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State Democratic candidates Robin Carnahan and Mark Sheehan speak to supporters and volunteers Tuesday about economic issues during Mark Sheehan’s Soup Kitchen Rally at Buchanan County Democratic Headquarters in St. Joseph.

Nearly a week after Gov. Matt Blunt played up Missouri’s job climate in St. Joseph, area Democrats took a different look at the numbers.

Tennessee and Missouri are tied for the 13th worst unemployment rate in the United States.

The recently released unemployment rate for Missouri, 6.6 percent, is the highest it’s been in 17 years.

The number of unemployed Missourians — 199,416 — is the highest it’s been in 23 years.

“This looks an awful lot like a depression coming this way,” said Mark Sheehan at his Soup Kitchen Rally Tuesday at the Buchanan County Democratic Headquarters in Downtown St. Joseph.

Mr. Sheehan, of St. Joseph, is running for the 28th District seat in the Missouri House of Representatives.

“Missouri is not better off,” Mr. Sheehan said. “We have found when we invest in rich people, we invest in greed.”

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the rally’s keynote speaker, said the notion of deregulation of Wall Street has existed for the last 40 years.

“But when things get down, who does everybody turn to?” She asked. “I’m not saying we had a choice. I’m saying we need to recognize who got us here.”

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Ed Wildberger, of St. Joseph, stressed the importance of the upcoming election.

“This election will determine whether (the) country will go into a depression,” Mr. Wildberger said.

Mr. Sheehan criticized his opponent, Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, for supporting tuition tax credits to private schools.

“If we invest in public education, we’re investing in the work force,” Mr. Sheehan said. “That doesn’t start in investing in vouchers.”

Dr. Schaaf said he supported tuition tax credits because they only would’ve affected failing children in failing school districts, such as in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, which provide a steady stream of inmates to state

prisons.

“It’s costing us a lot of money. It’s stealing from our education,” Dr. Schaaf said, noting the schools wouldn’t have lost funding because of students who left for private schools. “It’s well and good to close your mind to alternative proposals, to tax credits, but my opponent ought to come up with some other way if he’s going to be critical.”

Alyson E. Raletz can be reached at alysonraletz@npgco.com.

[Correction: This headline needs clarification. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan says she is not critical of current Missouri voting methods. She does favor early voting and wishes the state of Missouri would allow it.]