Court Fee Increase Would Negatively Impact St. Louis County
A version of the following commentary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Among the many things that Missourians will vote on...
Columbia Should Privatize Its Water and Electric Utilities
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Columbia is currently considering raising its municipal water rates. The proposed...
Outsourcing Is Good
In government outsourcing, governments contract with private-sector firms to have them perform certain services. Outsourcing is not as big of...
Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Back to School, and STL County Changes
David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss: a Missouri Taxpayer Bill of Rights, St. Louis...
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again
You may have witnessed the trend of dilapidated shopping centers, malls, and retail outlets that were once thriving centers of...
The Light Rail Line Less Traveled
If anyone has taken Robert Frost’s words to heart and taken the road less traveled, it is Metro, the St....
Prime Examples of Bad Government in St. Louis County Cities
In case you needed it, reason 8,191 why Missouri should not allow municipalities to just do whatever they want—local control...
Think Twice before Supporting a New Tax
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Platte County Landmark. Everyone wants to help kids thrive, right? Who...
Government Infrastructure Costs Are Out of Control
A version of the following commentary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. We have all seen the television ad...
The Type of Audit We Can All Agree On
If there is one thing local government in Missouri needs more of, it is audits. I don’t mean Comprehensive Annual...
Creve Coeur Engages in Panic Subsidizing
When someone buys and wants to develop one of the most valuable parcels of land in one of the wealthiest...
Is School Choice “Welfare for the Rich”?
As school choice policies advance nationwide, and to a lesser extent in Missouri, there appears to be a new line...
Velda City and Northwoods Are Basically Stalking Their Citizens
What do we call people (usually men) who keep asking women out again and again and again despite repeated rejections?...
The Connection Between Farmland Assessment and Teacher Pay Increases
How does Missouri farmland being underassessed (for tax purposes) relate to proposed state requirements for higher minimum teacher salaries being...
Who Will Be Getting Charged for New EV Chargers in STL?
https://showmeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/396955_Electric_Vehicle_Charging_Car_Energy_By_Erwin_de_Boer_Artlist_HD.mp4 Last week, I submitted testimony on House Bill (HB) 1511, which would protect St. Louis–area business owners from being...
“Did You Get My Cheez Wiz, Boy?”
Early in the classic film The Blues Brothers, Elwood takes his recently paroled brother, Jake, back to his Chicago apartment....
The Worst Law in Missouri
Municipal annexations have been back in the news. An unincorporated area near Manchester (in St. Louis County) overwhelmingly rejected that...
TIF Decisions Should Be Made at the County, Not City, Level
The simplest thing Missouri can do to improve the decision-making process for tax increment financing (TIF) is move the responsibility...
Cry, the Beloved Unincorporated Area
An interesting vote took place last week in St. Louis County. A large unincorporated area in the southwest part of...
Good Ideas Done Poorly in Jefferson and Perry Counties
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Business Journal. As systems evolve and become more complex over...
