The Testing Bogeyman Is Alive and Well in Missouri
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune. If we believe it’s essential for schools to teach...
The Future of the Department of Education with Ginny Gentles
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Virginia (Ginny) Gentles, director of the Education Freedom and Parental Rights Initiative at the Defense of...
A is for Absent
Being financially responsible—keeping a close eye on your bank balance and even your credit score, for example—isn’t always pleasant. Being...
The Dismal Recovery
The “recovery” of the last seven years remains the worst in postwar American history. Average gross domestic product (GDP) growth...
A Well Intentioned Disaster: A Presentation on the Merits of Common Core State Standards
The following is taken from a presentation given by Show-Me Institute Distinguished Fellow of Education Policy James Shuls on February...
Education: A Brief History Of Federal Overreach
When Americans think of federal overreach in education, they might think of programs like Race to the Top, Common Core,...
Streetcar Fever: Is it Now Or Never To Expand The Kansas City Streetcar?
Following the defeat of their expansion plan in Kansas City, today, streetcar proponents are wondering aloud about how to move...
Funny-But-Not-So-Funny Update On Columbia Airport
Columbia is forging ahead with plans to create a new passenger terminal, despite a significant drop in airline service. Here...
A Sky-Is-the-Limit Federal Budget
In Charles Dickens’ classic novel David Copperfield, one character observes the need for careful budgeting: “Annual income, twenty pounds; annual...
Well, That’s One Way to Increase Health Care Costs
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Nixon announced his first priority for the coming legislative session: Requiring prescriptions for medicines that contain...
Tariffs Punish Consumers, but Remain Politically Popular
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon. With all the talk about polarizing politics and the fracturing...
“It Is So Nice to Have a Smart President”
Last night on Bill Maher’s show, I watched Salman Rushdie try to answer the host’s question about how Barack Obama’s...
Earmark Vote in Washington, D.C.
Right now on KMOX, Mark Reardon is commenting — to put it mildly — about the vote today in the...
The Peaceful Transfer of Power
It’s official: Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America. The first African-American president in the...
Remove Foot, Close Mouth, Praise the Free Market
For some reason, the federal government has been all about the free market this week. Even our very own lame...
This Bud’s for Them
We’ve praised Sen. Claire McCaskill repeatedly on this blog, but her comments about the InBev deal deserve some response: “I...
Data Mining: Security Measure or Privacy Invasion?
There’s an interesting article over on the Columbia Missourian website regarding an ongoing court battle between MO, the federal Justice...
