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Economic development tax not working
To the editor:
The rich are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer.
The above statement is very obvious in the city of Blytheville, and it absolutely is not necessary. The citizens of Blytheville do not have any representation. All benefits are for a selected few (the good old boy clique), while all citizens are required to pay the bill. A few examples will support this contention with some facts, which the good old boys despise.
The good old boys passed a half-cent sales tax called economic development, but it was a guise from the beginning. It was an effort to increase the power of a selected few, with many receiving tremendous salaries paid by all citizens. The good old boys were well-organized and pushed very hard to get the sales tax passed. The sales tax passed by 63 votes in the first vote and barely passed in the extension of the half-cent sales tax. There were only four polling place in the entire county and the amendment passed.
The purpose for this half-cent sales tax was to increase employment and to improve the economy. Take a look at some statistics pertaining to the county:
Unemployment for Mississippi County averaged 10.03 percent over a 23-year period of time. After the half-cent tax was passed in July 2003, the average unemployment from 2004 through 2012 was 9.8 percent. This represented lowering the unemployment rate by 0.23 percent.
The number of workers from 1990 through 2012 averaged 23,780 workers. From 2004 through 2012, the average number of workers was 23,670. This represented a loss of 110 workers after the $50 million tax on the citizens of Mississippi County.
After spending millions of dollars so as to provide jobs for the county, there was a 0.23 percent decrease in the average unemployment due to the tax increase. The average number of workers decreased by 110.
The U.S. department of BEA provided statistics which indicated that Mississippi County loss $95 million per year for 11 years due to the Mississippi County workforce included 3,867 workers that lived outside of Mississippi County. These facts indicate that the citizens of Mississippi County and the citizens of Blytheville are paying approximately $24 per month while gaining zero benefit.
When is leadership going to start considering the poor in their decision-making process?