It’s Time to Hold DESE Accountable
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. For years, the Show-Me Institute has scrutinized the Missouri Department...
The Free-City Project for Missouri
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. In 2001, a group of very libertarian-minded activists launched...
New State Board of Education Has a Long To-Do List
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Governor Kehoe has appointed four new members to the Missouri...
The Surveillance Society Is Here
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. I love science-fiction movies that portray a future, usually bleak,...
Choice versus No School Choice
Before Governor Parson signed Senate Bill (SB) 727 into law, opinion columns across Missouri were filled with statements of opposition....
911 Systems Are a Great Opportunity for Local Government Cooperation
Versions of the following commentary appeared in the Southeast Missourian, the Columbia Missourian, and the Springfield News-Leader. There is probably no better opportunity for counties...
Taxpayers should demand larger rollbacks than Hancock Amendment requires
A version of the following commentary appeared as a letter to the editor in the Columbia Missourian. Earlier this year,...
Missouri Becomes an Education Island
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. How would your family feel if your entire neighborhood had 5G...
University of Missouri System Walks Back “Loyalty Oaths” in Job Listings
Last month I criticized a wide swath of Missouri public universities for requiring woke ideological attestations as a condition of...
Will Open Enrollment Create High School Sport Powerhouses?
The Missouri Legislature is currently debating several bills that would create open enrollment for Missouri students. Evaluating open enrollment’s effects...
Columbia Repeals Ban on Trash Roll Carts, Repeal of Ban on Dancing and Proms Is Next
Both Prohibition and the classic film Footloose (the original, obviously) teach us the lesson that banning popular things is generally...
The Kansas-Missouri Border War Isn’t Over
A version of this op-ed was published in the Columbia Missourian. Missouri and Kansas are no strangers to border conflict....
Why Should the Early Bird Get the Worm?
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Although it’s a little trite, “the early bird gets the...
Return of the Resource Curse: The Trouble That Comes from Too Much Money
Versions of this commentary appeared in the American Spectator and the Columbia Missourian. Imagine painting yourself into a corner—as someone...
Belt-tightening Time in Public Education
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Make no mistake—people across Missouri are losing their jobs, and state...
Highest and Lowest Spending Schools in the St. Louis Area
When Congress updated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, many hailed the...
Stop Debating School Choice. Give Us Options Now!
At a recent legislative forum hosted in Boone County by the Missouri State Teachers Association, state lawmakers debated the merits...
Show-Me Institute Issues Brief Regarding “Pay to Stay”
Recently the Columbia Missourian ran a story about jail bond bills—payments that defendants are required to make to cover their...
Right to Work Commentary Misses the Point
A recent op-ed in the Columbia Missourian calls Right to Work “an attack on our entire community.” If Missouri passes...
Do You Hear That? It’s the Drumbeat for School Choice Getting Louder
In January 2011, Mike McShane and I co-wrote our first opinion editorial for a Missouri newspaper. At the time we...
