Proposition A will be on the November ballot. It’s a simple proposition: should there be a prohibition against earnings taxes in any place that doesn’t currently have one and shall Kansas City and St. Louis voters be allowed to periodically vote whether to retain the existing earnings tax at a later election?

The opponents are encouraging voters to vote against letting voters vote. They want Proposition A to fail in November insuring that citizens in Kansas City (last voted in 1993 on earnings tax) and St. Louis (last voted in 1959) will be stuck with a never ending tax without government having to explain how they spend that money.

The biggest push back to letting voters decide is coming from Kansas City which is ironic. The Kansas City area is home to a number of sales tax issues that regularly sunset and require voters to reauthorize them. In most if not all of these issues, the case was made about how the money is being spent and how it will be spent during the next period and voters have reauthorized the tax.

This is exactly what would and should happen in Kansas City and St. Louis regarding the earnings tax. It will happen if voters vote YES on Proposition A.

Obviously the opponents of Proposition A aren’t honest enough to tell you that they don’t want you to have a vote. In fact, they aren’t really even running against Proposition A on the merits. They are running against the April vote that would occur in Kansas City and St. Louis with the passage of Proposition A in November.

They demogouge the issue by trying to scare people. At the very least, they should save their scare tactics for April. If I were them, I would be concerned that the scare tactics will lose their impact by the time April comes around. But I guess I shouldn’t be helping them.

Then you have others like the Missouri Budget Project (MBP) who are also against Proposition A. Actually, they are against anything that might improve long-term economic growth if it impacts their rent seeking positions.

The fact that the MBP accuracy is so bad it doesn’t even show up on the accuracy scale should be considered. In addition, they use a lot of the same “we are against this because” rhetoric. Usually, it’s because the proposed changes don’t re-distribute the wealth according to their way of thinking.

This applies to simple as well as complex issues. The prime example in their opposition to Proposition A is that MBP doesn’t even know what kind of measure it is! They report it is a Constitutional amendment that will forever negatively impact the landscape of Missouri. Not only have they used this over the top false rhetoric before other issues, as the name Proposition A indicates, it is a statutory change, not Constitutional. They just change the name of the issue they are against. Don’t trust any organization that isn’t sure about what they are opposing!

Bottom line on Proposition A is straightforward.

If you agree that implementing the worst kind of tax in other cities across the state, then you will want to vote YES on Proposition A.

If you agree that giving your fellow citizens in Kansas City and St. Louis the opportunity every 5 years for the cities to explain to them how the earnings tax is being spent and then decide to keep it or not, then you will want to vote YES on Proposition A.

The opposition is simple too. If you agree that polticians and big government are good things, you will want to vote no on Proposition A.

The interesting thing is, the voters will decide!