Missourians Win Tax-Cut

Missouri State Capitol

Missouri Democratic Governor Jay Nixon vetoed a tax cut that was thankfully overturned by a Republican legislature Tuesday. The new top income rate is lowered to 5.5% plus there’s a new tax break for small-business owners. Mr. Nixon’s concern and his reasoning for the veto, cue the music, is to protect education and public services. What he really means is we need to protect the pensions and pay the unfunded liability of $12.5 billion. Missouri is one of the better funded plans, but let’s not pretend that this is about teaching kids how to read and write. The WSJ’s Review and Outlook covers it nicely here for you:

Mr. Nixon flogged the usual fear about cuts to education and public services, though the income tax cut marks the first in the state in nearly a century. The Governor ignored that Missouri’s constitution requires that 26% of state revenues go to education, that education spending is currently higher at 33% of revenue, and that Republican budgets have increased school spending every year since 2003. He also omitted that the Republican legislature built a safeguard into its tax cuts, which go into effect in 2017 only if state revenues increase by $150 million.

The Governor’s scare campaign worked last year, and the House fell 15 votes shy of a veto override. This time House Majority Leader John Diehl and Speaker Tim Jones kept their troops unified, and even peeled off one state Democrat (Rep. Keith English), mustering the 109 votes needed to put this new tax reform in effect. The Missouri Senate, with its Republican supermajority, had already voted on Monday to override.

Mr. Nixon is Governor in a state that is trending right, but he is governing like President Obama. Missouri lags its Midwest competitors in government reform and economic growth, and the Governor might offer a quiet thanks to the Republicans who broke the gridlock and let their state join the region’s pro-growth movement.

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E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.