Show-Me Institute

The Show-Me Institute (SMI) is a Missouri-based think tank that describes itself as a nonpartisan "research and educational institute dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Missouri." However, it is led by wealthy conservatives and Republican campaign staffers. It was founded in 2005 by billionaire right-wing political donor Rex Sinquefield. SMI is a state think tank member of the State Policy Network (SPN).

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Former Show-Me Institute policy analyst Christine Harbin went on to become a research manager at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). (She then went on to become a federal policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity.) SPN, to which the Show-Me Institute belongs, is also an ALEC member.

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

Pushing the ALEC Agenda
Progress Missouri notes in its report, "What Missourians Need to Know About the Show-Me Institute," that the Show-Me Institute is not the non-partisan think tank it claims to be, but rather a "belief tank" pushing a right-wing agenda in line with the American Legislative Exchange Council and Americans for Prosperity. SMI's work complements the "issue campaigns" of its founder, Rex Sinquefield, in that its output "intentionally supports Sinquefield's larger goals of enacting regressive tax policy in Missouri and other states, privatizing public education and removing local control of local schools with statewide evaluation and hiring practices." SMI overlaps with ALEC and Americans for Prosperity in the following issues:


 * Paycheck "protection" to make it difficult for employees to fund unions
 * Privatizing public education through vouchers and charter schools
 * Teacher tenure reform
 * Healthcare reform (against the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expsansion)
 * Opposition to minimum wage laws/raising the minimum wage
 * Pension reform for public employees (calling for a shift from defined-benefit plans to defined-contribution plans)

Staff Ties to Ideological and Partisan Campaign Efforts
The Progress Missouri report also mentions campaign finance records show SMI staffers work directly for Republican and ideological campaign efforts, and have ties to big business :
 * Rick Edlund, SMI's Communication's Director, has worked as a paid consultant for Cole McNary's bid for Treasurer in 2012, Sarah Steelman's U.S. Senate campaign, and for the House Republican Campaign Committee in 2010. He also worked on former Senator Jim Talent's 2000 campaign.
 * Patrick Tuohey, SMI's "Western Missouri Field Manager," also worked for Steelman's campaign, as press secretary, and was paid by Representative Jay Barnes' campaign in 2012. He is the owner of Market and Communications Research, Inc. (Marcom), whose clients include Mobil, Monsanto, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly
 * Brenda Talent, SMI's Executive Director, is the the spouse of Jim Talent, the former Republican Senator and Congressman.
 * Christine Harbin, former SMI policy analyst, went on to become a research manager at ALEC and a federal policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity
 * Paul Smith, SMI Development Assistant, worked as field director for Ted Cruz's U.S. Senate campaign in Texas.

In addition, the Show-Me Institute's Chief Economist, Joseph Haslag, has been routinely paid to generate industry-friendly studies in his position as the Kenneth Lay Chair is Economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, according to campaign finance records.

Funding
On its website the think tank states that "the Institute's board of directors funds the basic operations of the Show-Me Institute. In addition, we seek financial support from individuals, foundations, and corporations who share our vision for the state and want to improve the quality of the public debate. To preserve our independence, we accept no government funding, and we do not perform contract work."

In its 2006 annual report, the Cato Institute stated that it provided a grant of $50,000 to the Show-Me Institute.

The State Policy Network gave $87,951.49 to the Show Me Institute in 2007, according to its 2007 990 tax form.

According to a report by Progress Missouri, the Show-Me Institute's other right-wing donors include the Koch-funded Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, the Bradley Foundation, the Roe Foundation, and the Koch's Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation and Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.

Board of Directors
As of May 2013:


 * Crosby Kemper III, Chairman of the Board
 * Rex Sinquefield, President
 * Kevin Short, Vice Chairman of the Board
 * W. Bevis Schock, Secretary
 * Joseph Forshaw, Treasurer
 * Stephen F. Brauer
 * James G. Forsyth III
 * Louis Griesemer
 * Hon. Robert M. Heller
 * Michael Podgursky
 * Gerald A. Reynolds
 * Steve Trulaske

Staff
As of May 2013:


 * Rick Edlund, Communications Director
 * Patrick Ishmael, Policy Analyst
 * Elizabeth Lanier-Shipp, Director of Development
 * Michael Rathbone, Policy Researcher
 * Susan E. Sagarra, Editor
 * James V. Shuls, Education Policy Analyst
 * Josh Smith, Website and Data Manager
 * Paul Smith, Development Assistant
 * David Stokes, Policy Analyst
 * Brenda Talent, Executive Director
 * Patrick Tuohey, Western Missouri Field Manager
 * Andrew B. Wilson, Fellow

Former staff include:
 * Jennifer Bumb, Office Manager
 * Kacie Galbraith, Research Assistant

Scholars
As of May 2013:


 * Michele Boldrin, Research Fellow - Professor and Chair of Economics, Washington University
 * Susan K. Feigenbaum, Research Fellow - Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-St. Louis
 * Beverly Gossage, Research Fellow
 * Rik W. Hafer, Research Fellow - Professor of Economics and Finance, Southern Illinois University
 * Joseph Haslag, Chief Economist - Kenneth Lay Chair in Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia
 * Michael Podgursky, Director - Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia
 * David C. Rose, Research Fellow - Professor and Chair of Economics, University of Missouri-St. Louis
 * Daniel Thorton, Research Fellow - Vice President and economic advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
 * Howard Wall, Research Fellow - Director of the Institute for the Study of Economics and the Environment (ISEE) at Lindenwood University
 * Bonnie Wilson, Research Fellow - Associate Professor of Economics at Saint Louis University

Core Financials
 2011  :  2010  :  2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $1,434,730
 * Total Expenses: $1,383,822
 * Net Assets: $468,189
 * Total Revenue: $1,695,988
 * Total Expenses: $1,574,040
 * Net Assets: $417,281
 * Total Revenue: $1,931,999
 * Total Expenses: $1,764,858
 * Net Assets: $295,333

Contact Details
Show-Me Institute 4512 West Pine Blvd. Saint Louis, MO 63108

Phone: (314) 454-0647 Fax: (314) 454-0667 E-mail: info AT showmeinstitute.org Website: http://showmeinstitute.org

External Resources

 * Naomi Schaefer Riley, Meet One of the Super-PAC Men, Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2012.