If it weren’t about serious matters, the dizzy, quasi-dysfunctional ramblings of liberal-progressives over the past few days would be highly entertaining. But given the serious nature, it’s merely entertaining!

Take the op-ed by Amy Blouin from the often quoted and almost always wrong, Missouri Budget Project, against Proposition A – Let Voters Decide. In the op-ed in the Springfield News-Leader, Ms Blouin makes the usual big-government, entitlement-protector, rent-seeker arguments that the world will cease to exist as we know it. How? If the voters are allowed to decide whether to have an earnings tax and to give Kansas City and St Louis voters the opportunity to sunset their earnings taxes every five years, how will city governments everywhere collapse? As usual, Ms Blouin gets it all wrong.

Her assertion about the percentage of the budgets of St Louis and Kansas City are incorrect. She applies the usual ploy of the opponents of Proposition A, Let Voters Decide by misrepresenting the amount the earnings tax in each city contributes to the total budget. A study of the true impact on each city’s budget and comparison to other cities can be found here.

Henney Penny, err, I mean Ms Blouin, also makes the false claim that replacing the “lost” revenue is nearly impossible without devastating tax increases everywhere else. She follows the usual pattern of refusing to be confused by the facts such as those presented by the Missouri Council for a Better Economy study which provides a menu of example alternatives for St Louis. The study shows that there are a number of alternatives not involving tax increases, contrary to Ms Blouin’s assertion!

If a similar study were done of Kansas City, it is extremely likely that alternatives to the “end of the world as we know it” scenario being painted by opponents of Proposition A would be revealed there as well.

Now the real reason this is a problem for Ms Blouin and her ilk is that they want those devastaing tax increases for their causes! Their record is clear. Government does not spend enough money on Missouri Budget Project big government programs. Of course, in order to get that money, they have to take it from us! That’s why Ms Blouin is concerned about possible competition!

The op-ed also points out another recurring theme of the opposition: “Don’t take away a new taxing opportunity” represented by the earnings tax! We are beginning to read about how the passage of Proposition A will eliminate a potential new source of tax revenue for cities. Even the Governor has said this. We have to give the opposition to let voters decide credit, they are at least looking to the future. Future tax increases that is!

The Kansas City Star, had an article this weekend about the people who oppose letting voters decide and how they were angry with St Louis Mayor Francis Slay because he wouldn’t help them stop letting voters decide! Slay is not a proponent of eliminating the earnings tax but he does have an understanding about letting voters decide. Too bad others don’t.

The other amusing story over the weekend is the international energy symposium being hosted by Washington University. Seems that because they are discussing the sources of at least 85% (higher in Missouri) of the nation’s energy generation that “local activists” don’t like it. They want more attention on things that don’t provide ready answers to energy generation like wind, solar, etc. Besides the ongoing discussion of stimulus dollars and state politicians families, wind power has lots of problems and is an environmental hazard!

Jay Leno’s been having a field day with Owebama’s policies. Just imagine if he were to look at liberal-progressives here in Missouri! He would be in such a target rich environment he would have to do a “special” just to scratch the surface on the entertaining contradictions and funny fallacies of the liberal-progressives in Missouri.