Removing grocery tax  

Beebe is the smarter on this point. He has been around the government in boom and bust cycles and knows that this year’s surplus is next year’s deficit. He wants to go cautiously, peeling off a couple of pennies of the 6-cent state tax at first, then phase the rest out while the budgets adjust.

Hutchinson is used to dealing with taxes and spending in Washington, D.C., where you need not worry about bleak future economies because you can always borrow a couple hundred billion dollars from the central bank of China when income runs low. President Bush and the Congress controlled by his party (Hutchinson was part of it) slashed taxes on high incomes and corporations and then saw the treasury surplus disappear and historic deficits take their place. But Gov. Hutchinson will not be able to do that. It is a civil offense to unbalance the budget in Arkansas.

There is an even better course than Beebe’s, though neither he nor Hutchinson nor the legislature is apt to take it. Rather than exempt everyone from the grocery tax, including the billionaires and their extravagant tastes, why not apply the repeal only to families with incomes of, say, less than $45,000, or some higher figure? It could be done through tax rebates, like the federal earned income tax credit (EITC).

State tax administrators will complain that it would complicate tax administration and put some small burden on taxpayers who would have to send in a form to claim their grocery rebate or EITC. Gov. Bill Clinton agreed with organized labor to do that when he had the legislature raise the sales tax in 1983, but then he welshed on the agreement. Information technology has made the task much easier now.

Some of my friends have been elated for weeks in anticipation of this Saturday. Others don’t understand why anyone would be elated. Is it because Arkansas hosts Southeast Missouri State Saturday? Nope. There are plenty of people who don’t give a fat flip whether the Razorbacks, or any other team, play at all Saturday. That’s because muzzleloading season for deer starts Saturday. The real hunting fanatics will be in the woods well before the Razorbacks kickoff at 1 p.m.
My friends range from those who have spent weeks scouting the woods for deer and erecting blinds to those who aren’t even aware there is a muzzleloading season, much less know when it begins and ends. And, yes, I have friends who don’t know about the deer season or the football game. They’re just breathing and taking up space. That’s their choice.
It seems people need interests. It doesn’t matter if that interest is hunting, watching football or cheering on a longshot down the stretch at Oaklawn Park. But that’s just my view. I’ve known people with no interest other than to work all week and rest all weekend to go back to work Monday. But life should be more than that. 

THE BROADER VIEW : North Korea and the axis

 Some of my friends have been elated for weeks in anticipation of this Saturday. Others don’t understand why anyone would be elated. Is it because Arkansas hosts Southeast Missouri State Saturday? Nope. There are plenty of people who don’t give a fat flip whether the Razorbacks, or any other team, play at all Saturday. That’s because muzzleloading season for deer starts Saturday. The real hunting fanatics will be in the woods well before the Razorbacks kickoff at 1 p.m.
My friends range from those who have spent weeks scouting the woods for deer and erecting blinds to those who aren’t even aware there is a muzzleloading season, much less know when it begins and ends. And, yes, I have friends who don’t know about the deer season or the football game. They’re just breathing and taking up space. That’s their choice.
It seems people need interests. It doesn’t matter if that interest is hunting, watching football or cheering on a longshot down the stretch at Oaklawn Park. But that’s just my view. I’ve known people with no interest other than to work all week and rest all weekend to go back to work Monday. But life should be more than that. 

Whatever happened to honor?

“Of course I bear responsibility. My Lord, I’m secretary of defense. Write it down.” —Donald Rumsfeld at a news conference Wednesday.

WHEN DID the phrase, “I take full responsibility, ’’ come to mean not taking any real responsibility at all ? Talk about a numerical tribute to American hypocrisy, google up that phrase and you’ll find some 212, 000 references to it. Donald Rumsfeld’s name may lead all the rest, although Rush Limbaugh, Ken Lay, Louisiana’s Kathleen Blanco, and Arkansas’ Bill Clinton aren’t far behind in this cast of thousands. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House, is only the latest to accept full responsibility only verbally. Evidence mounts that other high-ranking Republicans in the House or their staffers were aware of a colleague’s suspicious e-mails to House pages.

Of bonds and bingo

Lest you’re taken by surprise when you go to vote in the general election, please note that, in addition to scads of political races, there will be two issues of statewide importance on your ballot. Referred Question No. 1 seeks voter approval for the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to issue up to $ 250 million in general obligation bonds. Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 would legalize charitable bingo and raffles. I mention them now because, although the election is still about three weeks away, you might want a little time to think them through.

 ASU poll provides another insight

It is clear, though, that for several months, Democrats have been hailing huge leads in their races, and it’s true that among voters who know who they’re going to vote for, Democrats are way ahead. But look deeper — the percentage of folks who remain undecided is large in some of these races. The governor’s race is the only one of the four in which the undecided count is below 43 percent. That means that for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state, among the voters queried, four in 10 remain uncertain of their choice. 

 Hastert won’t resign

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert says flatly that he will never resign his leadership post because of the mushrooming page scandal, and we would never suggest that he should quit, at least not for his shocking but predictable weakness in the page matter.

Denny Hastert is not much of a leader and never has been — he is a born follower, of his mentor Tom DeLay for the past eight years— but it is entirely up to the dwindling Republican membership in the House to determine who is the best one to lead them.