The Science of Reading in Missouri
Around the nation, students are struggling to read, and Missouri students are no different. In 2022, the National Assessment of...
“Loyalty Oaths” in University Employment Should Be a Non-starter
Colleges and universities have been implementing diversity initiatives for many years now. I’ve commented on the massive problems inherent in...
About That “Economic Impact Study” Conducted on Free Bus Service in Kansas City . . .
In a January 26, 2020 column for The Kansas City Star, the CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority...
To Airbnb or Not to Airbnb?
For the past several months, Kansas City’s Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee has been considering regulations relating to short-term...
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...
Secret Streetcar Plans Unveiled, Raise Concerns
At a City Council meeting last Thursday (8/18), a group of rail activists presented what were once secret plans for...
The Streetcar’s Future Ridership
Almost every story about the newly opened Kansas City streetcar tells us that ridership is higher than expected, and indeed...
Kansas City’s Secret Streetcar Plan
American Public Square hosted a panel discussion at the Kansas City Public Library on January 20, and I was privileged...
Default Rates among Missouri Colleges and Universities
The table below (data from the U.S. Department of Education) displays default rates for Missouri colleges and universities over a...
Washington Legislature Defunds Lobbying Group Paid for With Tax Dollars
Washington State just defunded the controversial Labor Education Research Center (LERC) after the Freedom Foundation discovered that the taxpayer-subsidized group,...
Debate: Does More Government Help Or Hurt?
This debate hosted at the Kansas City Library and sponsored by the Show-Me Institute addressed the question: does more government...
Give An Inch, Not A Mile
We all know the old saying, “if you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.” Cities seem to skip the...
How Many Administrators Are Needed To Run One University System?
Anyone who has spent time at a bureaucratic agency (think DMV) can attest to the frustration and wasted dollars. Bureaucratic...
Double Trouble: Kansas City Considers Extending Trolley Line To Plaza
It seems like only yesterday that I was calling Kansas City’s trolley plans a slow motion train wreck, yet the...
Indoctrinating, Not Educating, on the Taxpayers’ Dime
“Violence is a tactic, and it’s to be used when it’s the appropriate tactic.” That’s a quote from a video...
Government: No Costs, All Benefits
Government has no costs — only benefits — according to several professors in economics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City,...
Payday Loan Industry in the News
Some legislators held a hearing the other day on the harms caused by the payday loan industry. Combest has linked...
“Nothing in the World Is More Dangerous Than Sincere Ignorance and Conscientious Stupidity.”
Supporters of Ward Connerly’s Civil Rights Initiative — which would end race-based affirmative action programs in Missouri — are increasing...
CARR Training Returns Home to Missouri
Along with David Stokes, I had the pleasure of attending two all-day sessions training Missouri broadcasters how to use the...
Reading, Writing, and… Labor Studies
John Combest links to an article about the University of Missouri at Kansas City. UMKC is getting rid of its...
