RUST COMMENTARY: ST. LOUIS COUNTY HAS THE CLOUT -- AND THE MONEY

St. Louis County's population of 1,000,690 is larger than Kansas City and St. Louis City combined! In the last three decades St. Louis City's population has declined from 500,000-plus to 383,733, according to the 1992 census. St. Louis County has 22 percent of Missouri's employers, 24 percent of Missouri's jobs, 27 percent of Missouri's personal income and 34 percent of Missouri's income tax.

Too bad they can't figure a way to merge the wealth of St. Louis County with the locked-in boundaries and low tax base of St. Louis City. Beside savings on duplicated administrative costs ... the airport, zoo, convention center, educational and cultural art facilities would benefit..

Makes governmental, business and efficiency sense ... and someone needs to raise this issue. However, when north and south St. Louis City can't get together now, a merger with the county governments would not be easy to accomplish.

But outstate Missouri has a stake in this as we keep seeing our taxes diverted to put patches on the problems of St. Louis ... now being identified in the recent study reported in the Post-Dispatch.

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I'm not out beating the drums for a new lake in Cape Girardeau-Bollinger counties ... but some of the opposition to the proposal has been displaying a lack of civility.

SEN. PETER KINDER has introduced a bill that amends a previous bill already on the books and allegedly (according to the advocates for the lake) addresses most of the concerns of the landowners in the original bill. It provides an opportunity for the voters to vote yes or no for the proposition to tax themselves to fund any such proposal ... or to turn it down.

There are reasons to question whether the bill will pass the House and Senate and receive the signature of the governor ... let alone pass a local vote.

However, the attacks on the integrity of the proponents and insinuations that they are out for personal gain or have been bought and paid for are not only unfounded but hurt reasonable arguments against the proposition.

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In filling out my pilot's aviation log book summary, I noticed I recently completed over 2,000 hours of pilot flight time as pilot in command (a pittance compared to the 10,000-plus hours of many pilots).

I've been flying off and on for over 30 years, and when active I've averaged over 100 hours per year in the air with 358 total hours of actual or simulated instrument flying and over 6,000 landings.

What started off with buying 1/5 ownership in a Piper Vagabond tail dragger for $400 has been one of the joys and convenience tools of my life.

SAM WALTON used an airplane to visit his rapidly expanding WalMart chain and was a study in strategic use of aviation. Today's big growth in general aviation is with larger corporate airplanes which can make greater use of executive time schedules.

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Today is LION'S CLUB PANCAKE DAY from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Arena Building ... the 59th such event.

Also the Cape Girardeau County American Cancer Society will be holding its 11th annual major fund-raising event the evening of March 22 at the Show Me Center.

The gala called CARNIVALE this year provides funds for the treatment of cancer patients in this area, cancer education and the support of cancer research. This year's theme celebrates the region's French heritage and offers participants the fun and festivity of a "Krewe Ball."

New at this year's gala will be elegant buffet stations open throughout the evening with food creations by the chefs of Mollie's Cafe and Royal N'Orleans. The cuisine will consist of gourmet delights of hors d'oeuvres, light dinner fare with rounds of roast beef and ham, cold seafood bar with hand-shucked oysters and dessert delicacies.

Two bands will provide the evening's entertainment: the jazz band from Southeast Missouri State University and Familiar Faces, a show and dance band from Nashville.

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Gore's Fortunes

More and more insiders in Washington think that Al Gore has been significantly hurt by stories of his fund-raising role in 1996. His televised press conference has received low marks, and he is under attack by even normally sympathetic liberal columnists. A lot can and will happen before the year 2000, but the odds increased last week that Gore will be challenged for the Democratic presidential nomination, from the "left" by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri), and from the "right" by former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.

Hubbell's Yen

It has been known for weeks that Clinton crony and former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell received more the $400,000 from a dozen businesses in the months after he was forced to resign. Many of the businesses were owned by individuals who also stayed as guests in the Lincoln Bedroom. Some investigators have speculated the payments were "hush money." Recently, the New York Times reports on its front page that the largest payments came from businesses that are based in Hong Kong and have strong ties to China. The implications are ominous. -- Washington Update.

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It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked. -- Warren Buffett.

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Wanting to prove they are the education president and education governor, Bill Clinton and Mel Carnahan each are proposing $1,500-per-year tax credits for higher education tuition.

Public discussion of education takes odd turns. Few people really believe education quantity equals education quality, yet calls for quantity always seem to be politically popular. So when all else is in a state of confusion, politicians try to make hay by claiming to do more for education.,

The plain fact is that what we need most in this nation and state is improved lower education. -- Hank Waters, Columbia Daily Tribune.

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Robbing Peter

Outgoing Defense Secretary William Perry, echoing concerns of many Reagan and Bush defense officials, admitted last week that U.S. military force levels are at "a minimum." "We do not have surplus (military) force structure to meet" our responsibilities, and further major defense cuts, said Perry, would constitute "a huge mistake" for America. Strange he didn't say that last year when the GOP Congress was trying -- successfully as it turned out -- to increase the Clinton defense budget numbers.

Now, in a double-whammy for conservatives, President Clinton plans not only to re-jigger last year's welfare reform-adding $13 billion in benefits for legal immigrants, and $3.4 billion for "welfare-to-work" programs-but to take the "new" money from the Pentagon's budget. Since William Perry is now gone, what will Defense Secretary-designee William Cohen have to say about this? -- Human Events.

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