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The nine states with no personal income tax continue this status by growth in state revenue sources that are not available to Kansas at present and/or the alteration of state and local tax codes in ways that make the tax system very to extremely regressive. The absence of personal income taxation is an effect of growth in alternative revenue sources, not a cause of state economic growth. The states without personal income tax are:
Most Kansans are familiar with the iconic mural in the Statehouse east wing painted by Kansas artist John Steuart Curry. It depicts the abolitionist John Brown, his arms spread wide with a Bible and a rifle in his hands as he presides over the conflagration of the Civil War.
After Richard Nixon lost the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy and the California governor’s race two years later, the former vice president knew he must reinvent himself to run for president again in 1968.
It began with one document.
My work advocating for women’s equality under the leadership of Gov. Sam Brownback provides me plenty of reason to carry a pessimistic attitude. However, I have been unusually optimistic as of late.
Just when you thought the dust was settling from the recent taking-of-umbrage inspired by Democratic pundit Hilary Rosen’s comment that “Ann Romney hasn’t worked a day in her life,” House Democrats have made a wry political move that is likely to stir things right back up.
I think it is fair to say that the shark has been permanently displaced by the dog.
Much has been written in recent months about the future of the Republican Party, as “conservative” Rick Santorum proved popular among many primary voters against “centrist” Mitt Romney. This centrist-versus-conservative meme is an oversimplification of the primary fight between Romney and Santorum, but it is not new. For years, the media have been fascinated with perceived intraparty ideological battles.
Someday my prince will come. – Snow White, 1937
The Regional Economic Area Partnership was formed in 1997 as a voluntary alliance of cities and counties in south-central Kansas and now includes 36 participating jurisdictions. Its mission is to guide state and national actions that affect economic development in the region and adopt joint actions among member governments that enhance the regional economy. REAP is governed by a board, which meets monthly, composed of the elected representatives of participating jurisdictions.
This past week was filled with grief and sadness for many affected by the tornado of April 14, though we are grateful that there was not wider devastation.
Fifty years ago America was just waking up to the reality of environmental pollution: Rachel Carson had published “Silent Spring,” heralding the modern environmental movement and raising America’s consciousness about the impact of DDT pesticide use on the environment and public health. Then in 1969 Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire due to the oil-soaked debris consuming it, and the country’s then-largest oil spill occurred in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The last thing the United States needs at the moment is to get involved in another Mideast war.
What a gift for the Obama campaign — a poll last week showing the president up by 7 percentage points. He’s over 50 percent in a head-to-head matchup against putative Republican nominee Mitt Romney. And look at Romney’s showing among women. Wow! President Obama is crushing Romney 57 to 38 percent. The poll story drily noted: “Romney’s personal profile needs work.”
Kansas boasts some of the best hunting and fishing grounds in the country and a proud tradition of balancing wildlife habitat with agriculture. On my family farm, we have always worked hard to support that tradition, ensuring that our farming operation is compatible with the protection of clean water, healthy soil and wildlife habitat.
Supermarket eggs gleam with apparent cleanliness, and nothing might seem more wholesome than breaking one of them into a frying pan.
Gov. Sam Brownback has declared this week Kansas Private College Week. It is a time for celebrating the contributions that all 18 members of the Kansas Independent Colleges Association make to our state and its economy.
Virtually everything said and done in a presidential election year distorts the truth, much like concave and convex mirrors in a carnival attraction alter one’s true reflection.
The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act because Republicans started down the wrong road with their critique of the defining domestic mark of the Obama administration.
I want government to leave me alone. I’m sick of it. Whatever happened to personal freedom? Whatever happened to personal responsibility? I want that government should just go away.
In “Why Americans Hate Politics,” E.J. Dionne Jr. explained how our late 20th-century malaise about politics grew from the fact that politicians, for their own narrow purposes, frame issues as false, bilateral choices, even when doing so exaggerates their beliefs.
I am part of the 1 percent of the 1 percent. By that I mean that I am fortunate to be a wealthy American and I say, “It’s OK to raise my taxes.”
There is a single shot, just seconds long, in James Cameron’s newly rereleased “Titanic” that says it all with poignant eloquence.
On April 4, the Sedgwick County Commission voted 3-2 to participate in the sustainable development grant program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. During the meeting, 21 citizens from all walks of life joined us in opposition to this grant program. Additionally, 10 state legislators added their names to the growing list of political leaders who already have voiced opposition to this grant program, which includes former U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt.
