Too often, Missouri state legislators are faced with what sounds like a good idea, so they file a bill for a new law, a new subsidy, a new tax credit or a new regulation.

When the government meddles in our lives with new laws, there are usually unforeseen unintended consequences.

The unintended consequences of new laws are sometimes called the Cobra Effect. In the 1870s, the British Raj government placed a bounty on the Cobra snake in India. It was a well-intentioned attempt to reduce the population of deadly Cobra snakes. However, enterprising Indian residents responded by breeding cobras to collect the bounty. Years later the program was canceled and then the breeders released their captive snakes. The cobra population was then larger than when the bounty was first offered. 

Charlie Munger, the late vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway said: “Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome.”

Reason Magazine explains a 1992 story of unintended consequences from Alberta Canada.

The Loonie Toss:

The Problem: Nude dancing is degrading to women and ruining the moral fabric of Alberta, Canada.

The Solution: Establish a one-meter (3 foot) buffer zone between patrons and dancers.

Sounds like total buzzkill! With puritanical intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

It turns out that dancers earn most of their money in the form of tips, and paper dollar bills don’t fly through the air very well. Thus, the measure designed to protect dancers from degrading treatment resulted in “the loonie toss” — a creepy ritual where naked women are pelted with Canadian one-dollar coins, which are known as loonies.

Way to make the ladies feel special, Alberta. (reason.com)

New taxes always have hidden consequences. When the state government grows, the money comes from our residents. Every dollar of new state government spending, is one less dollar for spending in the economy by the tax payer. The consequence is private industry suffers at the expense of a larger bureaucracy. The Missouri state budget has doubled since 2019. Legislators have an opportunity to actually shrink state spending back to match our income in 2026.

Missouri voters approved raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2024. Higher minimum wage laws always have consequences — often ones that hurt the very group of people the proponents claim to want to help. Higher labor costs will cause some businesses to cut jobs, reduce hours, or replace workers with automation. The self order kiosks at fast food restaurants are relevant examples. Higher food prices at fast food restaurants also follow increased costs caused by government mandated higher wages.

Most of the time, legislators should just say no to new laws, because the vast majority of proposed ideas are not the proper role of the state government. Beyond that lawmakers, your legacy of that new law could be as embarrassing as loonie coin bruises on naked dancers.

The Missouri legislature goes back into session Wednesday Jan. 7 and ends Friday May 15. Pre-filing of bills is underway right now.