Counterpoint: Blunt trauma

Gov. Matt Blunt and big business are celebrating the results of their collusion with the lobbyists and the legislature. By initiating more protection and more favors for big business, they say Missouri will be better. No doubt it will be for them.

For the other 5 million people in the state, that rosy picture from their camera has a negative behind it. And this is why Blunt has one of the worst approval ratings -- 33 percent -- in the U.S., coupled with a 57 percent disapproval rating, according to independent Survey USA. The CEOs and board of director members of large corporations can contribute big bucks to their lawmakers but not big numbers to the polls.

Four out of seven Missourians are wrong, say the above mentioned faction. But the millions of other people wonder about the wisdom of the trickle-down economics, which did not work 20 years ago. The people of Missouri are not happy with Blunt's decisions.

Blunt, on his first day in office, shut down the state's office in Washington D.C. leaving the state defenseless. Last month, the Pentagon announced that under Bush's base closing, Missouri will lose 5,413 jobs in the St Louis area. Illinois will gain 1,697 on their side of the Metro area. Illinois and its governor were prepared.

Give Blunt credit for at least one job. He hired Gary Sherman to head the Division of Social Services a few months ago. The salary is $103,000 of your tax dollars annually. There are bothersome details, like Sherman living in Wyoming and working full time as a department chair and lecturer for the University of Wyoming. And he is scheduled to continue his duties in Wyoming.

Blunt asked for and received the recommendation of the insurance industry's executives who they wanted to regulate them as the state's insurance watchdog. Will the millions of the state's insurance consumers or the insurance companies come out ahead on this one?

The state's utilities customers are getting the short end of a long stick with the Blunt administration's firing of John Coffman. For 15 years, he represented the people of Missouri for the Public Service Commission. Blunt fired him after Coffman spoke out against two bills being pushed by utility lobbyists to raise the costs to Missouri consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. Coffman was fired for doing his job and standing up for the consumers, including families and factories. Blunt's response to his unabashed support of the big utilities companies was to give no comment.

Some Missourians do not support the governor's decision to spend $107,000 of your tax dollars to redecorate his personal office. At the same time, he spent more tax dollars buying two more SUVs for him and his family.

While talking about being friendly to business, the Blunt administration will have the state charge vendors $50 annually to do business with the state to receive bidding notices. The cost amounts to $500,000 annually to these companies. A vendor fee imposed by only a few other states.

The people of Missouri deserve a state governed not by special interests and lobbyists being rewarded for their PAC and campaign contributions. The people need a return to what is best for the people themselves, their families, and those in true need.

Tom Neumeyer owns and operates Neumeyer Photography and Neumeyer's Bed & Breakfast. He is a past City Council member and was elected chairman of the County Central Democratic Committee. Neumeyer serves on several foundations and community service organizations. He is a native of Cape Girardeau and an alumnus of Southeast Missouri State University.