
“We have every intention of fielding a good baseball team, It’s going to have a different profile, but we still have a lot of belief that some of our younger players will take that next step forward." John Mozeliak
"Child care is not just an issue for working parents; it’s an economic issue. A 2021 study revealed that a lack of available child care is costing Missouri’s economy $1.35 billion annually, including $280 million in lost tax revenue." Missouri chamber of commerce.
What do the state of Missouri and the St. Louis Cardinals have in common? They're both struggling with decreasing revenues and less ability to put together a winning, competent organization. Both groups have a lot at stake, but only the Cardinals appear to be going in the right direction.
John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have realized that the methods that worked in the past won't work anymore in professional baseball. With declining tv revenues and attendance, they just can't compete in a world with $765 million, 15-year free agent contracts. Free agency has become an expensive gamble that much of the time doesn't pays off. Yet fans keep hoping for that one new superstar who will come and reinvigorate the franchise.
With free agency less viable, the Cardinals have no choice but to go for younger, less expensive talent. Putting more money into their scouting and farm system might not pay off immediately, but it's much less of a gamble. Developing their own talent is their best chance, as long as they can attract the right coaches and managers in the minor and major leagues, like Whitey Herzog, Phil Jackson, or Ted Lasso. So much of the game of baseball is mental, that physical talent, while important, is secondary.
Missouri, however, is on the opposite path. The state's strategy, as I see it, is to keep lowering its taxes, eventually eliminating them in the hopes that some giant corporations will relocate here and reinvigorate the economy. This short-sighted plan has been tried nationally and in neighboring states and has yet to work. Big companies choose their locations for a variety of reasons and tax rates are one of many. (Just ask the Rams).
The state needs to stop its lazy addiction to tax cuts and try something different. Anything. Give people a better reason to live and work here. Our education system is struggling, with private vouchers, teacher shortages, low pay, and 4-day school weeks threatening the very concept of public education. Our childcare system is in crisis, with many counties becoming childcare deserts, costing the state’s economy over a billion dollars a year according to the Missouri chamber of commerce. And children in Missouri are suffering from a lack of healthcare and food because of the state's punitive attitude towards SNAP and Medicaid.
Children are Missouri's farm system. If we take care of them and develop them to their potential, they will grow into productive citizens and build the state from the bottom up. If we neglect them and shame their parents, they’re less likely to prosper, and more likely to be a burden in the future.
Missouri has benefitted from generous federal subsidies in the past few years that are likely to be cut back in the new Trump administration. The state will have to rely more on its own taxpayers, and cutting out 65% of its revenues seems like a recipe for chaos that no sane business would reward by relocating. Hoping that lower taxes will magically fix everything and attract more business is wishful thinking.
Economies need educated voters, workers, and consumers to truly thrive. They need infrastructure. And they need a robust partnership between business and government to tackle the problems that each cannot solve on its own. Those things don’t come cheaply or easily.
The Cardinals need to rebuild within their means, as does Missouri. With the right leadership, clubhouse chemistry, and the best fans in the world, I believe that the World Series is still within reach. What Cardinals management needs to make clearer is their commitment to honor the franchise and put the best product they can out there, both on and off the field.
What Missouri needs is to show its citizens, especially those in the large metro areas that drive most of the economy, that it cares. About children, about healthcare, and about making things better for everyone. We need leadership from Jefferson City that will strengthen our “farm system” and rediscover that good government matters.
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