land bank in the 50 states, Saint Louis city's Land Reutilization Authority, The LRA. In 1971, the LRA was created with the state purpose to return tax defunct or abandoned properties into private, productive hands. What Audrey Spalding's policy study, "Standstill: Is Saint Louis Hindering Development by Waiting for Large-Scale Miracles?" showed is a history of denying or delaying private citizens' attempts to purchase land from the LRA. In this video, Spalding reports with relief that the latest LRA meeting represents a sea change in LRA operation, in terms of approving offers to buy property. At the September meeting, not one offer was rejected.

These two videos each give some specific information about property taxes in Missouri. Both of these videos are excerpts from a larger look at property taxation in Missouri.

In this video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes recaps the findings of a recent Show-Me Institute case study examining the effects of property tax rates and school quality on house prices in Richmond Heights, Mo.

In this short video, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes gives an overview of a few things funded by property taxes. He also offers a prescription for which sorts of things work best when funded by property taxation, and which sorts of things don't.

In this comprehensive look at property taxation in Missouri, Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst David Stokes highlights examples of all the things supported by property taxes. Also included is a look at what sorts of things work well when funded by property taxes and what sorts of things don't.

In this video, David Stokes takes a first-hand look at commuters buying their gasoline, alcohol and tobacco in Missouri, motivated by the Show-Me State's lower excise taxes — and therefore lower prices. This shifting of purchases across state lines mean higher tax revenues for the state of Missouri, precisely because our tax rates are lower.