As long as Missourians elect Republicans who place cutting taxes before educating kids and other critical needs, things will get worse. The time has come to stop settling for mediocre politicians unwilling to lead the state forward. Current elected officials must be told again and again that we want them to remember that state motto before every vote.
Last week I talked with Democratic lawmakers and a couple of budget wonks about Missouri’s situation. All of us agree that things are bad and will get worse.
The bottom line? Republican legislators want smaller government at all costs. If families get whacked by opioid abuse or teachers don’t get pay raises for years, well, that’s acceptable so that state government can shrink – and taxes lowered.
Perhaps the best fight against DIRTY is with a common sense proposal on the 2020 ballot: dramatically reduce the number of seats in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Hunger exists. It’s an irrefutable fact. Miller lays out the numbers: In Missouri, 826,000 people—14% of the state’s population—live below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL); in St. Louis County 90,000 people—nine percent of the area’s population—live below the FPL.
Changing minds, like changing the size of parking spaces, won’t happen quickly. Those of us wanting a better, more humane Missouri have to think – and act – over the long haul, over years and maybe a decade or two. The trick is to work at change every day.