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Hey, thanks for joining us for Last Call.

This is where we broach the topics we didn't have time for in the first segment.

Hey, Bill, I want to ask you about Peabody Energy.

Uh you've been in downtown St.

Louis for what, 40 years or so, working uh for the Post Dispatch.

Peabody had been down there for 70 years, but just announced this week that it's moving to 270 and Manchester following a number of firms that have announced the same thing in the past five or so years.

Your thoughts?

>> Well, I thought it was sad.

I mean, downtown is very important to the region and I kind of got a kick out of Greater St.

Louis, Inc., you know, who had this national search to find a new executive director or whatever, chieftain, uh, Mr.

Kitchens from Witchah Falls.

And he was he seemed to be fine with it.

He said, hey, we're just happy that Peabody is staying in the region, you know, and I thought, well, I don't know if he's serious about that.

I mean, it's kind of, you know, we talk about uh the people losing faith in in somebody's honesty or trust.

I thought, does Mr.

Kitchens really think this is okay?

This is cool.

>> I I'm going to I'll defend him.

>> Okay.

>> Only on this sense.

He is working for Greater St.

Louis, Inc.

And what else are you going to say?

>> Yeah, those jerks >> say those jerks in West County will also, you know, I mean, >> I I know, but don't get insincere what I'm Well, but I mean that's what they do.

They're sincere about everything.

And I will give them this.

It is better that they did not just say we're closing it and we're going to Kansas shenanity or wherever.

I mean at least they are staying here.

So I mean yes um he carefully couched it in a way that was probably overly positive than people.

>> A little polyianish for me is all.

I mean yeah but >> we have a problem here that I'm not sure he gets.

>> I I got to agree with you on that.

And then they're about to I they may have had it already, but there's a big like let's celebrate St.

Louis and they're going to have the mayor and all these people are going to be there and it's just going to be a big session.

I think somebody ballpark village or something like that.

Well, when the news like this hits I think your reaction has to be a little bit more like look we are trying very very hard to retain all businesses but obviously we got to try harder.

I think say something like that.

>> Well in some way you don't need a big building.

You know, there also comes when the business looks at it from wherever their international headquarters are and says nobody works in the office anymore and we're down to onethird of what we used to.

We can save money, you know, and that's what a company's doing.

>> I think that's why they're wait actually.

I think that's why they're moving now.

Everybody wanted to make it about crime because oh, they got their windows shut out five years ago or something.

I And that's terrible thing.

Don't get me wrong, but this was just about dollars and cents, I think.

And I don't know how you're going to fight that battle.

I mean, that's that's what it's always about.

And I think we're we are rapidly, you know, we're we're getting to the point where we feel like anyway when we read these stories with the last one leaving St.

Louis turn out the lights.

I mean, it feels that way.

That's the perception.

And that is something that somebody is going to have to get really, really aggressive about.

And I don't care if that's, you know, sitting down.

I I I don't know if they would even have the authority to do that kind of thing.

What can we do to keep you?

I mean, in >> the death of a thousand cuts by a thousand cuts >> and and all the stories I read are that the downtown square footage price is lower than it is out in West County.

Definitely.

So, the idea that, well, this is going to save them a lot of money.

I I don't get that either.

>> But they owe the building though.

Uh, I don't I don't think they did.

All right.

Okay.

But Alvin, I would say uh the the crime has to have something to do with it because the citizens for a greater downtown St.

Louis, maybe it was five years ago now, you know, uh but they were posting photos of the wood covering the windows of Peabody and that was because there was gunfire.

And you know, if you've got an office, you find bullets in it Monday morning, that might give you second thoughts about where you want to, you know, renew your lease.

>> Okay, I'm somewhere in between.

I I don't think it's the main reason, but when you have a company like Pay and you say, "Okay, we're downsized.

We don't need this building.

Let's look for a place."

So, you start wondering, you say the square footage, but where do our employees live?

>> The ones that do come into the office, where do they want to be?

And how much do we got to move once?

We're either going to move somewhere, whether it's in the city or so.

They go, you know what?

Let's move out to 270 where two thirds of our employees live within 10 minutes of that.

So, to me, it's it came down to a logical decision.

And the poor guy from Greater St.

Louis had to put lipstick on.

>> But they didn't leave town.

They didn't leave town.

>> The guy for Greater St.

Louis is Joe.

He is in charge of the whole region.

He's just right.

But but that downtown is in crisis >> and they are 270 and Manchester is not >> unless it's rush hour traffic and then you've got a crisis.

>> Brand St.

Louis, Inc.

is leading the charge to save downtown.

I mean, it isn't like everybody else is stepping up from St.

Charles and St.

Peter saying like, "Hey, we got to save downtown."

>> Well, it's part of a region.

But yeah, I think that was a little >> Let me ask you this, Alvin.

Do you think we might attract more people to Missouri and downtown?

