LETTERS: CONFUSING TAX LIMIT

To the editor:

Missourians are about to be sold a pig in the bush, or is that two birds in a poke? If I seem to be confused, it's only because I am. Amendment 4 on next Tuesday's ballot is what has me so confused.

Like the majority of Missourians, I like the idea of a tax-limitation amendment. The $310 million-a-year Senate Bill 380 has proven that our Legislature lacks self-control when it comes to spending our money. Requiring a vote of the people footing the bill before significantly raising taxes is a good idea. Amendment 4 seems to do just that.

The thing that has me so confused, though, it the fact that Gov. Mel Carnahan is the driving force behind this amendment. This doesn't seem to add up in light of the fact that he also was the driving force behind SB380 and in light of the way he so viciously opposed the Hancock II amendment a couple of years ago. Has the governor had a change of heart, or could it be that Amendment 4 isn't what it appears to be?

I have yet to decide how to vote on Amendment 4. It is a poor substitute for the Hancock II amendment,which was designed to patch loopholes that the governor and liberal courts had bored into the original Hancock Amendment. The original amendment was designed to not only limit our tax burden, but also limit the size of state government.

Among the shortcomings of the proposed amendment is the fact that it does permit a whopping $50 million-a-year increase in new taxes without voter approval. Another shortcoming is the allowance of the reinstatement of existing taxes as they expire without voter approval.

I will continue to hope for a change that really will secure our rights.

RON CALZONE

Dixon, Mo.