AS IN 1981, TAX CUTS CAN PAVE THE WAY TO PROSPERITY & JOBS

Tax cut update

Two tax cuts were passed by citizen initiative in the past 15 months: in the state of Oregon and in the city of Colorado Springs. We remain intrigued by the fact that both places are showing browth during a national recession. Revenues for schools and the city of Portland are up, contrary to the warnings issued when the property levy was approved in November 1990. Meanwhile, revenues from sales and use taxes in the Colorado city increased in 1991, despite a rate reduction voted last spring amid the same dire forecasts there.

From a January editorial in The Wall Street Journal

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"TAX TAKE:

"Missouri's general revenue collections increased by a surprising 9.8 percent last month, according to late figures from the Department of Revenue. Reflecting national gains, the state's sales and use tax collections were up 12.7 percent in March, while individual income tax collections gained 8.4 percent. Corporate income tax collections increased 17 percent, and all other collections were up 11 percent for the month."

from a recent issue of Jack Stapleton's "Missouri Political Newsletter."

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I have often thought that my father's generation is one of the most remarkable in history. Consider: This is the generation that was reared and educated during the Great Depression, the one that fought World War II, the one that has now lived to drink the sweet wine of freedom's victory in the long, twilight struggle they fought the Cold War. Consider, then, the remarkable testimony of a German official who boasts a famous surname. It's remarkable, both for the message, and for the messenger:

"I want to express my gratitude to the United States and to the United States Army for 47 years of peace."

Manfred Rommel, mayor of Stuttgart and son of World War II Field Marshall Erwin Rommel ("the Desert Fox"), bidding farewell on March 17 to the U.S. Army's 7th Corps as it lowered its colors in Stuttgart for the last time.

To those concise and eloquent words, I add the thanks of a younger generation that has so richly benefited from these efforts, this untiring leadership.

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The May issue of Vanity Fair, currently on the newsstands, contains a lengthy profile of Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh, whose radio show now boasts more than 480 stations and 11.6 million listeners. This follows a week that saw Rush featured on "Donahue", where he made mincemeat of that cliche-thinker. A "People" magazine profile is also in the works.

Two excerpts of the superbly written Vanity Fair piece are worth a mention. One is from celebrated former Reagan-Bush speechwriter and author Peggy Noonan, who has this to say of dining with Rush in the famous Manhattan "power restaurant", 21:

"`I have gone to restaurants with a lot of famous people,' Noonan says now, reflecting on that evening. `I've gone to restaurants with Dan Rather when he was No. 1, right? I've gone to restaurants with George Bush when he was running for President. And I have never, ever seen anybody get the response Rush Limbaugh does.'"

Or again, later in the piece:

".... There is no other success like Limbaugh's 11.6 million listeners every week, a historic mass following unseen in radio since the days of Amos 'n Andy and Arthur Godfrey. But describing Limbaugh as the hottest talks how host on the air only hints at the phenomenon. ..."