Just fired off a letter to the editor of my local paper.

I have a few questions about the proposed sales tax hike on the Thayer ballot November 8th.

First, how does taking $175,000 per year OUT of the local economy and giving it to the government help the economy?

Second, the Thayer Community Betterment Association has applauded the work of a previous economic developer in bringing new downtown lighting, a water line to nowhere, a sidewalk from the school to downtown, a "tourist information center" that doesn't benefit residents and tourists don't even KNOW about, and sidewalks that don't function as sidewalks, because you have to walk IN the street until you can get to stairs to get ON the sidewalk (take a look just down the hill from the library and you'll see what I mean). The question is, how many Thayer jobs have these projects created? Because I don't see any.

Third, isn't the fact that Thayer has a lower tax rate than surrounding cities an economic PLUS? If the tax hike is approved, and I was shopping for a $20,000 car, for instance, what incentive would I have to buy it in Thayer when I could go to a nearby community and buy it and pay less in taxes on it? And the reverse is true: under the current taxes, why would someone buy a new Chevy pickup in West Plains when they can buy the same truck in Thayer and pay less in taxes?

Fourth, if economic development is the true goal of the tax, why are the Chamber of Commerce and the TCBA so insistent on passing it? If successful, wouldn't it create more competition for their businesses, both in the prices they charge and in the wages they pay? There's something they're not telling us.

Fifth, how does the fact that I have to eat and buy clothing make me responsible for paying the salary of an economic developer?

And finally, how much money was spent on signs and mailings in support of the tax hike? Because from where I sit, it looks like that money would have gone a long way toward paying the $175,000 without a tax hike.

John Hutchison,
Thayer MO.