Missouri

Off With the Red Tape: A Business-Friendly Idea Out of Kansas

By Collin Hitt
02/07/2011
Excess red tape hurts business. Where superfluous laws and regulations prevail, businesses and individuals lose out. Kansas knows this, and has developed a plan to jump-start business activity in the Sunflower State: the Office of the Repealer. Last month Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback made good on a campaign promise by establishing the office (Appendix I, available...

Off with the Red Tape

01/31/2011
Excess red tape hurts business. Where superfluous laws and regulations prevail, businesses and individuals lose out.

Leaving Illinois: An Exodus of People and Money

12/31/2010
Migration between the U.S. states is the ultimate expression of “voting with your feet.” People move for many reasons, but, when examined en masse, it’s clear that public policy significantly influences where people choose to live.

Spotlight on Spending #19: Late Payments in Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
12/15/2010
The Problem Illinois’s inability to pay vendors on time is destabilizing many businesses with state contracts while at the same time hurting Illinois’s most vulnerable. According to the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, the state had $4.7 billion in payables at the end of the 2010 fiscal year in June and an additional $1.7 billion in additional...

Kate Piercy’s Testimony on Workers’ Compensation Reform

By Kate Campaigne Piercy
12/03/2010
Testimony of Kate Piercy, Director of Government Reform, Illinois Policy Institute Submitted to the Special Committee on Workers’ Compensation Reform Friday, December 3, 2010 Co-Chairpersons Bradley and Brady, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Piercy, and I am the Director of Government Reform for the Illinois Policy Institute. We...

Senate Forms Committees to Study Workers’ Compensation and Medicaid Reform

By Chris Andriesen
11/18/2010
by Wesley Fox Senate President John Cullerton announced today that he will form committees to study workers compensation and Medicaid reform, which are initiatives Republicans promoted during the campaign.  The committees would advance legislation for a possible vote in January,according to the Sun-Times. Illinois’s workers’ compensation requirements are costly and discourage employers from hiring or even doing business...

Key Facts about Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
11/01/2010
The Problem With its resources, location, expansive farmland, and first-class towns and cities, Illinois should be a leading economic powerhouse in the United States. Unfortunately, thanks to an unfriendly business and regulatory climate, Illinois has been underperforming for years. “Rich States, Poor States,” a comprehensive economic performance index authored by Steve Moore, Art Laffer, and...

Medicaid Taking Huge Bite Out of Illinois Budget

10/04/2010
by Wesley Fox Like many states, Illinois faces severe budget problems resulting from the economic recession.  Illinois’s budget problems are made worse by the massive cost of its Medicaid program.  According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Medicaid represents approximately 30% of the Illinois budget. Only two other states (Maine and Missouri) commit more of their...