Lingua Franca

The Missouri House is considering a constitutional amendment that would designate English as the language for "official proceedings" in Missouri.

The amendment is a bad idea. The vast majority of official proceedings in Missouri are already conducted in English. And translating a few documents into Spanish isn’t anywhere near as costly as tax breaks for favorite employers, ethanol subsidies, or the educational adequacy lawsuit.

Official proceedings should be conducted in whatever language is convenient for the participants. That’s common sense, and we don’t need a frivolous amendment about it.