THOUGHTS ON PROPOSITION B
by State Senator Larry Rohrbach
No one would take issue with the fact that Missouri's roads could be improved. Where Missourians differ is how to do that. The first solution in the minds of the political establishment is "spend more money." Proposition B would grow state government by a cool half billion a year, the biggest tax increase in Missouri history. The problem with throwing money at our road problems is that we've done that before. Just a short ten years ago I supported a six cent fuel tax increase, and we're worse off now than we were then. We spend more money, and the roads and bridges continue to get worse.
Proposition B is more than just a way to fund the roads. It is a dramatic change in tax policy. About two-thirds of the tax dollars generated by Proposition B will come directly from the pockets of Missourians who may or may not even drive. It will come from a major increase in sales tax, taxes that fall most heavily on lower income Missourians because they apply to the necessities of life like clothes, shoes, appliances, etc. Proposition B is not just about funding highways, its about what kind of tax policy we want in Missouri.
Proponents follow the old political tax philosophy - "Don't tax him, don't tax me, tax the man behind the tree." Heavy highway users such as trucking companies, frequent business travelers, motor home and vacation enthusiasts and business groups may likely join in supporting Proposition B because the tax falls most heavily on someone else, and that someone else is you and me paying sales taxes on almost everything we buy. Most unfair is that truck and car traffic traveling through Missouri on our interstates such as I-44 and I-70 will get the best deal of all. The only sales taxes they might pay is if they stop to get a cup of coffee at a truck stop. Missouri residents will pay more than their share for "sharing" our interstates with other travelers. There are various kinds of fees and taxes tied to use of the roads that could have been used, but this proposal uses the least fair tax of all for roads.
Our biggest problem is not money; it's accountability. Spending lots more money right now on Missouri's highways is putting the cart before the horse. The Missouri Department of Transportation has spent a lot of time telling us what needs to be fixed and how much it's going to cost to do it. The problem is, we've heard it before. The list of things that need to be fixed is remarkably the same as the list from 10 years ago. Haven't we been feeding our tax dollars into these programs the entire time? They've spent money on new or totally renovated district headquarters buildings all over the state. They've managed to hire a big cadre of public information staff. They fly commissioners to commission meetings in department owned aircraft. It's seem they have money for everything except the road improvements promised.
To top it all off, the Director of Transportation states that this humongous tax increase is a good start but is only half what's needed to do the job. Let's get our transportation house in order first, and then let's talk money.
Proposition B throws money at a problem. Most of the money comes from folks who don't cause the problem. We can do better, but only if we say NO TO PROPOSITION B on August 6th.