To the editor:

The Southeast Missourian article on the defeat of the use tax provided some insight into how politicians and those in government seem to view the taxpaying public.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones attributed the defeat of the use tax to the fact "that the voters just don't understand ... it's not something that was going to affect the general populace." Jones goes on to say that the county commission may put the issue back on the ballot after some "public education efforts." Does the commissioner really believe that the public is too stupid to understand that any tax paid by a business will eventually be passed on to consumers?

The commissioner seems to be very puzzled why voters rejected this tax. The answer is simple. People are tired of seeing their hard-earned dollars being taxed at every turn. I, for one, don't need to be educated about why this or any other tax will be good for me.

Can the county commission take the resounding "no" that the voters delivered against the use tax as possibly being the will of the citizens of Cape Girardeau County? If not, then maybe the time is right for the citizens of the county to elect commissioners who will respect the decision of the voters rather than questioning their intelligence.

JOHN HELDERMAN

Whitewater