The Associated Press

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 7

Missouri lawmakers’ modest proposal would treat poor as asphalt:

The Missouri Legislature is considering taking money it saved by slashing programs for the poor, especially poor children, and devoting it to highways. As if borrowing from Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” they seem to be asking: Why not actually use the bodies of poor people as road-paving material?

There’s no mistaking the devastating effects that such legislative action would have on the poor. Last year the Legislature’s ironically named “Strengthening Missouri’s Families Act” was passed over Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto. Part 1 knocked 9,500 Missourians from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families rolls on Jan. 1. More than 6,300 of them were children and 3,500 were children under age 5.

Part 2 takes effect April 1, when 58,000 adults become ineligible for food stamps. Republican lawmakers want them to go get jobs. Lawmakers promised to use the savings for job training, child care, transportation assistance and other programs to get recipients on their feet.

Forget that. Now the money would go for roads.

Here are some words to describe this proposal: Unconscionable. Inhumane. Sadistic. And for those loudly religious lawmakers, un-Christian. Missouri’s faith leaders must make their voices heard.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, explained the no-tax highway plan as necessary to improve infrastructure while ensuring tax dollars are spent “responsibly.”

As if caring for Missouri’s neediest is somehow irresponsible. Lawmakers think the state will save $1 billion to $2 billion by whacking this aid over the next decade. For the first time, the Missouri Department of Transportation, historically funded by federal and state fuel taxes, will get significant help from the general revenue fund. State money will be used to match local tax dollars for road and bridge projects.

Next year, when a five-year income tax cut begins phasing in, the general revenue fund will be further stressed. There will be less money for everything the state does.

Lawmakers in hock to anti-tax campaign donors will try anything to avoid asking voters to raise fuel taxes for highway needs. Two years ago they sent a sales tax proposal to voters, who swatted it down — in part because it excused the heavy commercial vehicles that cause the most wear and tear on roads. The new proposal also lets trucks and buses off the hook.

Lawmakers also are considering raising the 17.3-cent gasoline tax by 1.5 cents a gallon and the diesel fuel tax to 20 cents. That’s better, but at $80 million a year, would not make a big dent in the work that’s needed.

The average gasoline tax in the eight states that border Missouri is 24.92 cents. Eight cents a gallon more gets us there. Gas prices are at a 10-year low. If Missouri drivers want better roads, they — and not the neediest among us — should bear the burden.

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The Kansas City Star, Feb. 8

Epidemic of prescription drug abuse gets needed attention:

The largely hidden issue of prescription drug addiction and death is being exposed as a growing epidemic.

Presidential candidates are talking about it, particularly ahead of Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire, which has a big heroin and opioid abuse problem. But New Hampshire isn’t alone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that every day 44 people in the U.S. die from prescription opioid overdose. Prescription opioid abuse reportedly costs billions of dollars — 46 percent in lost workplace productivity, 45 percent in health care costs and 9 percent in criminal justice expenses. Just last Thursday, 11 people were charged in federal court in Kansas City with a $1.2 million conspiracy to distribute oxycodone through forged and fraudulent prescriptions.

The problem also has grown in the last 20 years with more aggressive prescription drug marketing for pain relief. Pharmaceutical company sales representatives directly market opioid prescription drugs to physicians with attractive incentives for patients.

The CDC says common drugs in prescription overdose deaths are hydrocodone or Vicodin, oxycodone or OxyContin, oxymorphone or Opana and methadone, especially when prescribed for pain. Drug misuse and abuse resulted in 2.5 million emergency room visits in 2011, of which 1.4 million were tied to prescription drugs.

Opioid users often find their way to heroin, which is less costly and delivers a similar effect.

Sen. Claire McCaskill last month in Jefferson City held a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging to draw attention to the worsening problems.

Presidential candidates have helped draw attention to the issue using personal stories of family members. Fortunately, President Barack Obama has proposed more than $1 billion in new funding to attack it.

The money would expand access to treatment for prescription drug abuse and heroin use. It would beef up treatment efforts to assist people in a sustained recovery. Of that money, $920 million would support cooperative agreements with states, expanding access to medication-assisted treatment.

States will get funds based on the severity of the prescription opioid problem. The CDC notes that “many states report problems with for-profit, high-volume pain clinics (so-called pill mills’) that prescribe large quantities of painkillers to people who don’t need them medically.”

