Don't upset corporate backers

To the editor:

A recent article noted that Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, Mo., has not assigned a bill to committee that would call for an increase in the liquor tax. This bill would generate an estimated $44 million annually, and the funds received "would be earmarked for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism and law enforcement efforts to combat drunken driving," according to your reporter.

Jetton notes that "I'm not big on taxes." My prediction is that he'll never assign the bill to committee, thus killing it for another year. But it has nothing to do with being opposed to taxes. Voters must understand this. It has everything to do with the richest lobby in Missouri: Anheuser-Busch, which opposes the bill. Jetton won't support this bill because he would alienate Anheuser-Busch, and his own political support from this corporation would erode. His reasoning seems to be "Let the drunks drive and die. They don't need to be educated on the dangers of alcoholism. Law enforcement doesn't need any help in combating drunken driving."

Folks, the next time you hear a Republican politician say he's against taxes, check a little closer. What you'll find is he's against anything that might upset his rich corporate friends and jeopardize his cash flow from corporate lobbyists.

JOE JACKSON, Frohna, Mo.