Urban Planners Know What Is Good for Us!
It is a delicious coincidence that the Show-Me Institute is bringing the Antiplanner himself, Randal O’Toole, to St. Louis on...
St. Louisans Are Smarter Than the Post-Dispatch Implies
Last month, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial critiquing the Show-Me Institute’s study of earnings taxes. It rejected both...
How Is Service of Process Fees Like the School Funding Formula?
They are alike because the smaller counties in Missouri choose not to tax themselves to pay enough for their sheriff...
Education Reform, Property Taxes, and What the Post-Dispatch Got Totally Wrong
There has been a great deal of discussion about property taxes in the wake of the state Supreme Court’s decision...
St. Louis City And County: Divided With Love
Today’s Post-Dispatch has the history behind the famous 1876 split between St. Louis County and city. This coincides nicely with...
Saint Louis County Would Benefit From City’s Return
In his most recent inaugural address, Mayor Francis Slay stated that it is time for the city of Saint Louis...
Switching to Private Utilities Could Fund Springfield’s Pension Shortfall
The city of Springfield is currently struggling to deal with a significantly underfunded public pension plan. Officials recently attempted to...
Intriguing, Yet Frightening, Comment Over at Political Fix
Below is the full text of a comment from a blog post over at the Post-Dispatch‘s Political Fix blog. It...
St. Ann Could Become a “Pool” Sales Tax City
Not just anyone can come up with attention-grabbing headlines like that. You are either born with the talent or not....
The Dangers of House Bill 148
Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed House Bill 148, which is one of those “omnibus” pieces of legislation, in this case...
Policy Pulse Updates
Over at our Policy Pulse portal, staff reporter Audrey Spalding has published several recent articles about education issues in Missouri....
Milk
This is going to be a very brief post. In doing some research, I have realized that milk inspection is...
Bill McClellan on Property Taxes and Country Clubs
I am a huge Bill McClellan fan. For those of you outside of St. Louis who are not familiar with him,...
Direct Democracy or Representative Republic: Which Do You Prefer?
I generally prefer the actions of a representative republic over those of a direct democracy. Yesterday’s Kansas City Star had a...
Municipal Disincorporation in the News
In my recent study of government in Missouri, I wrote about the potential advantages of disincorporation for Missouri municipalities. I...
Professional Licensing: A First-Person Perspective
In addition to my involvement with the Show-Me Institute, I have also worked part-time as a licensed taxicab driver for...
Property Tax Appeal Workshops in Saint Louis
I am simply posting the following information (which I received from a friend who often forwards political notices) so that...
Public Service Academy Proposal Is Still Stupidest Idea I Have Ever Heard
The most appallingly horrible proposal in recent history might be coming to Missouri, which makes it even worse. The Kansas...
Two Moves Forward on Privatization and Consolidation
Larry Williams, treasurer of St. Louis city, is moving ahead with outsourcing of parking meter maintenance and collections. Thanks to...
Now, This Is Local Government to Get Excited About!
For people who write about local government for think tank blogs, the separation of St. Louis County and city is...
