Author Archives: Josh Smith
High-Speed Rail Would Take Taxpayers for a Ride
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s an unfortunate discussion going on among Midwestern governors and the federal government about a possible high-speed rail line linking major Midwestern cities. The Show-Me Institute has covered the problems with light rail in the past, but surely some of the arguments carry over: … Continue reading
Local Tax: Ups and Downs
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s an article in the Columbia Daily Tribune today that discusses the latest flap in Jefferson City about a sales tax issue (link via Combest). The article deals with some general perverse incentives, and is an interesting study in public choice theory, but the … Continue reading
CREDO Charter Study: Missouri an Outlier
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The St. Louis Beacon and Kansas City Star both have stories about a recent study from Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes that analyzes charter school performance nationwide, with specific results for Missouri. The news is not all good. According to the report, … Continue reading
Honey, I Shrunk the Legislature
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] A very encouraging post on the Freakonomics blog today mentions that the Maine state legislature recently proposed a bill that would unify the state’s Senate and House into one representative body, making Maine the second state in the union to go unicameral. Unfortunately, the … Continue reading
Charter School Results Getting Federal Notice
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] I came across this story about charter school advocates being heard by the House Education and Labor Committee in Washington, D.C. One of the wonderful points of focus in this piece highlights the benefits of charter innovation, which can then be adopted by other … Continue reading
More Health Care for Less Money
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s a great piece on the Washington Post website about improving health care at the federal level. Among the wonderful insights, which are quite intuitive, but likely not widely considered, are: 1. Applying the law of demand to health care: Research shows that if … Continue reading
Handle Stimulus Funds With Care
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The Columbia Missourian has an op-ed from the Show-Me Institute’s Joe Haslag and David Stokes. It addresses the question of what legislators should have done with the federal stimulus money coming to Missouri. Haslag and Stokes recommend using the funds as an opportunity to … Continue reading
The Heart of Government
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] David Stokes and I just attended the weekly Board of Aldermen meeting for St. Louis city. It was actually quite enjoyable. For one thing, David’s extensive personal experience with local government made him a great resource and a wealth of information. He had a … Continue reading
Professional Licensing: A First-Person Perspective
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] In addition to my involvement with the Show-Me Institute, I have also worked part-time as a licensed taxicab driver for Chesterfield Car Service, for a little more than three years. Apart from licensing drivers, the cabs themselves also require a license, which must similarly … Continue reading
Beware the Licenses
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] In the very readable Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman wrote about the economic consequences of labor unions, minimum wage laws, and occupational licensing. Anyone with even minor economics training (or perhaps even just a moment’s reflection) can tell you some of … Continue reading