While most people’s attention seems to have been diverted to the Special Session of the General Assembly, many other activities are still taking place. One of those is a quest to make Missouri the economic engine of the Midwest!

The folks at Let Voters Decide (LVD) have submitted four new versions of the initiative petitions to repeal the income tax and replace it with a consumer-driven sales tax. They have also withdrawn the original nine petitions previously approved for circulation and signature collection by the Secretary of State.

As you can imagine, supporters of an ever-growing (and ever-spending) big government system are extremely concerned about the fact that once the taxpayers of Missouri understand that the proposal has worked well in Tennessee for decades, resulting in economic growth for that state that has surpassed Missouri’s, they will want to know why we can’t do that too. The answer is: WE CAN!

The usual big government crowd, chiefly represented by the Missouri Budget Project (MBP), continues to send out false information concerning the proposal and its impacts. Their big-government-spending lackeys in the mainstream media eagerly ingest the drivel and then regurgitate it. This type of “reporting” has become so commonplace that it no longer surprises many.

The Henny Pennys of the world, like MBP, want people to believe that such government services as education, social services and the like will starve if the tax reform proposal is passed. They know that if they can scare you enough through deceptive information, they can get you to vote no. They are also afraid that when you hear the truth – something they aren’t telling you – you would be inclined to vote for the measure.

Take the false assertion that the tax reform proposal would result in as much as a $2.5 billion shortfall for the state. Not only is it proposterous, it’s flat-out false.

In Fiscal Year 2010, Tennessee netted over $6.3 billion with a 7% sales tax applied to a smaller tax base than that being proposed by LVD folks. Missouri netted $6.7 billion in general revenue from all our revenue sources.

The tax reform proposal does not eliminate all the sources of general revenue. The proposal eliminates only $4.4 billion of individual income taxes and replaces the current 4.225% sales tax with a 7% one.

You may be saying, “That still sounds like a lot. How would it work?”

Glad you asked.

There you have it. It’s pretty simple, straightforward and has been proven in Tennessee for decades.

If you aren’t aware, when people tell you government won’t have enough money, the source of that comment usually means they won’t have enough money to do the things they want it to do. Rest assured, government will have plenty of money to do the things it should and must do.

In his famous quote, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself”. His words are as true today in regards to the fear mongers trying to persuade Missourians they should not vote for a brighter future for themselves, their kids, their grandchildren and their state.