Economic Development:
Invest In Tomorrow
Our city government wrongly pushes silver bullet projects to course-correct our city’s decline. Time-and-time again, these proposals fail because they mortgage the future for immediate short-term benefits — and in doing so, they neglect the most important part of the future: St. Louis children. We won’t see an improvement to this city until we ensure our kids can thrive and become successful. Our youth should be at the center of every decision we make for this city’s future.
Immediate Priorities
Education Centers + Schools
You pay taxes into the system which support our public schools and early childhood centers: AAA Busch Middle, Woerner Elementary, Growing Footprints Childcare & Preschool, etc. Why shouldn’t real estate developers do the same? I oppose TIFs and tax abatements to incentivize businesses in areas that don’t need it. Every dollar we give away in property tax breaks is a dollar not spent on our city schools.
Youth Employment Opportunities
Our own St. Louis Public School Board of Education recommended programs be developed to provide our children with summer internship employment. These opportunities provide teenagers a wage and valuable skill sets, which last long into their lives. I support investing in programs like St. Louis Youth Jobs and creating new programs that mimic the success of other cities like One Summer Chicago.
Affordable + Accessible Services
Did you know the average rent in St. Louis went up 22% since January 2020? Our minimum wage, on the other hand, will only go up by $0.85 this year. I support ensuring people have access to affordable services like housing, transit, and public parks. These are vital to providing children safe places outside schools and contributing to infrastructure families build their lives around.
Long-Term Solutions
Give every person in our city the opportunities they need to thrive, and it’ll result in making St. Louis a great place to do business. #STL
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Increase Education Funding
Quality education is a human right. It also is directly related to a city’s long-term success. Poorly-funded education leads to parents leaving the city, and the resulting decline in students leads to further reduction of education funds. We need to break this cycle of decline and ensure our children can achieve lifelong employment, income, and health.
Create A highly employable workforce
As new innovative technologies emerge, our workforce must be ready to meet the demands of the future. One huge area our city is not prepared for right now is the development of clean energy and energy saving systems. We can train and employ people in this line of work in accordance with the city’s Pathways Report. This example is one of many we can begin to explore and give people an opportunity to become valuable workers.
Eliminate Child poverty
+ REduce welfare need
St. Louis has one of the nation’s highest child poverty rates, sitting at 40%. The results of this issue last well past development and determine their entire future. Children without resources struggle to graduate high school, fail to find financial stability, and have shorter life expectancy. We need to eliminate these success barriers and help struggling families. Everyone deserves to live with dignity and adequately provide for their children.
Bill Stephens for 12th Ward Alderman 