If the governor gets his way to eliminate the state income tax, which he announced this week, >> well, if we have no state income tax, we're not going to have any services.

And so, for whatever reason, you would come here, you would not come here.

It's it's shortsighted.

It's ridiculous.

Let's eliminate 63% of the budget without any plan whatsoever.

How to replace 63% of the budget.

I think this is just more I got to get their minds off redistricting.

I got to get their minds off a lot of stuff going on right now.

So, let's throw this out.

>> Well, Alvin, they'll just increase taxes in some other states.

I mean, that's what other states do.

you you have to pay for services and so they'll raise the property tax this >> you have been you've you've been the sounding the alarm about the sales tax receipts and where you go and how many different lines there are can you imagine if we eliminate the income tax >> okay here's what you do first of all you start tolls on the highways you raise money that way you increase the cigarette tax the sports gambling tax the marijuana tax and the cigarette tax.

And I think that would be good.

I don't think it's going to cover all of the income tax.

>> No, no, it won't.

And two of those will never happen.

That tolls ain't going to happen.

And what was the second one you said?

Uh yeah.

Oh, the the gasoline.

>> Gasoline, alcohol.

Those two gambling, marijuana, >> the other three might, but you're asking what is pretty much a small percentage of people, you'll increase their taxes.

And meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of people won't be paying uh income tax in the state of Missouri.

and the state of Missouri, which has got a money problem right now.

You're just exacerbating that problem.

>> And we're talking about people leaving downtown St.

Louis, you know, in in in droves.

And where's the toll road?

I mean, is it going to going to go in or going out?

I mean, >> no, no, no.

I would just put tolls on the existing highways.

I think we should do that regardless.

>> Absolutely.

>> That makes sense.

Absolutely.

I I I think at least to >> I'm going to do something that apparently few reporters and no politicians do.

I'm going to read into the plan that Kehoe's first of all I don't think it's good there's always something less than 100% elimination of it you start rolling logs in the legislature maybe there's a reduction on the income tax state income tax rate but I am always for one lower taxes because I'm getting tired of where government every solution to their problem is well we need to do this well we just need to raise taxes we just need to raise taxes >> we haven't raised tax I will applaud anybody who says let's take a look at lowering the taxes but I Charlie points out a couple of good things.

How about being creative?

How about being cutting edge on how to replace those?

And all of Charlie's ideas were good ideas that I've talked about in favor of before.

We've talked about toll roads on here long overdue.

Hiken the gasoline tax.

Quit saying we have the lowest cigarette tax in the in the United States.

Then jack it up, you know.

>> Well, you can don't interrupt him.

Yeah, he's on a roll, >> you know, but but what he what he outlined were >> creative plans for replacing an income tax, which most people see as just a burden.

You're already paying a federal income tax.

Now, the state's going to tax my income.

>> Well, you're going to pay it some way is what I'm saying, Joe.

Whether it's a property tax, income tax, a fast food, you know, the government, you know, you you might not like to pay taxes, but we need services and the only way we can get that, we can't print money.

The feds can do that.

We have to pay.

>> But if you're not smoking and you're not driving a lot, you pay less.

Income tax gets everybody.

In fact, in in it hurts the people who make less money.

>> Okay?

>> It's like a sales tax.

Stop drinking and stop gambling.

>> Okay, Bill, we're running out of time because the crew wants to get out of here.

However, uh for a long time at Lambert Field, they've been extending contracts of the vendors without putting those contracts out for bid.

Uh there was COVID, there was the threat of privatization.

Now they're talking about a massive recall.

And again, the vendors, you know, who sell the newspapers, the bottled water, and the coffee, they're going to be able to extend uh their contracts without competition from another bid.

Is that a good move?

>> No, I think it's a very bad idea.

And the commissioner, the airport commissioner from St.

Charles County, Canrell, I think his name, said, you know, there's always an excuse.

There's always a reason to extend these contracts.

And secondly, if I was the city, one of the people involved as a consultant here with the people who need to want want to extend the contracts is Stephen Tilly.

And you know, I I wouldn't want to do business with somebody I couldn't trust.

And I think that if Stephen Till's involved, the city ought to read this twice and then read it again and again.

Bad idea.

This no bid stuff.

>> I think it's a good idea just for now.

just just to like a stop gap just for now.

>> Well, when is for now seconds?

>> I mean, yes, I bid them out.

>> There'll be another crisis in 19 in 2031.

We're going to extend them to 2031 involved with the renovations and all of that.

We're going to lose a lot of those.

They're going to have their They're going to have their income drastically reduced.

I just think, you know, one more time.

>> Wendy does all her Christmas shopping at Hudson News.

>> I do.

I do.

I do.

They give her a discount.

>> We do jardet in stockings.

>> Hey, thanks a lot for joining us.

That's it for this week's program.

We hope you tune in next week.

Make it a good one.