Yesterday voters in Jackson County, Missouri (including the voters of Kansas City) went to the polls faced with Question One. The ballot question would have increased the county sales tax by .5-percent amounting in an $800 million tax hike over the next 20 years. The revenue would go to fund new research facilities for local hospitals – something that, as opponents noted, in the past would have been funded through federal and state grants, along with private fundraising.
In a landslide victory for taxpayers, Question One was defeated with 86-percent of voters against and only 14-percent in favor. The ballot measure drew strong opposition from community and taxpayer groups alike – even drawing sharp criticism from the less-than-taxpayer-friendly Kansas City Star:
To urge a “ no” vote is not a happy place for this newspaper. It’s easy to root for a major translational research hub and the talented researchers it may draw. We simply don’t see an additional tax on one county’s shoppers, be they individuals or businesses, as the primary path to that goal…
Voters need to make it a point to get to the polls, reject this tax initiative, and then the community can pull together to find more equitable funding to advance this worthwhile effort.
With voters rejecting a massive tax increase in Colorado by a 2 to 1 margin, the defeat of Question One in Jackson County, Missouri serves as yet another example that voters are souring on the tax and spend philosophy touted by Democrats across the nation.