Speak Out A 05/14/02

Huge dogwood on I-55

AFTER READING Paul Schnare's article on dogwood trees, it made me think about how many people have seen that enormous dogwood on I-55. It is really beautiful when in bloom and must have had loving care.

Using our money

I'D LIKE to compliment the person on the Speak Out comment, "Nothing is free." Any money that comes from the government comes from the people first. But saying the government takes a dollar from someone to give someone else a dollar is erroneous, because only about 50 cents of that dollar gets to the people it's supposed to be going to. The other 50 cents is spent on getting it there.

Serving others

THERE ARE many professions that are underpaid besides teachers. Firefighters and police officers come to mind. They don't get three months off in the summer. They risk their lives year-round for us. Social workers go to college but don't make a lot of money. Either you want to serve your fellow man, or you just want to bellyache all the time.

Helping himself

IF PETER Kinder is really that interested in helping downtown St. Louis, why doesn't he move up there? He was elected to serve the people in Southeast Missouri, but now he chooses to ignore the people who elected him. He's in office for one thing, and that's to help himself -- as most politicians are.

Expanding spending

PRESIDENT BUSH is preparing to sign what is probably the biggest boondoggle in the history: a farm bill increase in subsidies. The evidence continues to mount that Republicans in Washington are losing their fervor for shrinking government. Federal expenditures are growing at a faster pace now than at any time since the era of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Federal domestic expenditures in President Bush's first two budgets have increased by nearly 9 percent a year. In fact, Bush is spending at about three times the pace of Ronald Reagan on civilian programs. Where has all the money gone over the past several years? One is education. The education budget is on pace to double during Bush's first term. Last year he signed into law what is arguably the worst education bill in the nation's history. The second area of exploding spending is the agriculture budget. The third area of rapid increase is health care. Finally, Bush is spending more money than ever on the Environmental Protection Agency. Congressional Republicans have almost entirely abandoned any pretense of being for smaller and smarter government.

Looking for cuts

JACK STAPLETON'S column, "Wrong way to balance state budget," was very informative about the waste in state government. I look forward to his future articles where he intends to cite specific projects and budget items, and I hope the Southeast Missourian intends to print these future articles. However, I suspect Stapleton is preaching to the choir. I doubt if very many of the state legislators read his column, and it is clear they do not read the state audit reports. Why? Because they are too busy reading the fine print in the stadium bill and discussing the various schemes to raise our taxes. Not very many words about cutting waste are coming out of Jeff City -- or, for that matter, Cape Girardeau.

Saving lives, property

THIS IS in response to those who have voiced their opposition to concealed-carry of weapons. It has been my experience that people who are against this proposition are actually against ownership of firearms. They should remember this: The police cannot and will not be everywhere protection is needed. Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens can save lives and property. It happens every day. Also, current gun-control laws only affect the law-abiding citizens. Firearms are already illegal for criminals and the mentally ill.

Administrative costs

FOR EVERY $1 of taxpayers' money that gets where it can do some good, it takes $10,000 to pay a bunch of human parasites to get there.

Change channels

DAVID BRODER'S column about the two Washington think tanks was very informative. He admitted that he often disagrees with their policy prescriptions which are primarily conservative in nature. But, perhaps his most illuminative statement was his closing remark about the two think tanks engaging in healthy discourse during policy debates as opposed to CNN`s "Crossfire," which takes the form of "exchanges of insults." Right on, David. Even though I think Robert Novak is usually correct in his assessments, how can one stand to watch the antics of James Carville, Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson and Bill Prest? CNN, always chasing ratings, has turned what used to be a very fine news-opinion show into a Jerry Springer clone. In disgust, I gave up on the show and changed channels.

Little fan support

THANK YOU for pointing out that Central High School's Scholar Bowl state champions received no immediate fanfare upon returning from Columbia, Mo., with the first-place trophy. I would like to congratulate the well-deserving champions. At the same time, I'd like to say I was relieved that the team didn't receive a tumultuous public reception and parade upon its return. I know the team members are mature and can handle the fact you were ignored, but it would have turned my world view topsy-turvy if the public exhibited signs that it was elevating academics to a par with or even above sports.

Short attention span

DAVID LIMBAUGH decrees that conservative-dominated radio talk shows require a longer attention span from listeners and are more thought provoking than what he asserts is liberal-dominated TV news and punditry productions. This is a close call, but I think in general it can be said that both media require the approximate attention span of a newborn gnat. That's why I love them so much.

YOUR SUNDAY editorial about future funding for Cape Girardeau stated that our property tax rate is the lowest in the area: 46 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation. While true, your statement needs to consider the basis for the assessed valuation. I suspect that a house on land inside the city limits is assessed at a higher value than an identical house in the county. For some reason, assessors think dirt inside the city should cost more than dirt in the county. And since more services are available inside the city, perhaps they are right. However, if my lot inside the city is assessed at $20,000 and the lot in the country at $1,000, you can readily see the reason for the disparities in the tax rates. The thing to compare is the total tax paid by each of the homeowners with identical homesteads. I also suspect that the Cape citizen already pays an equal amount of tax, if not more, than his country cousin does.

Toll road to mid-Missouri

HAVE YOU tried to get to Columbia, Mo., or Kansas City, Mo., recently? Getting through St. Louis can be a big obstacle. I remember talk 30 years ago of a toll road from Southeast Missouri to the Jeff City-Columbia area. I would gladly pay a hefty toll for a four-lane road from here to mid-Missouri, perhaps from the Festus area to Jeff City. The idea of toll roads needs to be seriously considered by the Missouri legislature.

He has the answers

FOR JUST once in my life I would like to read a column by Jack Stapleton that reflected a spirit of cheerfulness and optimism about the ability of Missouri government to get the job done. In order to achieve this, it might require taking a radical step, but it is a step I would support: allowing Stapleton to govern the Show Me State by decree.