Bloggers Unite

Author: Ryan Gavin

  • Pre-Filing Antics Continue As Politicians Rush To Get Their Soundbite

    Under the Dome graphic with Missouri State Capitol Dome in background

    Welcome back to Under the Dome, your weekly update on the goings-on of the Missouri state legislature.

    Activists Convinced A Lawmaker To Withdraw A Bill Criminalizing Abortion

    Last week, Missouri State Rep. Bob Titus, a Republican from Billings, proposed legislation that would have criminalized abortion, putting women and doctors at risk of jail time for getting or providing necessary health care.

    A national outcry soon followed – abortion was the most talked-about political topic in Missouri on Twitter/X, and the President even commented on it.

    Screenshot of headline and lead image from linked Kansas City Star article

    The public pressure got to Rep. Titus, and he withdrew the bill. One version of the bill, filed in the senate by Senator Mike Moon from Ash Grove, remains.

    Lawmakers Want To Make Life Harder For LGBTQ People

    New bills filed this week show the legislature wants to continue its attempts to make life harder for LGBTQ people – just in time for campaign season.

    “The single common theme that’s happening right now is the legislature is attacking LGBTQ+ people and their very ability to exist on a day to day life,” said Robert Fischer, a spokesperson for PROMO. “Everyone’s trying to get their soundbite together for their campaign.”

    Proposals range from “Don’t Say Gay”-style education bans to bills that would make it illegal to use someone’s preferred name in school.

  • RELEASE: Data Shows Missouri Minimum Wage Isn’t Enough For Workers

    Hands opening a wallet but no money is inside.

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Tuesday, December 12, 2023
    Contact: kelli@progressmo.org

    Numerical and anecdotal data make it clear – $12 isn’t cutting it

    Columbia, MO – Missouri workers are struggling to make ends meet on the $12 minimum wage.

    “$12 an hour simply doesn’t cut it when it comes to trying to meet my family’s needs,” said Kaamilya Hobbs, an Arby’s employee from Kansas City. “I gave birth to my second child in September, and while I should’ve been focused on my health as a high-risk pregnant woman, my boyfriend and I were scrambling to find another place to live because we got evicted by a slumlord who didn’t care about us. No one should have to struggle to pay for food, medical bills, clothing, and other needs.”

    The evidence isn’t purely anecdotal. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a single-person household in the Kansas City metropolitan area needs an annual income of $37,214 to afford a “modest yet adequate standard of living.” For comparison, a full-time employee making $12 an hour – and taking no sick days or vacations for a full year – would only clear $24,960. For a family of four like Hobbs’, child care, housing and food costs drastically inflate that number: two adults and two kids would require an annual income of $85,544 for the same “modest yet adequate standard of living.”

    Screenshots showing monthly cost breakdowns for 1 adult and no children. 2 adults and 2 children. In Kansas City.

    On the other side of the state, living costs are slightly lower, but still high enough to keep minimum wage earners out of an “adequate” standard of living. The EPI reports a single-person household in the St. Louis metropolitan area would need an annual income of $35,144 and a family of four would need $80,992 to maintain an adequate standard of living.

    Screenshots showing monthly cost breakdowns for 1 adult and no children. 2 adults and 2 children. In St. Louis.

    To make matters worse, the EPI’s calculator uses data from 2020. Nearly four years later, costs have gone up. For example, EPI allocates $731 a month for rent in Kansas City, but a December 2023 report says median rent in the city is $997 – and that’s a decrease from November 2023.

    While Missouri plans to increase the minimum wage to $12.30 in 2024, the change will only increase a single-person’s annual income to $25,584, still nearly $10,000 short of EPI’s lowest estimated necessary income.

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  • The Missouri Legislature Is So Back – And They’re Ready To Make Missouri Worse

    Graphic text: Under the dome: your weekly update on the Missouri Legislature

    Welcome back to Under the Dome, your weekly update on the goings-on of the Missouri state legislature.

