ST. LOUIS – Businessman and political donor Rex Sinquefield joined Michael Kelley in the KMOX newsroom Friday morning to discuss politics around the state and continue to encourage his idea to eliminate Missouri’s income tax. He even gave the weather report for the hour.
First, Kelley and Sinquefield went over last night’s Republican primary debates. The powerful donor liked what he saw on from the right side of the aisle, but not from the candidates leading the polls.
“I watched both of them… they were very good,” Sinquefield said. “There was a lot of focus on content… “Nobody crashed and burned last night with the exception of [Donald] Trump. Bush didn’t shine as well as he could.”
Sinquefield complimented New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, but he was most impressed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, even though he noted that Walker does not have the dynamism or charisma of Ronald Reagan, he said Walker was a strong candidate and was confident in how he spoke.
Last month, Sinquefield hosted a fundraiser for Walker in his home in St. Louis.
Sinquefield said he was impressed by Carly Fiorina in the first debate. He appreciated her policy as well as her punchy statements which he called, “concise” and “to the point.”
After speaking about the debates, the two moved on to talk about Sinquefield’s continuing efforts to make Missouri a state free from income tax. Kansas has passed similar measures and has lagged behind other states in some economic indicators.
“If you want to gloat about Kansas, you better gloat now and gloat fast,” Sinquefield said. “There are nine other states that don’t have income taxes, and they are faster growing than the other forty. Kansas will join them.”
While there is still debate as to whether or not income taxes benefit the economy, the businessman has continued to stress that Missouri should pursue that course of action. He railed against Gov. Jay Nixon in the interview, saying that the governor hasn’t had a pro-growth suggestion in his seven years in office.
“It makes you think he doesn’t care,” Sinquefield said.
Sinquefield also reiterated his stances that St. Louis City should rejoin with St. Louis County and shut down certain smaller municipalities, noting that in St. Louis County there were over 60 separate police departments and about $2 billion dollars wasted on duplicate government functions every year.
Sinquefield also spoke with Kelley about the upcoming Sinquefield Cup, a chess tournament he created that he says was named by his wife and staff. The Cup will take place from Aug. 22 to Sept. 3 and feature nine of the top 10 chess players in the world.
