Patrick Tuohey, Show-Me Institute | 3-18-26

0:00When you really need care, you need 24-7 access to a care team, not a maze of paperwork from a third party. Every day, America's hospitals and health systems show up for you. Navigating healthcare can fuel overwhelming. But you can count on real doctors, real nurses, real people, providing quality around the clock care when you need it most. They're in your corner. In communities across America, your neighbors, your lifelines, right beside you holding your hand and helping find answers. That's what putting patients first actually means. Learn more at strengthinhealthcare.org. Brought to you by the Coalition to Strength in America's Health Care. From the nation's heartland, you're listening to Mundo in the morning on 95-7 FM, KCMO Talk Radio. Patrick Toey of the Show Me Institute is here on KCMO and also content of the film yesterday for Kevin Keatsman Uncanceled. He had a fun show talking to the little St. Patrick's Day and also history in Kansas City as it relates to the Irish Patrick.

1:04Good morning, great to have you on the show. I learned plenty yesterday, so good job, my friend. Thanks for doing it. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks so much and good morning. Yeah, absolutely. So what about, let's just put a bow on St. Patrick's Day. Your second guest, and I'm blanking on his name, but he was really good talking about the history of the Irish in Kansas City. What is for anyone who missed it yesterday, when you think about the Irish and Kansas City history in general, what should be the takeaway? What's the story? Well, it looks like we all started getting here in the 1840s and Pat O'Neill with my guest. He's well known to Kansas City Irish having run the Irish best for 20 years now. And you know, it wasn't necessarily just for the railroads. A lot of the bluffs in downtown Kansas City by the river had to be dug out. And that was that was labors brought from the East Coast, often Irish immigrants. Yeah, it's a good point. Well, good job yesterday. We appreciate you doing it, my man. So you've got a piece in the Kansas City star headlined Kansas City's earnings tax is a regressive giveaway to big corporations, the 1% earnings tax on people who live or work within Kansas City, Missouri limits will have to be renewed coming up on April 7th.

2:18Now, this thing, it seems like always passes with flying colors. I know you're hoping that maybe it won't this time around. What's your case in 2026? Well, I'm writing to the Kansas City star. So that is a left of center audience. And there were two points that I wanted to drive home. The first is that tax policies such as the earnings tax affects business and individuals decision on where to move, where to locate. We've known lots of people yourself included. For example, who have left the city, the earnings tax isn't always the only reason, but it is one of those reasons. And I want people to understand that. And the second thing I want people to understand is that this is a regressive tax, you know, it is taxed on the first dollar you earn. You may have a federal exemption if you're a low income worker or low income household, but the city still wants its 1%. And it enables the city to lavish all sorts of subsidies on wealthy developers. So it's a it's a reverse Robinhood tax.

3:20And if you're a progressive and you're reading the Kansas City star and you're concerned about this type of inequality, you should be horrified by the earnings tax. And you're right, I'm confident it will pass, but I want people to be maybe a little bit more aware of how Kansas City operates and it's it's unjust. So how does the earnings tax allow them to be more generous with subsidies? Sure. So although the earnings tax often makes up a small portion of, you know, the subsidies they give out to developers, it does allow a source of income to the city. And then they turn around and offer subsidy that are often sales tax, sometimes earnings tax, property tax. And if the city didn't have an earnings tax, it would be much more protective of its sales tax revenue, its use tax revenue, its property tax revenue. And again, try to run a tight ship, just like municipalities all over the area do, they're all able to run and deliver services.

4:25Sometimes better than Kansas cities without an earnings tax and what the earnings tax does is it, it kind of supports this subsidy culture, we give out in Kansas City, 128 million dollars just goes right out the door. And that's from the city's own budget that doesn't include the school district or the mental health fund, 128 million dollars a year to give to, you know, the J.E. Downs and the Burnison McDonald and, and whatever we may give to the royals. And again, so talking to a progressive audience, I want people to understand that we tax the poor and we large subsidies on the wealthy and it's no way to run a city. Now, you know what the city says, right? They're like, hey, all of your basic services are funded by people who work here, but do not live here. And if you don't approve the earnings tax, well, we're going to have to find that money somewhere else. And it's going to have to come from you. So it's, it's kind of a fear tactic that gets you to overcome that. Oh, absolutely. Well, look, the city is running a deficit 55 to 100 million dollars right now with the earnings tax. The problem isn't the city's revenue.

5:34The problem is that our leaders don't have any restraint and they're never going to develop that restraint unless the people of Kansas city say, no more, we want you to run a tighter ship. And again, it's going to require difficult decisions on on behalf of Kansas city leaders. If we phase out the earnings tax over 10 years, which is what a vote, you know, to get rid of the earnings tax would do. But if the people don't in five years, we're going to be right back complaining about basic services, complaining about subsidies with an unjust, regressive earnings tax, just like we were five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago. So if people want to change, they're going to have to force the city to adopt it. And one other point, you're talked about the billionaires in Kansas City star reporting none of those people live in Kansas City, Missouri. I wonder why that is. Is that right? None of them. Yeah, nobody on that list lives in in Kansas City. Now there were some people who were listed as living in St. Louis, which does have an earnings tax, but it wouldn't surprise me if those people actually live in St. Louis County.

