Blog

A World of Worries

Jul 7, 2025
We at Ingram’s are occasionally criticized—unfairly, I’d argue—for being Pollyannas in the face of hard economic data and disturbing headlines. Cheerleaders for the business community, the complaints go. Let’s dispel that. Here are some things that worry me. Should probably… more

Where Have All the Famous People Gone?

Jul 7, 2025
For a complex series of reasons, Kansas City no longer produces famous people the way it once did, and famous people no longer command the universal attention they once did. There is nothing local citizens can do about the latter… more

Rock-Solid Revenues and Rocket Growth

May 27, 2025
We’re 15 years into our Ingram’s 100 ranking of the region’s top private companies, and for anyone wondering about the health of the regional economy, there’s some encouraging news: Nearly half of this year’s Top 100—47, to be exact—experienced year-over-year… more

Of Dolls and Dogma …

May 27, 2025
Two events this month—one an ill-advised and off-the-cuff remark by the putative leader of the free world; the other, an event of truly global impact with the election of the first Catholic pope from the United States—should give at least… more

The Real ‘Threat to Democracy’

May 27, 2025
Given how often we hear someone called a “threat to democracy” today, we are tempted to think that democracy—like, say, the polar bear—is an endangered species. Not so. In Jackson County, at least, there is not too little democracy; there… more

Just … Tariffic

Apr 29, 2025
Tackling a topic as complex as the tariffs that President Trump and his administration are perpetually imposing, revoking, adjusting, then re-imposing—and the market volatility being created and negative effects on confidence thus far appear—I don’t think it’s a stretch to… more

Kansas City Schools: Where’s the Hope?

Apr 29, 2025
Now, it can be told. With this month’s Kansas City school district bond issue vote in the history books, it’s time for one disgruntled taxpayer to sound off. No, I wasn’t part of the electoral majority that signed off on… more

Can the KC Public Library Revive Its Golden Age?

Apr 29, 2025
The Kansas City Public Library actually had a Golden Age. From the years 2005 to 2020, no public library in America did more to enlighten and entertain all of its patrons than did Kansas City’s. Unfortunately, the library fell harder… more

Is Working From Home Really Working?

Apr 4, 2025
Embedded in the title above are two distinct questions. The first question, a personal one, is whether those who work from home actually do any productive work. The second question, a communal one, is whether working from home works to… more

Apologies? Accountability? Still Waiting …

Apr 4, 2025
Well, here we are: Five years post-pandemic onset in Kansas City. Plenty of economic indicators now say we’ve recovered much of what was lost starting that fateful March week in 2020. Plenty of anecdotal evidence tells us we’ll never make… more