No Mas

No mas. No more. Boxing fans will remember that famous line that a thoroughly frustrated and perplexed Roberto Duran uttered as he quit in his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. The legendary pugilist with self-proclaimed “hands of stone” realized that it was time to pack it in. Duran wasn’t out of time, but he was out of hope.

So it is now with the Missouri Legislature. Lawmakers have struggled in vain since Sept. 6 to accomplish much in their special session. But the House can’t agree with the Senate on hardly anything, especially sunset provisions for key tax credits. As the finger-pointing of blame escalates, it’s time for legislators to admit that, just like Duran, they’re out of hope. They need to officially call a halt to the special session.

The bad news is that they haven’t fixed the state’s sizeable tax credits problem. The good news is that it appears they won’t pass Aerotropolis, the so-called China Hub proposal that was a bad deal for taxpayers from the get-go. Good because it means Missouri taxpayers apparently won’t be stuck with hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax credits. And to those lawmakers (and public officials) who continue to say “We’ve got to do something” to prime the economic pump in Missouri: There is a better way. Stop handing out tax credits and start lowering the tax burden for all companies and individuals. 

Something to think about for the next legislative session.