In Missouri and Kansas, there were 82.2 to 95 painkiller prescriptions per 100 people. In other states it was higher, including neighboring Oklahoma and Arkansas.

That’s unconscionable when health care professionals know the addictive qualities and high overdose death rates from prescription opioid medications.

The Obama budget proposal includes $50 million for the National Health Service Corps to increase access for substance use treatment and $30 million to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs. About $500 million — an increase of more than $90 million — would go the Justice Department and Health and Human Services for prevention.

The focus on treatment and prevention stands a greater chance of being successful than criminalizing people for a national epidemic that is far beyond individuals’ ability to control.

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St. Joseph News-Press, Feb. 5

Cynics wrong about ethics reforms:

Give credit to the new leaders of the Missouri General Assembly: They said they would make it a priority to pass ethics reforms, and so far they have honored that pledge.

Just a month into the session, the House has approved legislation banning lobbyist gifts to legislators, requiring lawmakers to wait one year to become lobbyists and prohibiting lawmakers from also serving as paid political consultants.

Other proposals to advance include one to prevent appointees to task forces and commissions from profiting from the recommendations they make.

“These appointees sometimes have tremendous authority,” Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, told Missourinet.com. “Their actions can lead to the spending of millions and, in some cases, hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars.

“Without this self-dealing prohibition these same people appointed to positions of public trust can turn around and make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars off of the very same recommendations they made in a position of public trust.”

Barnes again spoke passionately about this issue on Thursday before a gathering of newspaper editors and publishers, identifying it as a priority as ethics legislation moves to the Senate.

The Senate is expected to ask for changes to several measures. One complaint is the ban on lawmakers becoming consultants would not apply to current members. Also, some think a one-year ban on lobbying is not long enough.

A bigger complaint, mostly from Democrats, is the contention any ethics reform package that does not also include campaign contribution limits is not real reform. Putting aside the practical argument that limits are difficult if not impossible to enforce, this is a cynic’s view that is not supported either by the facts or appearances of what goes on in Jefferson City.

Trusted citizen lawmakers from this region have said repeatedly that what they have witnessed at the capitol is a lot of good people trying to do the right things. But as we all know, a few bad apples have cast the General Assembly in a bad light.

We’re convinced from our observations and our talks with lawmakers that the reforms making their way through the assembly are important and will contribute to restoring the public’s trust.

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Jefferson City News-Tribune, Feb. 6

Earthquake preparedness emphasized:

Because more than 200 years have elapsed since the New Madrid earthquake, preparedness concerns may be met with complacency by Missouri residents.

That would be a mistake. Earthquakes are not entirely predictable. In that regard, they are unlike hurricanes, which may be forecast with ample time to alert and evacuate residents.

And scientists agree major earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone still pose a risk to Missourians.

Missouri observes Earthquake Awareness Month in February, which coincides with the Feb. 7, 1812, New Madrid quake, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the United States. The event destroyed homes and buildings, altered the flow of the Mississippi River and reportedly rang church bells hundreds of miles away.

“It’s important for Missourians to prepare now,” said Ron Walker, director of Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), “and Earthquake Awareness Month is an ideal time to learn about earthquake hazards and the importance of emergency preparedness.”

Although no statewide preparedness drill is scheduled this month, SEMA officials emphasize the slogan: “Drop, Cover and Hold On.” The slogan is a reminder for people in modern, structurally sound buildings to drop to the floor, take cover under a desk or table, and hold on during an earthquake.

Other earthquake safety steps include:

— Bolt bookcases to wall studs, install strong latches on cupboards and strap your home’s water heater to wall studs to prevent it from tipping over and starting a fire or gas leak, as well as eliminating a valuable source of water.

— Secure overhead lighting fixtures and move heavy objects from high shelves to lower ones. Many injuries in an earthquake are caused by falling debris.

— Assemble an emergency kit, including a flashlight, first aid kit, radio, drinking water and blankets. A major earthquake could leave families without utilities for weeks.

— Develop a family communication plan. Identify a relative living at least 100 miles away; everyone can call to “check in” to tell family you’re safe.

— Know how to turn off your gas and water mains.

— Remember that earthquake coverage is not included in most homeowner insurance policies. It must be purchased as separate coverage, called an “endorsement.”

Additional information is available at SEMA’s Earthquake Preparedness website at www.sema.dps.mo.gov/earthquake_preparedness.

An earthquake is more than a natural phenomenon; it is a natural disaster. Preparedness is the best method to survive both a disaster and its aftermath.