Exposing the GO Bond Campaign Claims
On Saturday, The Kansas City Star published a piece titled, “Campaign flier on KC’s infrastructure proposal understates tax increase” in...
Taxes for Thee, But Not For Me
A recent Kansas City Star story on the proposed Kansas City general obligation bonds, (GO Bonds) contained the following: This...
Where Are the Certificate of Need Bills?
Last month I had the opportunity to go back to my alma mater, Saint Louis University, and share with a...
Bombshell: The GO Bonds Will Last Until 2055
The City is describing the general obligation bond (GO bond) placed before voters on the April 4 ballot as a...
Taxpayers’ General Obligation Bond Gamble
With an $800 million infrastructure bond package likely to go before voters in April, Kansas City Mayor Sly James recently...
Retooling Missouri’s Economic Engines
Dave Helling at The Kansas City Star recently wrote a piece about how Kansas City and St. Louis might fare...
Development Can Happen without Subsidies
It is a sign of how bad the subsidy culture is getting when Kansas City Star reporter Diane Stafford has...
Kansas City’s $800 Million Animal Shelter?
For months Kansas City has been talking about issuing an $800 million general obligation bond, backed by increased taxes, to...
What an Honest Economic Development Study in Kansas City Might Conclude
A July piece by Steve Vockrodt for The Kansas City Star talked about the city’s efforts to study the real...
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Immortal COMBAT?
In November, Jackson County voters will be asked to renew a 0.25 percent sales tax used to fund the Community...
The Consequences of Bad Policy
The Kansas City Star recently reported that Urban Summit activists have turned in petition signatures requiring a citywide vote for...
Kansas City’s Convention Hotel’s Collapsing Foundation
Despite years of failing to deliver on promises of convention business, Kansas City leaders still want another convention hotel. Badly....
Counting Economic Development Jobs
H&R Block, which once messed up its own tax accounting, has a weird way of counting job growth. This may...
The Luxurious Intercontinental Hotel is Blighted?
For those trying to take Kansas City’s tax policy seriously, the discussion of blighting the luxurious InterContinental Hotel on Country...
Taxpayers’ Subsidy Skepticism Is Warranted
The Kansas City Star published a piece last week about subsidized development and its opposition in the region. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the...
On Government-Mandated Coffee Machines
Over at the Kansas City Star, Dave Helling comments on a raucous online debate about Kansas's LLC tax exemption—specifically, the misgivings of...
The Ballooning Cost of Streetcars
Last summer, the Kansas City Star tried to defend the city from the charge that it overpaid for its 2.2-mile...
North Kansas City Proposes A “No Tax Increase” Bond Issue
The North Kansas City School District is asking voters to approve the issuance of a $114 million bond for the...
Legislature Should Be Recording All of Its Public Meetings
On Tuesday the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that Progress Missouri, a liberal activist...
Kansas City’s Crocodile Tears over Blight
After the events of Ferguson, when it was discovered that the city had been using fines and court fees to...
