Advocated for Amendment 5, the income tax elimination, like to point to Tennessee as a state that flourishes without an income tax.
As usual, campaigns—whether personal or policy in nature—cherry-pick simple issues and dislike honest discussion of the complexity of our way of life.
The Pro-Five campaign has been long on deception. Equaling Tennessee is not big deal. In most cases our lives will be no better if we decide to move from being 30-something in sales taxes to Tennessee’s 7th highest in the nation.
I don’t want to be like Tennessee. I want to be Missouri—the best Missouri
Let’s look below the deception and see if the things that really matter in how we live are worth voting for 5.
The newest ranking of states by U.S. News says it would not be much of an improvement. Among the fifty states, Tennessee ranks 24th. Missouri is 31st.
Ending the income tax might please Missouri’s rich folks but it will not appreciably benefit Missourians as a whole. U.S. News ranked the states in eight categories and in 22 subcategories. Here is how we match up with Tennessee, the sweetheart of the Pro-Five set: The numbers on the left are Missouri. Tennessee is on the right.,
44 Crime and Corrections 40
22 Economy 13
32 Education 31
17 Fiscal Stability 5
43 Healthcare 39
35 Infrastructure 39
17 Natural Resources 34
8 Opportunity 22
The survey breaks down the categories this way:
CRIME AND CORRECTIONS
35 Corrections Outcomes 8
40 Public Safety 46
ECONOMY
9 Business Environment 17
28 Employment 15
34 Growth 11
EDUCATION
30 Higher Education 37
27 Pre-K-12 20
FISCAL STABILITY
18 Long-term stability 1
18 Short-term stability 22
HEALTHCARE
40 Healthcare Access 37
39 Healthcare Quality 21
39 Public Health 48
INFRASTRUCTURE
22 Energy 31
33 Internet Access 13
36 Transportation 14
NATURAL RESOURCES
23 Air and Water Quality 16
20 Pollution 39
OPPORTUNITY
12 Affordability 17
34 Economic Opportunity 39
14 Equality 26
You can go to the U. S. News website to get some breakdowns of these categories.
Here is the main point: Missouri’s goal is not to be as good as Tennessee but to be BETTER THAN TENNESSEE. That is going to take some really deep and non-partisan (if there’s any chance of that) policy-making that sees our state holistically and encourages Missourians to see beyond themselves.
Abraham Lincoln told Congress in 1861 that circumstances had forced a break from the status quo: “As our case is new, we must think and act anew.”
We the people, and those we elect must not be afraid of thinking and acting anew if we want a better state. A simplistic step being offered Tuesday that favors some and disadvantages many others is the wrong direction to go.