So says the headline on Political Fix. I think it’s probably about time we step up our attacks on Jay Nixon.
From what I understand, historic preservation tax credits were capped last year at the current level of spending. So making them the target of cuts in the runaway levels of tax credits given out each year is either stupid or disingenuous or both. And two thumbs down for playing supporters of the historic tax credit against supporters of public education in what Nixon calls a “zero sum game.”
It’s not a zero sum game. The historic preservation tax credits provide a lot of bang for the buck in revitalizing older neighborhoods not only in the cores of urban areas like St. Louis and Kansas City, but also small towns all over the state who have seen the storefronts from their old Main Streets vanish with neglect. A better local economy with better neighborhoods is far better for public schools than a slightly bigger state government teat.
Count me among a growing group of people who aren’t very excited about Nixon’s re-election campaign in 2012. I loathe Peter Kinder, but given Nixon’s poor track record so far, it’s going to be difficult for me to get out to knock doors and make phone calls on Nixon’s behalf. And I’m not alone.
I wasn’t too excited by Nixon the first time around, but I did my duty and voted for the lesser of two evils. It is a good thing for Nixon that the alternative is so truly evil – Kinder’s dancing and prancing around about suing the federal government over health care reform means that I would vote for Ghengis Khan in full battle cry before him.
I am afraid that Missouri will have to wait and suffer mightily for a long, long time before it gets a rational, progressive tax system – if it ever does. All we get is dumb and dumber fighting about how to cut the meat off a skeleton while quality of life in the state declines further.