Midwest Voices

Yael T. Abouhalkah

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Give Missouri state Sen. Chuck Purgason credit for being an outspoken critic of the fuzzy logic being used to promote a huge taxpayer subsidy for Ford’s Claycomo plant.

Purgason isn’t going quietly Monday, the day he was ousted as chairman of the Government Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee, with the help of Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields.

Said Purgason in a hot-off-the-press statement:

I guess (Shields) doesn’t like the way I’m holding government accountable.

Ouch.

Purgason had refused to let the bill giving tax breaks to Ford come up for a committee vote, even though plenty of state legislators want to give the auto company the corporate handout and get the special session over. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon also has been currying favor with Ford by promoting the tax breaks.

But there’s more from the outspoken Purgason. He pointed out - correctly - that Ford hasn’t given the state of Missouri one single promise about whether it would actually keep or create jobs at Claycomo if it got a tax break worth at least $100 million to help it retool the Claycomo plant.

“Even the bill name is a lie,” Purgason said in his statement. “It doesn’t create jobs nor does it boost manufacturing in the state.”

But here’s Purgason’s key point:

We need to let true free enterprise work and not play favorites.

Of course, that’s not how things work in Jefferson City - or any other political entity. They love to pick winners and losers when it comes to taxpayer incentives. And guess who gets the most? The biggest corporations, such as Ford, that can claim they are going to pull the most jobs out of a city or state if they don’t get their way.

Purgason just called the Republican leadership on their tactics and deserves credit for doing so.

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