My take on the proposed amendments and propositions
Amendment 1
The first part of the proposed Amendment 1 sounds good – campaign finance report. Who could be against that?
The second part sounds bad. Have you read Section 3 on redistricting? What an absolute nightmare. Look at all the factors that would have to be satisfied to make it comply. Unworkable!
Amendments 2 and 3 and proposition C (marijuana)
Back in the good old days (80-90 years ago), we had the question of alcohol – to legalize it or not. I am sure that some said it was good for some things, like snakebite, tooth-pulling and other medicinal purposes. Each year thousands are killed in car wrecks. Injuries come from bar fights and disagreements, and marriages are broken because of alcohol. How did that turn out for us?
Proposition B, minimum wages
Sounds good at first. Then my employer has to raise his prices to cover my wages. Then my employer fires me and hires an illegal immigrant for less money to do what I was doing. Think about it.
Proposition D
State fuel taxes in Missouri are 17 cents per gallon now. Each 1 cent per gallon generates $30 million. License fees bring more millions. The federal government gives another $925 million, for a total of $1.5 billion. Cities and counties get 30 percent of the proposed fuel tax. The Missouri State Highway Patrol gets $240 million now. Missouri Department of Revenue gets $20 million now. Over $400 million goes to service the debt from past years of borrowing money. The $288 million or more is just the increased amount from the additional 10 cents per gallon of fuel, not the present 17 cents per gallon. That’s a big bite for me.
Proposition Gainesville Schools
In the 1950s, we closed the rural school districts because it was more efficient to consolidate and give a better education for less money. At least that’s what I remember. So now we have a proposal to go into debt for the next 25 years to refurbish an out-of-date school system.
In the past 100 years we have enjoyed and benefitted from the car, the airplane, electricity, etc. All have sped up our productivity.
Why not use the information that is already on the internet for lessons and tests, etc., and grade online? In other words, use the technology that is already available, leave the students at home, park the buses, consolidate all the schools in the county, give each student a Chromebook or whatever. After all, courses are being taught online now, and it would be a lot less expensive than keeping up the physical plant, as is proposed.
I know this idea is a stretch, but when 70+ percent of our tax dollar is going to school systems, we might want to think out of the box on this one.
Leroy Morrison
Gainesville