Blog Post Archives - Empower Missouri

Diversion Programs: Creating Exit Ramps from the Criminal Legal System

“Diversion” is a broad term that refers to the many forms of exit ramps that can divert people from the criminal legal system. Instead of…

Stop Taxing our Most Vulnerable Neighbors Out of Their Homes-Update Missouri’s Circuit Breaker Tax Credit Now!

In 2022, we saw the worst inflation in nearly 40 years. Inflation, rising property taxes and rising rents are leaving many of our neighbors, particularly…

Getting Ahead Shouldn’t Have a Catch – Let’s Fix the Benefits Cliff

Getting a raise or landing a better paying job sounds like great news, especially if your income is low enough that you need additional support…

To Prioritize the Health of Missouri Families, We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid

A bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers have proposed evidence-based policy that will help close to half of Missouri’s growing families. They seek to extend postpartum…

The Restaurant Meals Program Would Make Healthy Meals Accessible to More SNAP Participants

Food Insecurity in the U.S. and Here at Home in Missouri More than 34 million people experience food insecurity in the United States. That includes…

A Clean Slate Will Offer Thousands of Missourians Better Access to Safe, Affordable Housing

Among Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are the lowest and arguably most important necessities humans require to exist; physiological needs. These include basic essentials such as…

It’s Time for Missouri to Join the Majority of Other States and End the Food Sales Tax

The pandemic and its impact on our economy hit all of us hard, and illuminated the struggles low-wage workers face in ways that we had…

State Legislators Want to Put the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Under State Control– But Why?

When pre-filing for the 2023 Legislative Session opened in December, I braced myself for bills that are filed every year, that we fight every year,…

Treating our Children as Adults is Not Justice – We Must Raise the Age in Missouri

The Missouri legislature is seeking to pass some significant changes to our criminal justice system this session. In the months ahead, you are likely to…

Restricting Democracy is Never the Answer

The initiative petition process is a right we share enshrined in Missouri’s constitution, Article III, Section 49: “The people reserve power to propose and enact…