RUST COMMENTARY: AIR SHOW WAS SUCCESS, AND HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT GOD IS SAYING?

The air show last weekend was a big success, especially the well-choreographed ground pyrotechnics (explosions), airplane flyovers and simulated rescue scenarios.

There was a much larger collection of vintage and modern aircraft on display, and the crowds exceeded my expectations.

It was a little disappointing that the F-18 military jet did not fly Sunday after its stimulating performance Saturday. However, it was alarming that it was basically grounded because of a double flameout (basically the loss of both engines) at its Sunday morning warmup. I was there shortly after the incident and witnessed the concerned pilot who said he'd never had that problem before.

Whether computer problems or whatever ... they played safe even though a later warmup looked like they had solved the problem.

A slightly worn tire on the same plane (and the lack of availability of a replacement) didn't give me a comfort level about the status of some of our military equipment.

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U.S. exports to China are expected to rise, topping the $14 billion from last year, but they'll be swamped by Chinese imports exceeding $71 billion in 1998. This year our trade deficit with China will surpass $60 billion.

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Socialized medicine, anyone? The trend is for government rules and regulations to control the industry. And when doctors talk of forming unions to protect themselves, they should realize they have become a target like the tobacco, gun manufacturers soon to be liquor and beer industry etc. and work against the overall trend ... not just their own areas of interest.

Congress won't lift legal curbs on doctors unions yet. U.S. Labor Law bars self-employeds from unionizing. That's half the nation's doctors. Some 40,000 of 310,000 who aren't self-employed are already in unions.

But residents and interns are proving to be more fertile ground for unions because unlike many doctors some feel they have lousy hours and low pay.

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There was a BILL BRADLEY for PRESIDENT poster on a recreational vehicle at the Cape Air Show. Here's a report from Washington:

Bill Bradley is starting to worry Gore backers. He's building a larger-than-expected war chest and getting key endorsers on Wall Street and elsewhere, including ex-Fed chairman Volcker and Michael Jordan.

Business leaders like his pro-business record in the Senate and his strong support for tax simplification and expanding free trade. On environmental issues, they see him as less extreme than VP Gore.

Liberals like his interest in race issues and his fresh ideas for helping the underprivileged and rebuilding minority neighborhoods.

Bradley will give Gore more than he bargained for in primaries, forcing Gore to spend more than he'd like to beat back the challenge.

Gore is still likely to win the nomination, but a Bradley upset in New Hampshire or elsewhere would make it a brand-new ball game.

Note the Clinton-Gore approach on environmental regulations ...

Coming down hard on timber, miners, ranchers and oil and gas firms operating mostly in western states that traditionally vote Republican.

While moving slowly on clean-air rules in urban-suburban states where such rules will affect the lifestyles of their core constituents. Many clean-air regulations won't take effect until after '00 elections.

Allows Clinton-Gore to have it both ways. By harping on timber, mining etc., they look good to voters who favor pro-green issues but who would be much less pleased with steps that hit THEM directly." -- Washington newsletter

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What is happening in Texas and also in St. Louis? Apparently some new billboards are getting some attention in Dallas.

The local newspaper has listed them. Here's the list of the "God Speaks" billboards.

The billboards are a simple black background with white text. No fine print or sponsoring organization is listed.

"Let's meet at my house Sunday before the game." -- God

"C'mon over and bring the kids." -- God

"We need to talk." -- God

"Keep using my name in vain, I'll make rush hour longer." -- God

"Loved the wedding. Invite me to the marriage." -- God

"That Love-thy-neighbor thing ... I meant it." -- God

"I love you and you and you and you and ..." -- God

"Will the road you're on get you to my place?" -- God

"Follow me." -- God

"Big bang theory? You've got to be kidding." -- God

"My way is the highway." -- God

"Need directions?" -- God

"You think it's hot here?" -- God

"Have you read my No. 1 bestseller? There will be a test." -- God

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" -- God

"Don't make me come down there." -- God

"Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use." -- God

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Give it back: What America needs now is a great big tax cut. Revenues on the state and federal levels are burgeoning. Estimates of long-term federal budget surpluses are going up by the trillions of dollars.

Not surprisingly, politicians don't want the money to go back to the people who earned it in the first place. They are ingenious at finding "compelling" reasons for having to spend it for us. Yes, there are tax cuts being enacted around the country, but they rarely come close to even matching the surpluses. Like addicts or alcoholics, too many politicos always want just one more dollop of dollars.

Most income-tax codes in America are rigged so that your tax liability always grows faster than your income by kicking you into higher tax brackets or by taking away deductions when you reach a certain income level. Since 1993 for example, federal tax receipts have grown 52 percent faster than personal income. Last year federal revenues grew 80 percent faster than the income of the American people.

This government greed is profoundly wrong. It is an opportunity destroyer. In most two-income families, one spouse works for the family, the other for the government.Taxes are a burden; even an Olympic marathoner would be slowed down if weights were put on his back.

It is too much to expect this Congress to enact a flat tax that's a tax cut-too many check-writing special interests guarantee that. But Congress should pass a massive reduction in federal levies. A good place to start would be with Senator Connie Mack's (R-Fla.) All-American Tax Plan. Among its provisions: cutting the capital gains tax rates by 25 percent, to 7.5 percent and 15 percent, and indexing them for inflation; slashing dividend tax rates to a maximum of 15 percent; getting rid of death and gift taxes; doubling the standard deduction for married couples to $14,400, significantly reducing the marriage penalty (the standard deduction for single taxpayers would rise to $7,200); repealing the 1993 income tax increase on Social Security benefits; and raising the capital expensing limit from $25,000 to $500,000 and indexing it for inflation, an enormous help to small businesses.

While Congress is at it, it should substantially expand the 15 percent bracket by eliminating the 28 percent bracket, liberalize Roth IRAs and get rid of the working penalty that hits Social Security recipients between the ages of 65 and 69. (If they earn above a certain level of income in those years, their Social Security benefits are severely penalized.)

Such a tax act would enlarge people's opportunities to better their lives. Not only would working people keep more of what they earned but also the incentives would produce better-paying jobs in the future. -- Steve Forbes

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Estate tax is family business killer: A study released in 1998 by the Congressional Joint Economic Committee concluded that the estate tax is a leading killer of family-owned businesses. Only 30 percent of family owned businesses survive into the second generation and only 17 percent survive to a third.

Reps. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., and John Tanner, D-Tenn., introduced House Resolution 8, the Death Tax Elimination Act, which would gradually reduce the estate tax rate by 5 percent a year until the tax is eliminated in 2010. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., introduced a companion bill, Senate Bill 38, the Estate and Gift Tax Rate Reduction Act, which also reduces the estate tax rates by 5 percent each year until they are eliminated.

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.