Speakout 9-29

If this group of people for a super Missouri gets voters to vote for higher taxes on tobacco, then I want, as a taxpayer, for the same group to go after the other killer of Missouri who drinks, drives, kills and destroys a lot of lives so we have to pay higher insurance and medical bills. Wake up, voters. What will be next?

The cigarette tax is getting way out of hand. I'm a non-smoker and I wouldn't care if there was never another cigarette, ever. But it's gotten way out of hand. If anything, they should be taxing alcohol. People can be killed immediately when a drunk driver gets behind the wheel. They should tax alcohol instead.

Here we go with the cigarettes again. Why don't they start taxing liquor? It's getting where the smokers are going to have to quit smoking and go to drinking liquor. All the government officials probably do.

According to the Sept. 18 issue of USA Today, liquor sales are taxed. The tax rates vary by state and although the report didn't specify the rate for each state, the taxes go from the lowest to highest rates of 2 cents in Wyoming to 32 cents in Hawaii for beer; wine is 11 cents in Louisiana and $2.25 in Florida; and liquor is taxed $1.50 in Maryland and $6.50 in Florida.

I just heard that Russia is possibly going to veto any action, so what has to be is that we just have to send a few more million dollars over there. That's what we've been doing to all those countries and as long as they're getting their money, they seem to be with us. But when we dry up their money, then they don't want us anymore.

The mayor of East Prairie said they have filed for a grant for repair on the swimming pool. We already went two summers without a swimming pool. We pay the tax over here. We're paying taxes right now on it and the pool was supposed to be fixed by the end of this year or by swimming time next year. Now in the paper it says they have to file the grant, the deadline is almost past and they wanted to wait until a later date, like it isn't important. We don't have anything to do over here. They want to put lights on the ball fields that the high school and junior high don't even play at. They play at the other park. That's for the men's slow-pitch, fast-pitch and baseball teams. Why don't they come out and tell the East Prairie citizens the truth? It all sucks. Our kids had to go to Sikeston or Charleston to go swimming this summer. Now they claim that the grant deadline to file is Sept. 27 and they want to wait until a later date. This town always did suck, but they didn't wait for a later date to raise taxes, did they? That's a shame.

I reside in Charleston and just read where they are going to look into taxing river towboats and barges because they pass by our county border, which is the Mississippi River. I read where we're losing money because boaters are not paying personal property tax. I wonder if we could put up a toll booth and tax all vehicles that pass through Mississippi County. And let's get those airplanes that pass over our Mississippi County air space. And if you buy merchandise elsewhere and your residence is in Mississippi County, let's try to tax. When will it stop? Just live within your means and leave things alone.