LETTER: CATO INSTITUTE'S FINDINGS ON HANCOCK II ARE QUESTONED

To the editor:

Where do we stand on Hancock II? Opponents show it will cost at least $1 billion in cuts of state services. Mel Hancock claims the cuts will be minimal by citing a last-minute study from the CATO Institute. His supporters immediately grasped this thin reel, as nothing else is between them and public awareness of the radical nature of the cuts imposed by Amendment 7.

So who and what is CATO Institute? Hancock describes it as a Washington think tank. That is entirely too generous. It is off-the-map so far as legitimate analysis of public policy is concerned. Taking a study from them is exactly akin to accepting Tobacco Institute "findings" on smoking's alleged link to lung cancer. Hancock sent CATO his stuff at the last minute because no legitimate organization would help his case. In fact, he has no case. Instead he engages in a ploy to deceive Missourians on the radical nature of his stepchild alteration of the state's Constitution.

And that's where we stand.

RUSSELL D. RENKA

Cape Girardeau