Why Are Public Pensions Often Underfunded?
Defined-benefit pension systems are essentially promises. The government promises a specific benefit to beneficiaries when they retire. You would think...
Are Government Unions Adequately Informing Workers of Their Rights?
Following the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), there was...
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That Crazy CID Vote in Columbia Goes Back to Court
Back in 2015, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported that a proposed Community Improvement District (CID) in Columbia was drawn to...
It’s Time to Stop Making Excuses
Missouri students have a college readiness problem. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) reports that in 2017, just...
Legislators Shouldn’t Neglect Health Care Reform Opportunities in 2020
My colleague Elias Tsapelas has produced a lot of excellent research on Medicaid over the last few months. And this...
It’s Time to Address Medicaid’s Costs
The share of Missouri’s budget consumed by Medicaid just keeps growing. According to the state’s Medicaid agency (page 10), the...
Missouri’s Government Union Reforms Still Tied Up in the Courts
It’s been more than a year since Missouri legislators passed House Bill (HB) 1413 into law, which at the time...
St. Louis Ranked in the Middle in Ease-of-Doing-Business Study
The St. Louis Business Journal recently published details of a report that placed St. Louis in the top ten “untapped...
Stubbornness on School Choice Comes at a Price
Last week, Missouri got its latest grades on “The Nation’s Report Card,” (an assessment given to public-school 4th- and 8th-graders...
Missouri School Funding Workshop: Location and Parking Details
Event Details: School finance policy is a foundational component of public education that directly affects all of Missouri’s students and...
Skepticism Is Warranted on Missouri/Kansas Border War Truce
A lot of people around the country have cheered a recent agreement by the governments of Missouri and Kansas to...
USDA Deal Is Great for Port KC, Less Great for KC Taxpayers
The announcement that the USDA has chosen a location in Kansas City, Missouri was met with satisfaction by political leaders...
Should Ten Percent Be a Passing Grade?
Educational options continue to be scarce in Missouri. The Missouri Course Access Program (MOCAP) could increase opportunities for students by...
Don’t Be Fooled
If you’re following the presidential primaries, you might think that everyone has decided that school choice isn’t cool anymore. That’s...
“Sometimes Common Sense Does Prevail”
Those words were spoken by Missouri Governor Mike Parson about the agreement struck with Kansas to end some aspects of...
More Proof that Missouri’s LIHTC Doesn’t Work
The numbers are in: Missouri’s low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program fails to deliver. The program was supposed to increase...
Don’t Worry, We’re All Confused
You know a good report card when you see it, and the recently released annual performance reports (APR) for Missouri...
Missouri in the Middle on Regulations
According to a dataset from a new project released by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Missouri is ranked...
Fighting Blight Can Help Address Crime
A new article from the Manhattan Institute details research that indicates addressing blight can have a positive impact on crime....
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...