    Starting December 1, Missouri’s state legislators started pre-filing bills ahead of the 2024 legislative session. While legislators won’t officially reconvene under the dome until January 3, the bills they’ve filed so far make it clear: the roadmap for 2024 includes getting rid of your voice and your freedoms.

    Attacks On Majority Rule

    Once again, the legislature is coming for your voice. Last year, legislators spent months debating how exactly they wanted to abolish majority rule in passing constitutional amendments. By filing nearly 20 bills targeting the initiative petition process in the first week of pre-filing, legislators have made it clear they don’t care what Missourians want.

    Cuts To Public Education Funding

    Missouri has gotten national attention this year for its abysmal teacher pay and school funding. In 2024, the state legislature plans to pour gas on the fire by expanding voucher programs and charter schools. These bills would take money away from chronically underfunded public schools and give it to private institutions that don’t have to follow the same rules.

    Bringing Back Right-to-Work

    In 2018, Missourians voted to get rid of “right-to-work” laws, which would make it harder for working Missourians to advocate for fair and safe working conditions. But since our politicians don’t care what Missourians want, they’ve decided to bring it back.

    Restrictions On Abortion Access

    Even though Missouri has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, that’s still not enough for the most extreme members of the legislature. Under some of their proposals, anyone who gets or provides an abortion could potentially be charged with murder.

    Increased School Censorship

    Politicians in both chambers want to expand school censorship, even as Missouri is considered one of the most censored states in the country.

  • RELEASE: Jeff City Politicians Plot To End Majority Rule In 2024

    Aerial view of the Missouri State Capitol building on the river in Jefferson City, Missouri.

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Wednesday, November 29, 2023
    Contact: kelli@progressmo.org

    After failing to end majority rule in 2023, Missouri legislators pre-file legislation to dismantle the initiative petition process

    Jefferson City, MO – Ahead of the 2024 Missouri legislative session, legislators have pre-filed nearly 20 bills aimed at dismantling the initiative petition process, making it harder for Missourians’ voices to be heard.

    “The League of Women Voters believes responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people,” said Marilyn McLeod, President of the League of Women Voters. “The citizen initiative petition is the most direct form of voter participation in our democracy. This valuable and trusted process has been enshrined in the Missouri Constitution for more than 100 years and has been used for both conservative and progressive issues. It is already a complicated and difficult process. Therefore, the League of Women Voters of Missouri opposes any attempts to make it more difficult to get a measure on the ballot or to raise the threshold for approval.”

    “Missouri’s initiative petition process represents the purest form of direct democracy. It is the way Missouri voters across the political spectrum can let their voices be heard,” said Denise Lieberman, Director and General Counsel at the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition. “Missourians overwhelmingly support the initiative petition process. These continued efforts by legislators to limit voter participation and freedom of speech is anti-American and undermines our democratic process.”

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  • Plocher’s Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Ethics Investigation Saga Continues

    Plocher looking disappointed and sad away from the camera during an interview

    In October, Progress MO reported that Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, a Republican representative from Des Peres, had repeatedly broken the law. We joined hundreds of Missourians in calling for an investigation into Plocher’s schemes, as well as for his immediate resignation.

    Since then, the House has launched an ethics investigation against Plocher. But Plocher has also become more bold in his defiance of the law.

    Before the House committee investigating Plocher reconvenes Dec. 6, here’s a debrief on what’s happened so far.

    Plocher Threatened To Fire An Employee For Exposing His Government Contract Scheme

    As previously reported by the Missouri Independent, Plocher committed “unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” in seeking an expensive government contract that could benefit elected officials running for office. Then, he announced his own campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

    Plocher Used Campaign Funds To Pay For Travel, Lied About It, And Got The State To Reimburse His Campaign

    Plocher used taxpayer dollars to reimburse his campaign nine times since taking office in 2018. He signed sworn affidavits saying he had used personal funds, not campaign funds, to pay for travel when seeking reimbursement – a blatant lie. These illegal reimbursements could violate both state and federal law.

