Urging still more economic stimulus for the very wealthy, a Chamber of Commerce spokesman told a legislative committee last week that opponents of the Chamber’s legislation were guilty of “class warfare.” He warned of this aggression from the less-privileged even as several state legislatures around the country were trying to stamp out labor unions, and the Arkansas House of Representatives was passing a bill to discourage voting by low-income citizens. Whenever working people practice self-defense, the Chamber of Commerce calls it “class warfare.”
Randy Zook, president of the Arkansas State Chamber, spoke on behalf of a bill (HB 1002) to exempt capital gains from taxation, a move that would help only those Arkansans who need no help. HB 1797, a project of the Republican National Committee, would impose additional ID requirements, some costly, on voters. Its Republican sponsor, Rep. Bryan King of Berryville, said it shouldn’t be easier to vote than to buy pseudoephredine. His is a poor understanding of democracy.