The 2015 Kansas legislative session is finally over and legislators have gone home. What a spectacle it has been. For better or worse, there appears to be a funding strategy that meets our constitutional requirement that there is money available to pay the bills authorized. That is the good news, I guess. What I find ironic is that this Legislature passed the largest tax increase in Kansas history to protect the elimination of income tax for some 330,000 LLC owners that they passed three years ago. What I find heartbreaking is that our state of Kansas now has what I consider an unfair tax structure that puts a disproportionate burden on everyone else. What I fear is that in their struggles, the Legislature has just kicked the can down the road. They will likely be back next year and in succeeding years with many of the same issues of revenue and budgeting on the agenda with similar debates to follow.
One thing for sure that is needed now is for the public to more aggressively get involved in a discussion of the issues, the impacts, and most importantly, how they would like to see things done in the future. It is the obvious time to weigh in, both from the point of view of the time available now before next January and the next session and also before the 2016 elections. That election could be a really important one for setting the direction on public policy for years to come. You have the results of recent major changes versus an earlier time of significant contrast for the state to choose which direction to go.
What would be a really nice change is if our citizens, in learning, thinking, and talking about the issues, had impact on candidates and election results instead of millions of dollars, twisted messages, and downright lies in the closing two weeks of a campaign deciding our future. The answer will be in how we the people respond.
One thing for sure that is needed now is for the public to more aggressively get involved in a discussion of the issues, the impacts, and most importantly, how they would like to see things done in the future. It is the obvious time to weigh in, both from the point of view of the time available now before next January and the next session and also before the 2016 elections. That election could be a really important one for setting the direction on public policy for years to come. You have the results of recent major changes versus an earlier time of significant contrast for the state to choose which direction to go.
What would be a really nice change is if our citizens, in learning, thinking, and talking about the issues, had impact on candidates and election results instead of millions of dollars, twisted messages, and downright lies in the closing two weeks of a campaign deciding our future. The answer will be in how we the people respond.
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