Missouri Has Fallen Behind
As a destination for families and businesses, Missouri has not kept pace with the nation. If its population had grown at the national average rate, there would be 1.2 million more Missourians right now. Only 30 percent of business owners agree, according to a Gallup poll, that Missouri is able to attract or retain top talent.
Missouri’s public-school enrollment has been stagnant for at least a decade, while the national numbers have increased by over 8 percent. It’s long past time to reverse this pattern and set Missouri on a path to lead the region.
Five Pillars for Making Missouri Best in the Region
Reinvigorating Missouri’s economy to make it the most attractive state in the region to businesses and families requires that we think boldly, act decisively, and abandon the status quo. The Show-Me Institute is developing a transformative framework based on five pillars that will help solidify Missouri’s economic strengths, unleash its untapped potential, and address its most pressing vulnerabilities.
1. People
The Goal: Realize the Full Individual Potential of Missouri’s Greatest Asset—Its People
Education: Make Missouri the top state in the region at preparing people with the skills and knowledge to succeed in an evolving economy and lead lives of productive work and informed citizenship.
- Move K-12 to the front of the pack at preparing children for college or the workforce.
- Attract families to Missouri by empowering them to choose the schooling option that best fits their children’s needs.
- Make the higher ed system more responsive to the needs of families, businesses, and entrepreneurs in the knowledge economy to help stem brain drain.
The Policies
- Charter School Expansion
- Broaden ESA Program
- Award incentive pay to districts, schools and teachers based on IRC’s received
- Award incentive pay to districts, schools and teachers based on AP exams passed
- Create dual enrollment partnerships
Health Care: Make Missouri the best in the region at promoting wellness and supporting the physical and mental capacity of its citizens to provide for their families and serve their communities.
- Remove regulatory and financial barriers that obstruct access to quality healthcare.
- Repair the healthcare safety net to ensure that all Missourians have access to timely, affordable, high-quality care.
- Leverage Missouri’s natural amenities to provide rest, recreation, and restoration.
The Policies
- Repeal Certificate of Need
- Permanently remove restrictions on telemedicine
- Reform scope of practice laws/regulations for most health care providers
- Reform Medicaid payment systems to incentivize quality over quantity of care
- Reform Medicaid to discourage emergency room usage by incentivizing better health maintenance
Workforce: Make Missouri’s workers the most prepared, adaptable, and resilient in the region.
- Remove regulatory and financial impediments to occupational and job mobility.
- Ensure workers can continuously upgrade skills to adapt to an ever-changing economy and avoid dislocation.
The Policies
- Reduce unnecessary and exorbitant fees for occupational and business licenses
- Allow for more accessible (or no) education and continuing education requirements for licensed occupations.
- Remove barriers to remote work (earnings tax, licensing issues, etc)
A Better Safety Net: Reform the safety net to facilitate work instead of trapping people in dependency.
- Reform the safety net to facilitate work instead of trapping people in dependency
The Policies
- Remove work disincentives from safety net programs (Medicaid, UI, etc.)
- Increase accountability by ensuring those enrolled are eligible to receive benefits
- Improve efforts to eliminate fraud and waste
