A lone constitutional voice

KENNETT, Mo. -- Missourians are being told by a wide assortment of political, news-media and special-interest voices that they have no need to convene a constitutional convention to rewrite and revise their basic state charter.

Indeed, there is such an overwhelming wave of anti-revision of the Missouri Constitution that the prevailing questions seems to be, "Why on earth are we voting on this absurd measure at a time when both our nation and state are facing new, major problems that offer no easy answers or remedies?"

It seems to be a mark of human nature to reject any sort of needed reform at a moment the ship of state appears to be sinking and crew members are frantically absorbed in keeping their vessel afloat. The principal argument against subjecting our state charter to some intensive study and reform is that "We simply don't have time for this foolishness at this moment, so get back to us in 20 years."

Voters who buy into their argument are assured that many of the incumbent challenges facing us will soon be met and there's nothing to worry about in the long run. Those satisfied with the status quo declare that even if a few items need touching up, it would be confusing, even harmful, for a group of elected delegates to survey, study, assess and remedy many of the problems now being encountered in Jefferson City.

For those who believe there is nothing so wrong with state government that skillful neglect will not cure, let's discuss a few questions that easily come to mind:

1. Missouri state government is currently facing a major funding crisis just to maintain existing programs that, for a number of reasons, cannot be improved, extended or revised because of a lack of funds. If you agree this is a correct statement, how do you expect the state to find this needed funding in the next year, next biennium, next decade?

2. Every election year Missourians vote on a number of special interest amendments to their state constitution, and since adoption of the last major revision of the charter at the end of World War II, virtually every special interest group in the state has attempted to secure favored legislation that may or may not serve the best interests of the state. Are you aware that this open-minded revision of the constitution must be financed by all the state's taxpayers, resulting in a blank check worth millions and millions of taxpayers' money to provide special favors for special interests?

3. Since the first Philadelphia convention, citizens have held special esteem and respect for their constitutions, with the belief that these documents are, indeed, the voice of the people that their language should be both accessible and responsive to the needs of the governed. Our state has the second-longest constitution in the nation, and we would be surprised if one out of a half-million Missourians has ever completely read the entire state charter. Have you?

4. Facing a painful, demoralizing and, yes, embarrassing, shortage of funds for essential programs (which must also share revenue with a great number of nonessential programs), Missourians are currently given no means of separating the essential programs from the useless ones - except to supply more and more of their hard-earned money to finance them all. Our elected representatives might be able to make these distinctions, except they must dispense billions of dollars each year within a limited amount of time and are simply unable to schedule such a badly needed review and revision process while carrying out the routine chores required of them. Would you run your business, your household, your manufacturing plant, your farm, your retail store under such conditions?

5. Missouri faces a series of alarming challenges, from an economic decline facing certain sections of the state to a growing population of senior citizens, with any existing plans to overcome these obstacles virtually nonexistent. We face a potential collapse of our huge transportation system, which is still operating under funding provisions enacted decades ago. Do you believe it's possible to build new, modern roadways at a time of growing, yet legal, diversion of earmarked revenue? Many fiscal experts believe the only way this dilemma can be altered is through a revision of mandated sharing of revenue, but how can this be done without major changes in the present state charter?

6. There is virtually no provision in the 1945 charter that requires the state to assess the efficacy and efficiency of its current programs - and absolutely no provision to hold both elected and appointed state officials responsible for their irresponsibility. An example of this is the long, continuing effort to computerize the current campaign reporting system, a voter safeguard that was approved a decade ago by state elected and appointed officials - but which is virtually non-operational after years and years of delay. Taxpayers have shelled out millions to computerize the system and bring it up-to-date, without results. Public decisions should be accountable to those who must pay their cost, but can you find any sentence in the present Constitution that requires this or suggests it?

7. Would not your confidence in state decisions be restored if a group of constitutional delegates, elected by the voters, undertook a comprehensive, full-scale review of the present document and debated and voted on proposed corrections? Governments that are the least intrusive in the private lives of citizens are favored by most Missourians, while the current charter is intrusive and was fashioned before the age of computerization, before the start of the Cold War, before the age of homeland terrorism, before the age of modern medicine, before the increased longevity of all citizens, before the television age. Do you really want to be governed by rules written prior to these historic changes in your life?

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News & Editorial Service.