The Show-Me Institute is a free-market think tank based in St. Louis, Missouri (The Show Me State). Founded in 2005,[1] it focuses on economic policy[2] issues in the state of Missouri. The self-declared mission of the Show-Me Institute is "advancing liberty with responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy."[3] The president of the Show-Me Institute is Rex Sinquefield and the chairman is Crosby Kemper III.[4]
The institute's first study, released in March 2006, argued for the elimination of the earnings tax in St. Louis and Kansas City.[5] In February 2007, the institute released a widely-discussed report on mayoral control of the St. Louis public school system.[6] In October 2007, the Institute held a conference with leading education policy and legal scholars on the impact of the Missouri Supreme Court's school finance decision.[7] While the institute was not involved in the case, three of the organization's board members intervened on behalf of taxpayers in the case and helped defeat a judicially-mandated increase in education funding. In January 2008, the institute released a study on the fiscal impact of a proposed tax cut for parents of privately schooled children[7] via a tuition tax credit. In August 2010, the institute released a study on the correlation of school superintendent pay and student performance.[8]
Rex Sinquefield, president of the Show-Me Institute, has received criticism for his heavy donations to political candidates in the state.[9] The Show-Me institute has been criticized because much of its leadership, including Sinquefield, have made large donations to state politicians whose policies are related to the subjects of Show-Me Institute studies.[10][11] The Institute performed a poll of parental attitudes toward school choice that some critics described as a push poll.[12]