Politics & Government
Letter to the Editor From State Rep. Rory Ellinger
Rory Ellinger is a Democrat who represents Page dale, University City and Wellston in St. Louis County (District 72) in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Recently two ideas are being lauded and supported by many legislators, such as the need to make the rainy day fund workable by expanding the payback period from three to ten years and the collection of sales tax from online purchases.
Another revenue generator is to raise the cigarette tax by 17 cents, which could raise millions annually. All of these measures can be taken up and passed by the Missouri General Assembly and signed by our Governor at the upcoming special session in September. We can call it the “Tornado, Flood Relief and Energy Fund,” as the funds are sorely needed in those areas immediately.
How can we help Missourians like those in Joplin, Bridgeton and Southeast Missouri who have been devastated by natural disasters if we have to cut programs for others facing economic or health disasters? Together these three programs enable an increase in education and social services funding and allow us to help the storm-distressed.
Government enables society to help people with problems that are too big for an individual to handle. I urge Speaker Tilley and Governor Nixon to respond to these issues positively.
Sincerely,
Rory Ellinger
http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=072
State Representative
72nd District
Editors’s Note: The views expressed are not those of University City Patch nor its editorial staff, and solely reflect those of the author. This content has not been edited other than to fix spelling or grammatical errors.