Your Opinion: Political motives suspected

Dear Editor:

Before expressing my opinion of the Missouri legislators who just passed our next budget I want to remind past readers and to inform new readers that because I do not know everything there is to know (including God and the Bible) I do not claim to be qualified to tell others what to believe. (Beware of people who insist that what they believe is always right.)

As for my opinion of the newly passed budget and of the legislators who voted for it, I wonder if they truly believe this budget is in the best interest of Missouri citizens. Surely, our legislators know that it is not possible to bring in enough income to balance this budget as required by our Constitution. So why did they pass a Dream Budget?

It is my opinion that the legislators planned in advance to use their dream budget as a political way to persuade voters that their legislators are their good friends.

Of course, I assume that these same politically concerned lawmakers also know that the governor is the person who is responsible for finding ways to balance the budget. The legislators must also know that Gov. Nixon would have to veto some laws, make many cuts, and/or freeze spending in order to achieve a balanced budget. Politically legislators hoped that these unpopular controls would cause voters to be angry with the governor for depriving them of their impossible dreams.

Unless our legislators are very lacking in knowledge of Missouri's Constitution, they have to have known that their budget (as it is) could not be balanced. Thus, I am left to suspect that our legislators had ulterior motives.

There is of course also the possibility that if I knew more, my opinion could be different. It could be partly right or partly wrong or I'm at least on the right track.