Category: State and Local Issues

City Sidewalks

Remember, to start any reunification with the county, two-thirds of city voters must vote to dissolve the county status of the city. That’s in the Missouri Constitution. My guess is that most city voters don’t want to give-up that level of local control.

Island And Desert

…where around 42% of adults over age 25 in St. Louis County have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, in Macon County and Shelby County the degreed portion lays around 15%.
A quick example of what that means…My wife and I stopped at the Hardees where U.S. 36 meets U.S. 61 on the edge of Macon. On this past Saturday morning the line staff all appeared to be 35 to 55 years old, the manager looked to be my age and, well, I easily earned the title “Sonny” among those waiting to order.

To Keep Hunger At Bay

Hunger exists. It’s an irrefutable fact. Miller lays out the numbers: In Missouri, 826,000 people—14% of the state’s population—live below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL); in St. Louis County 90,000 people—nine percent of the area’s population—live below the FPL.

Parking Spaces

Changing minds, like changing the size of parking spaces, won’t happen quickly. Those of us wanting a better, more humane Missouri have to think – and act – over the long haul, over years and maybe a decade or two. The trick is to work at change every day.

Stealth Warfare

Each year, in the middle of January, the federal government issues updated Poverty Level Guidelines.  Based on census and other data from the prior year, the guidelines follow a traditional (yet flawed)formula traceable back to the early 1960’s.  For example, Read More …