The attempt to implement a regressive tax for transportation infrastructure investment failed to pass with the electorate yesterday, via the Missouri Secretary of State:
State of Missouri – Primary Election – August 5,2014
UnOfficial Results
as of 8/6/2014 7:07:08 AMConstitutional Amendment 7 3898 of 3898 Precincts Reported
YES 407,532 40.815%
NO 590,963 59.185%
Total Votes: 998,495
[emphasis added]
Interestingly, there were a few counties (and Kansas City) where the issue did garner a majority:
Bates 1,624 [Yes] 1,558 [No]
Chariton 1,216 [Yes] 1,151 [No]
Cooper 2,029 [Yes] 1,756 [No]
Grundy 1,073 [Yes] 1,070 [No]
Harrison 1,258 [Yes] 1,026 [No]
Kansas City 18,926 [Yes] 18,715 [No]
Knox 659 [Yes] 531 [No]
Linn 1,257 [Yes] 1,184 [No]
Livingston 1,404 [Yes] 1,328 [No]
Marion 2,548 [Yes] 2,284 [No]
Monroe 1,065 [Yes] 1,047 [No]
Montgomery 1,402 [Yes] 1,159 [No]
Monroe 1,065 [Yes] 1,047 [No]
Montgomery 1,402 [Yes] 1,159 [No]
Pettis 3,822 [Yes] 3,633 [No]
Pike 1,556 [Yes] 1,460 [No]
And a few of the places where the issue didn’t do well:
Boone 12,368 [Yes] 15,130 [No]
Clay 12,307 [Yes] 17,649 [No]
Greene 17,183 [Yes] 22,225 [No]
Jackson 20,804 [Yes] 29,721 [No]
St. Charles 22,950 [Yes] 38,197 [No]
St. Louis 62,767 [Yes] 126,920 [No]
St. Louis City 11,108 [Yes] 23,568 [No]
The proponents of the measure spent a lot of money (millions), from the 8 Day Before Primary Election report:
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
MISSOURIANS FOR SAFE TRANSPORTATION & NEW JOBS INC [pdf] 7/28/201414. Total Expenditures This Election $2,459,489.02
EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE
Wampold Strategies 1001 Constitution Avenue NE Washington DC 20002 7/1/2014 Advertising: Direct Mail $21,942.64
Confluence Public Affairs 3104 Loweell Blvd Denver CO 80211 7/2/2014 Communications $10,000.00
Election Day Enterprises LLC PO Box 1933 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/2/2014 Independent Contractor $88,175.00
Global Prairie 1703 Wyandotte Street Suite 400 Kansas City MO 64108 7/14/2014 Public Relations $20,636.17
Missouri Press Services Inc. 802 Locust Columbia MO 65201 7/14/2014 Advertising: Newspaper $49,599.46
Wampold Strategies 1001 Constitution Avenue NE Washington DC 20002 7/14/2014 Advertising: Direct Mail $241,747.52
Adelstein Liston 222 West Ontario Street Suite 600 Chicago IL 60654 7/21/2014 Advertising $104,070.00
Wampold Strategies 1001 Constitution Avenue NE Washington DC 20002 7/22/2014 Advertising: Direct Mail $263,004.78
[emphasis added]
There were also significant amounts of money spent on newspaper ads. How quaint.
The 30 Day After report due on September 4th will enlighten us on the total expenditures on behalf of the issue.
Official Ballot Title
Constitutional Amendment 7[Proposed by the 97th General Assembly (Second Regular Session) SS HJR 68]
Official Ballot Title:
Should the Missouri Constitution be changed to enact a temporary sales tax of three-quarters of one percent to be used solely to fund state and local highways, roads, bridges and transportation projects for ten years, with priority given to repairing unsafe roads and bridges?
This change is expected to produce $480 million annually to the state’s Transportation Safety and Job Creation Fund and $54 million for local governments. Increases in the gas tax will be prohibited. This revenue shall only be used for transportation purposes and cannot be diverted for other uses.
[emphasis added]
The moral of the story? You can’t spend a generation demonizing public investment in civilization and expect actual voters to approve an increase in regressive taxes immediately after you gave a massive government defunding tax break to the haves.
Just think if all those contributors to the effort to pass Amendment 7 had invested as much energy and money in defeating the veto override of SB 509. Instead, they were useful idiots and only ended up enriching the campaign consultant industrial complex…
Previously:
Campaign Finance: bedfellows – part 6 (July 23, 2014)
Campaign Finance: bedfellows – part 5 (July 21, 2014)
Campaign Finance: there is no end (July 18, 2014)
Campaign Finance: Goliath and David (July 18, 2014)
Campaign Finance: bedfellows – part 4 (July 10, 2014)
Campaign Finance: there is no end (July 7, 2014)
Campaign Finance: bedfellows – part 3 (July 4, 2014)
Campaign Finance: bedfellows – part 2 (July 2, 2014)
Campaign Finance: bedfellows (June 27, 2014)
Campaign Finance: “Your majesty, the special interests are regressive…” (June 27, 2014)
Campaign Finance: Prepare yourself for the ads… (June 24, 2014)
Campaign Finance: the dough keeps rolling in (June 22, 2014)
Campaign Finance: escalation (June 17, 2014)
Campaign Finance: What’s an increase in regressive taxes among friends anyway? (June 10, 2014)
Nix the sales tax: A question of fairness – and progessive identity (June 9, 2014)
Gov. Jay Nixon: “…This tax hike is neither a fair nor fiscally responsible solution…” (June 2, 2014)