Even as the federal number-crunchers are telling us that the recession is over, more bad economic news is coming to Missouri.

As my colleague Virginia Young reports today, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will be making more budget cuts today — probably at least $300 million and maybe more.

A comment from one state lawmaker in the story really struck me. Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said: “The big places you go to get money are higher education and (elementary and secondary) education, but those are the untouchables.”

That’s because of Nixon’s pledge to keep funding for colleges stable.

I have a…

An article in Thursday’s Post-Dispatch reports that a group of health officials are advocating for a penny-an-ounce tax on sugary soda waters.

The group, which had an article in Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine, say the tax could raise $14.9 billion in its first year and help reduce American’s caloric intake by 10 percent.

The group argues that the tax could help curb consumption of sodas and other sugary drinks just as tobacco taxes have curbed cigarette use.

While President Barack Obama has said the tax would be worth considering, the idea is a tough sell to members of Congress who are…

For years, employees have avoided taxes on their business cell phones, considered ‘fringe benefits,’ by the Internal Revenue Service since 1989. Now the agency is weighing a proposal that could strictly enforce that tax.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the IRS has proposed employers assign 25 percent of an employee’s annual phone expenses as a taxable benefit.

The IRS move, which is spurring efforts by the wireless industry and others to kill the idea, would mark a stricter enforcement of an existing rule that classifies employer-provided cellphones as a taxable benefit, rather than a 24-hour-a-day work tool.

Under a 1989 law, workers…

Taxpayers across the country have a little more than three weeks to square up with the government — via the Internal Revenue Service — for last year’s income.

For some people, filing their 1040s (or 1040EZs, if lucky) might take a little more ‘grin and bear it’ this year than in years past.

 After all, we’re seeing the government hand out billions to failing banks. Today’s news is that the government wants to spend at least $500 billion — and possibly up to $1 trillion — to buy up toxic assets to get them off the books of our troubled banks.

And…

::UPDATE:: We’re also talking over here about the selection of Sarah Palin from Alaska as John McCain’s running mate. History-making, either way.

After a 19-month campaign that started with many, many Democratic candidates, Sen. Barack Obama stood in the midst of Mile High Stadium tonight and accepted the nomination of his party to run as their candidate for president.

While paying respect to opponent John McCain for his service to the country, he also worked hard in his speech to tie the Republican candidate to the presidency of George Bush.

Before an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the “broken politics…