Joe Haslag is a professor of economics at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Professor Haslag has done research at the Federal Reserve Banks of Saint Louis, Dallas, and Atlanta. He serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Roundtable and the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis' Business Economic Regional Group. He has taught at Southern Methodist University, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and Michigan State University. Haslag has published his research in the Journal of Monetary Economics, the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and the International Economic Review. His research has been cited in more than 100 academic papers.

One of the biggest questions state governments are asking right now is how to create jobs for millions of unemployed workers without breaking their already tenuous state budgets.

The beauty of the Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act (SJR29) is that by attracting every kind of new business, industry and job to Missouri and taxing sales rather than income, Missouri will be generating actual jobs and moving to a more stable source of revenue for the future. The benefits of jobs creation are incredibly vast and ongoing, as the gainfully employed will have more to spend on Missouri businesses, and those businesses will offer more jobs, and those workers will increasingly be able to contribute to a booming economy.

Think about that! With the Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act, Missouri could be the most desirable place in the Midwest to open a small business. It could be a hub for major corporations of any and all industries, without the gamble of corporate tax credits.

Missouri historically was a terrific connector of trade and travel. By eliminating the state income tax, we could see Missouri again as the economic engine of the Midwest. This one change will give all kinds of businesses a reason to open up shop in Missouri. We'll stop punishing workers for earning money. We'll accomplish the job growth that people are hungry for. We'll go from a middle-of-the-pack state to a leader of growth and prosperity.