North-South MetroLink Expansion: Snake Oil for Saint Louis
Mayor Slay and many—but not all—regional leaders are peddling a curious elixir: a $2 billion expansion of MetroLink. The expansion...
What’s a Nice TIF Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
Public subsidies have taken on an increasingly prominent role in new developments across the St. Louis region, and KP Development...
Streetcars: Suddenly a (Poorly Performing) Transportation Service
Despite consistently arguing that streetcars are economic development—not transportation—projects, transit advocates have recently claimed the Kansas City streetcar “really is...
Outsourcing Public Education
We ask a lot of our public schools. We ask that they not only educate children, but also transport them...
Kansas City Losing Downtown Millennials
All the money Kansas City is pouring into downtown doesn’t seem to be working. At least, when it comes to...
Fall Internships
The Show-Me Institute is pleased to offer internship opportunities for Fall 2016. Internships are open to current undergraduate and graduate...
Progress on TIF Reform
Last Wednesday, Governor Jay Nixon signed into law HB 1434, a measure that—effective August 28—could deal a blow to Missouri’s...
Privatization: Still a Good Thing in Education
About two years ago, I wrote a piece titled “Privatization in Education—Not as Scary as Some Think,” in which I...
Has MetroLink Spurred Development?
Metro, St. Louis’s transit agency, claims (p. i) MetroLink has helped spur $2.2 billion in development. However, Citizens for Modern...
TIF in a Flood Plain–A Recipe for Trouble
High noon approaches as the Saint Louis region awaits Stan Kroenke’s development proposal for Maryland Heights. For those unfamiliar with...
To Pay for North-South MetroLink, the City Will Need the County
Recently, regional leaders in Saint Louis have gotten into a spat over plans to expand the MetroLink. Saint Louis County...
MetroLink Expansion: Not on the Right Track?
St. Louis is considering a billion-dollar plus expansion of its light-rail system, the MetroLink, but is the burden to taxpayers...
Saint Louis Should Learn from MetroLink’s Disappointing Past
Mayor Slay is talking up plans for a billion-dollar-plus expansion of Saint Louis’s light rail system, the MetroLink. This means that...
Light Rail a Losing Proposition for Saint Louis
As the Post-Dispatch recently reported, Mayor Slay is starting to throw his weight behind a long-awaited expansion of the MetroLink,...
Who’s Paying for $160 Million in Blues Upgrades?
The Saint Louis Blues had a very successful season, making it deep into the playoffs and just two wins short...
Saint Louis’s Central Business District: The Heart of What?
Last week, a murder a few blocks from the Saint Louis Convention Center turned attention toward both the safety and...
Uber Under Threat in Saint Louis
The Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC), which regulates for-hire vehicles (mainly taxis) in Saint Louis City and County, has attempted to...
Session Notes: TIF Reform Gets Approval, But More Needs To Be Done
In a victory for good governance, the Missouri legislature passed important tax increment financing (TIF) legislation, which I wrote about at...
End of Session Puts the Brakes on Transportation Reform in Missouri
At the beginning of this year’s legislative session, there were high hopes that Missouri’s legislators would focus on major transportation...
Senator Ben Sasse to Speak in Saint Louis: June 30
The Show-Me Institue will welcome Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse to our Next Gen event on June 30. Check back at...