    Plocher Fired His Chief of Staff – And Replaced Him With A Criminal

    After the two ethics violations above and extensive public pressure, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Plocher.

    Plocher fired his chief of staff and hired a new one: former House Speaker Rod Jetton, who admitted to assaulting a woman. Maybe Plocher figured Jetton’s past scandals gave him the necessary experience to coach Plocher through his current ones.

    Plocher’s Investigation Continues – Let Your Legislators Know Where You Stand

    The House Ethics Committee meets again today to continue investigating Plocher. They should know Missourians won’t stand for another corrupt Speaker.

    Write a letter to your legislators now to let them know you want Plocher OUT.

    For more of Progress MO’s coverage on Speaker Plocher’s legal problems, read Bring The Hammer Down on Plocher

  • RELEASE: Working Families Deserve To Take A Sick Day Without Ruining Their Holiday

    Woman in a white coat with a stethoscope working on a laptop computer with a clipboard

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Wednesday, November 29, 2023
    Contact: kelli@progressmo.org

    As cold and flu cases increase and holidays loom, how many working parents will put their health at risk to give their kids a good holiday?

    Columbia, MO – As Missouri gets colder and people gather with family and friends to celebrate the holidays, winter illnesses are on the rise. What does that mean for Missouri’s working families?

    The most common winter illnesses, like bronchitis and the flu, can come with painful and even life-threatening symptoms, like fever, chest pain, body aches and shortness of breath. Most winter illnesses are also contagious, and doctors recommend waiting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to go back to work to avoid spreading sickness. 

    Only a slim majority (58%) of full-time employees in Missouri are eligible for paid sick leave. Plus, the industries where people are least likely to have sick leave – like construction and food service – are also the industries where working with winter illness could be the most harmful. Working in a physical industry like construction with an illness could be life threatening, and food service workers could easily transmit contagious diseases.

    While federal law guarantees unpaid sick and family leave, neither federal nor Missouri law guarantee access to paid sick leave. And Missourians who make less than $75,000 annually are less likely to have access to paid sick leave than those who make more than $75,000. Missourians like Marieta Ortiz, who works as a server at RC’s restaurant and Mission Taco in Kansas City, are only a few sick days away from disaster.

    “I am a single mom working two jobs,” said Ortiz. “I’ve been sick and had to take unpaid time off from work. I’m actually sick right now and have been for weeks. I haven’t had any time off to recover, so I’ve had to take over-the-counter medicine at work just to get through the day. I can’t afford to take time off because I’m trying to pay down bills I’m already behind on, so I can’t even go to the doctor to get better medicine. My bills don’t take a day off so I can’t either. Paid sick days would allow single parents like me to put my health and my kids’ health first. It would give me the chance to actually recover from illness and make sure I can take care of my children and take them to the doctor when they get sick too.”

    The financial issues attributed to unpaid sick leave will only increase in the holiday season, as consumers are expected to spend anywhere from an additional $850 to $1500 during the winter holiday season.

  • Protecting Their Votes

    Person in a wheelchair with bright fuschia hair using their computer with title text "Protecting Their Votes"

    It’s Time For Missouri To Make It Easier For People With Disabilities To Vote

    This week, elderly Missourians and Missourians with disabilities are challenging a new voter ID law that makes it harder for them to vote.

    But overturning this anti-democratic law should be just the beginning. If Missouri politicians want to work for adults with disabilities, they have a long way to go in earning their trust and building a state that works for them.

    Missouri’s Voting Laws Make It Harder For Adults With Disabilities To Vote

    Even without restrictive voting laws like those found in Missouri, adults with disabilities face more barriers to voting than adults without disabilities. National research from earlier this year found that 18% of voters with disabilities have difficulty waiting in line to vote, compared to only 11% of voters without disabilities. Voters with disabilities are more than twice as likely as voters without disabilities to say they have difficulty getting to their polling place.