6:41And not the city. I'll have to confirm that. But again, it's, it's, it's just one more incentive and there are plenty to not live in the city. And city leaders need to understand we're in a competitive environment. We are losing population to pray village to overland park, you know, liberty, carny, and why is that? Because those places deliver a better product to their consumers. And we have to do the same. We can't keep whistling past the graveyard and pretending everything's fine because it's not a Patrick Tui with the show me Institute is here on KCMO. So Kansas City has obviously had this 1% earnings tax since 1963. It's unlikely it's going to get voted down coming up next month. But, you know, what about the people who pay that tax who do not live in Kansas City? There's always this like taxation without representation thing. But listen, St. Louis has it as you noted. You know, New York City has it. I'm sure there are other cities that do this as well. Is there any at a curiosity like legal case that could ever be brought against one of these earnings tax?

7:48You know, every once in a while that story comes up or about possibility comes up and I'm sure people have have decided, you know, whether or not they wanted to pursue it based on the legal remedies. Of course, cities, levy sales taxes, which aren't voted on by people come into the city. So I can imagine there's some sort of argument that this is a legitimate function of government power. So I can't speak to the legality of it. But, you know, what happens right now and anyone who drives down a state line road can see the difference of the businesses that are on the Kansas side versus the businesses that are on the Missouri side. And it's a result of the policy, the regulations, the taxes we choose to levy. And again, Kansas City is adding population, but it's not we're not growing nearly as fast as the municipalities around us. And so we've got to rethink this, but too many politicians to your point are afraid of having to make those tough decisions. And so every five years we get the threats that you pointed out. We're going to have to cut the police all that stuff. Never mind that our current mayor tried to cut the police years ago. And that was with the earnings tax.

8:55You know, the problem is a revenue expenditure. Yeah, well, it's goofy too, because you may have seen some of the videos every member of the city council is like putting out little video on this together. KCMO X account that I've looked at here and every council member has their little thing like, you know, a bike boy bunch is talking about the bike lanes and the roads and hey, without the earnings tax, we can't have the bike lanes. And then you get another one saying, hey, it's for community centers and youth programs and jobs. And then another one saying is for the firefighters and the roads and the parks and the police. So it's somehow for everything, which also tells me, is it really for nothing outside of government bloat? Well, it's crazy because I was at the Waldo library over the past weekend to talk about this. And there was a representative of the city council who is there. And you know, always make the argument about road repaving and basic services. And I laughed and the people in the audience got it. Like I live in Kansas City now, we don't get, we don't get those services delivered in a great way with the earnings tax. So your threats kind of fall flat.

9:57I know that prairie village is able to deliver basic services. You know, they pick up yardways. That's a city service. I've got to pay for it out of my pocket. Yet prairie village doesn't have an earnings tax. All these places around us. Omaha, Tulsa, they're similar to the Kansas City. And yet they're able to deliver services without an earnings tax. Why can't we? And city hall doesn't want to talk about it. And the Chamber of Commerce and all these businesses have figured out how to work with city hall now. They don't want to change it. They're happy with the status quo. It's going to require the people of Kansas City who pay this tax to say enough is enough live within your means. Can I give you a story idea as we wrap it up? Absolutely. All right. So this new Morton amphitheater up in Riverside, this concert venue. They're doing like 40 to 50 shows. We're giving away tickets this week again to Hank Williams Jr. How many of those shows would have been at T mobile in Kansas City, Missouri. And with power and light district already losing $10 million a year still after all these years, how much more damage is being done to that entertainment district.

11:02And how much is that costing or going to cost the Kansas City taxpayer? I don't know. I'm just I'm intrigued by it because it's what you always say people are just moving dollars somewhere else. They're not creating new dollars and new revenue streams, whether it's the chiefs going to the other side of the state line, Morton amphitheater. Like all it is is shifting dollars around the Metro with that, which actually is a net loss for the region to your point. Well, and to your point, like if these were all privately funded, you and I wouldn't care, right, because they're investing their own dollars, they're taking the risk. The reason why you and I might be concerned about the team mobile centers because taxpayers are on the hook for that. We shouldn't be we should have never subsidized that deal, but because taxpayers are on the hook, we care. And that means city hall panics about this type of stuff when they should have never gotten involved in the free market. So I don't know the short term answered your question, but I think it's absolutely legitimate. And it should make people even more hesitant of the subsidy culture because you're putting taxpayers skin in the game when we have no expertise on, you know, these types of centers, we shouldn't have invested in them.

12:07All right, Patrick to a good job yesterday, filling in for Keith's been really appreciate you doing that and great job this morning as well. Thanks so much. All right, Patrick to you on KCMO talk radio 95 7 FM stream us at KCMO talk radio dot com every day excessive delays and denials from big insurers keep patients from accessing the care they need. And when carries urgent these delays can be disastrous. These practices cost billions in wasteful spending driving up costs for American families. But while big insurers put up barriers, America's hospitals and health systems are in your corner, navigating endless reviews and appeals to get you. The care you need when you need it most it's time to curb these harmful practices and put the focus back on patients brought to you by the coalition to strengthen America's health care.