CENSUS RECALLS JEFFERSON: A LITTLE REVOLUTION IS NECESSARY SOMETIMES

Thomas Jefferson once observed that a little revolution was necessary in the political world -- "as necessary," he said, "as storms in the physical."

It appears that a little of the Jeffersonian spirit of rebellion is rearing its head where the decennial U.S. census is concerned. Talk-show host Neal Boortz captured the mood recently, and this excerpt from his Web site has millions cheering from coast to coast:

"There is only one constitutional purpose for the census: to figure out how many people live in each state for the purpose of apportioning members to the U.S. House of Representatives. To do this it isn't necessary to know your gender, your race, how many flush toilets you have, whether or not there is a mortgage on your house or the length of your index finger. The complexity of this Census 2000 is an illustration of how big a role government has come to play in our daily lives."

Added former Reagan press aide Lyn Nofziger, in an online chat on the subject: "Good for you. I was afraid I was going to be all alone in not answering the census questions. I am, by the way, answering the last question, writing in my race "American.'"

That last Nofziger answer -- refusing to check one of the boxes indicating your race -- is especially keen for those of us who have long wanted Americans to start refusing to check the racial box into which government wants to pigeonhole us.

A footnote: Most of us don't get the long form census that includes the intrusive questions. Only one in six Americans receives it.

I say good for all the conscientious objectors. Jefferson would be proud.

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On Thursday, right before we departed Jefferson City for a one-week spring break, I introduced in the Missouri Senate a resolution calling on Congress to suspend the 4.3-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax it imposed on us back in 1993 for "deficit reduction."

After an hour or more of wrangling, senators were starting to leave, and I had to shelve it. But consider some facts:

In 1981, there was only, on a state-by-state average, about 12 cents of tax on a gallon of gasoline. Today that figure is 36 cents in federal and state taxes.

Today's beleaguered truckers have it even worse, paying a tax of 24 cents per gallon on diesel fuel to fill a tank that can now cost in the range of $600.

The retail, before-tax price of gasoline actually declined in inflation-adjusted dollars between 1990 and 1999. The entire increase in what you pay during that time is taxes.

The feds did it to us twice. The most recent instance was the 4.3-cent hike in 1993, passed by a 50-49 vote in the Senate with Vice President Gore breaking the tie.

It is this tiny tax I want suspended, if not repealed outright. This one was dedicated to "deficit reduction." But even though the deficit has disappeared, we still have it, going into the highway trust fund.

I say free the truckers!

~Peter Kinder is assistant to the president of Rust Communications and a state senator from Cape Girardeau.