    In Missouri, anti-democratic voting laws make it harder for people with disabilities. The voter ID law currently in the courts has a disproportionate effect on voters with disabilities, who are almost twice as likely not to have photo ID than voters without disabilities.

    According to Brianna Lennon, the County Clerk for Boone County, county election authorities don’t get the necessary funding to train election workers on how to help voters with disabilities or to fix broken equipment. State law also doesn’t require accessible voting equipment at every polling place.

    Finally, Missouri’s absentee voting requirements present unique challenges to voters with disabilities. Missouri requires mail-in ballots to be received by election day with notarization, which is uniquely challenging for adults with disabilities who must rely on caregivers or paratransit services.

    What Can Politicians Do About It?

    61% of voters with disabilities do not believe that public officials and politicians care about what people with disabilities think. If politicians want to change that perception, it’s on them to expand access to the ballot box.

    We’re calling on politicians to:

    • Stop supporting and proposing anti-democratic voter ID laws that disproportionately impact people with disabilities.
    • Fully fund local election authorities so they can train election workers and provide accessible polling places and voting equipment.
    • Expand access to mail-in voting to make it easier for voters with disabilities to vote by mail.
    • Expand the in-person absentee voting period to the national average of 20 days, as voters with disabilities are more likely to have difficulty with reliable transportation and consistent schedules.

    Show Your Support

    Share our posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and/or BlueSky to show Missouri politicians you support voters with disabilities!

  • Highlighting Local Heroes: Who We’re Thankful For This Year

    Thankful for Missouri Heroes

    2023 hasn’t been the best year for Missouri. From attacks on trans kids to school censorship to an investigation into the House Speaker, there’s been plenty to worry about.

    But as Thanksgiving approaches, Progress MO has been reflecting on some of the local heroes that have made this year a little bit easier. Here are some folks we’re especially thankful for:

    The Right To Read Coalition

    After Missouri was named the number one state in the country on school censorship, activist Lisa Bernstein formed The Right To Read Coalition.

    The Right To Read Coalition is a group of anti-censorship organizations from around Missouri that helps defend rural libraries in the face of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s absurd law targeting libraries.

    Follow and support The Right To Read Coalition here.

    The Missouri Family Health Council

    Submitted by Progress MO activist Sue Gibson, The Missouri Family Health Council is a non-profit working to expand access to reproductive health care.

    In the face of Missouri’s war on reproductive rights, The Missouri Family Health Council provides both education and essential health care services to those who need it most.

    Find out how you can get involved with The Missouri Family Health Council here.

    Operation Food Search

    This summer, when Missouri refused to feed hungry kids, Operation Food Search stepped up to the plate.

    Operation Food Search also works year-round to provide food for families in need, giving free produce to St. Louis-area families and working with local stores to set families up with a real Thanksgiving dinner.

    Support Operation Food Search’s mission here.

    Missouri Area Agencies on Aging

    With the shutdown of rural hospitals across the state, the Missouri Area Agencies on Aging have filled gaps in medical transportation, health insurance guidance and more.

    Missouri Area Agencies on Aging has 10 chapters across the state to meet seniors’ needs as they navigate healthy aging.

    To support Missouri Area Agencies on Aging, visit their website here.

    Oak Park High School Students

    Missouri legislators – who, despite what their actions might say, are full-grown adults – set aside most of 2023’s legislative session to bully a bunch of kids.

    But when legislators reverted back to schoolyard bullying, the real school children at Oak Park High School stood firm by a trans classmate, Tristan Young, who they nominated and voted to win homecoming queen. After her win was announced, amid a barrage of hate, both Young and the other students at Oak Park stood firm.

    To support trans kids and other LGBTQ Missourians, connect with PROMO here.

  • RELEASE: Recent Changes to Missouri SNAP Program Reveal a Broken System

    Grocery store produce section featuring stacks of fresh items like tomatoes, apples

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Friday, November 17, 2023
    Contact: kelli@progressmo.org

    Columbia, MO – Over the past two years, Missouri SNAP benefits have undergone major changes. As food prices continue to surge, Missouri families suffer, and often community food banks feel the heat of increased demand.

    In September 2021, Missouri ended pandemic-era SNAP benefits, leaving families with $95 less a month to feed their families Then, this summer, Missouri declined to participate in a federally funded program to provide extra benefits for school children during the summer months. On July 1, 2023, Missouri reinstated a 3-month time limit on SNAP benefits for unemployed adults, which expired on October 1.

    In 2022, 657,900 Missourians received SNAP benefits, and up to 28,000 Missourians were eligible to lose benefits once the 3-month time limit was reintroduced in July. Food prices have continued to increase through 2023. The simultaneous increase in food prices and decrease in SNAP benefits has led some to cut down to 1 or 2 meals a day.

    Food pantries feel the pressure to make up the difference. Kera Mashek, United Way of Greater Kansas City’s Director of Communications, reported a 35% increase in the past year to their 211 call line:

    Food assistance is continually in our top five most requested services from individuals calling in or searching our website for help. [The United Way of Greater Kansas City] issued emergency food pantry grants to help with record inflation earlier this year to help keep pantry shelves stocked amid record demand.

    Missouri electeds should fight to increase access to healthy, nutritious food and get rid of failing systems that keep needy families from staying fed. A study by the Urban Institute found that SNAP time limits don’t increase employment – they just decrease the amount of aid going to people who need it.

    And this year, Missouri refused to participate in summer benefits program because of failing infrastructure. Missouri failed to distribute 2022 aid in time because of a faulty system, so the state had time to take action. Many states faced the same issue – so they rebuilt their system. Missouri didn’t. Families took the fall. Further, Missouri’s failing SNAP call center has been the subject of a federal lawsuit due to extreme wait times, another issue that could be resolved if lawmakers invested in taking care of vulnerable Missourians.

  • Man Enough To Help?

    Josh Hawley looking confused with text overlay "Man enough to help?"

    Hawley Knows The Problems Facing America’s Young Men. But Is He Man Enough To Address Them?

    November 19 is International Men’s Day. As men face high rates of mental illness, drug addiction and suicide, International Men’s Day (IMD) aims to bring awareness to the reasons men might be uniquely vulnerable and to present systemic solutions.

    So what does Missouri’s self-proclaimed manhood expert Josh Hawley think about this?

    While Josh Hawley seems to understand the issues at hand – men are paid less than their fathers were for the same work, aren’t receiving adequate education and struggle with mental illness and drug addiction – he doesn’t seem that interested in solving them.

    IMD is clear that their mission is to promote positive male role models, improve gender equality and highlight discrimination against men in social expectations. Hawley’s Manhood book, released earlier this year, does the opposite.

    Hawley blames men for their issues, claiming they have no purpose and aren’t trying hard enough because they are “content to be dependent” on their families and the government. He mocks men who live with their parents, battle drug addiction and face unemployment, saying they have “disinterest in work” and are “incapable of living on their own.”

    Josh Hawley has the power to address the issues plaguing young men. He could write and pass legislation diverting more resources towards mental health or addressing drug addiction. Instead, he backed legislation to undercut labor and education. Hawley would rather pin the responsibility on his constituents than vote to improve their lives.

    Of course phony Josh Hawley would milk men’s issues for political points without fixing them – he has no problem doing the same on labor and veterans’ issues. 

    But Hawley adds insult to injury when he advocates in his book for a bootstraps approach – the banker’s son and Yale grad never had to work hard for a thing in his life.

    So this International Men’s Day, let’s advocate for real change, and push Josh Hawley to do the same. If he wants to make manhood his passion project, he needs to put his money where his mouth is.