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Regarding several recent letters concerning Boeing’s departure from Wichita and the free market: Most Wichitans share the anger and sadness at how this company’s management behaved in such a shameless and, some would say, deceitful way.
It is an outrage that in these hard times, the Kansas taxpayers will have to spend more than $20 million to fix the leaking state Capitol roof. It is time to say enough and either convert that money pit into a casino or sell it for scrap.
Nothing I can think of better reflects free-market principles than Boeing pulling out of Wichita despite the best efforts of workers and politicians to keep it here.
The employees at the Boeing Wichita plant shouldn’t have been surprised by the decision to close. Having worked since 1975 as a union-represented hourly employee and an ex-manager at what is now Spirit AeroSystems, I can tell you that the Boeing Wichita division has never been well-liked by any of the Puget Sound divisions.
Boeing is leaving Wichita. How tragic. Wichita is going to lose billions of dollars. It seems to me that Wichita and the state did not work hard enough to keep Boeing here. Wichita should go back to the table and give this company what it wants. Just do it.
The Boeing Co. has betrayed the future for Kansas.
I was delighted to see front-page coverage for Success in the Middle, the local effort that engages volunteers in tutoring and mentoring middle schoolers (Jan. 2 Eagle). I’m afraid that in my nervousness at being interviewed by a world-class reporter like Roy Wenzl, I gave him the impression I am a full-time volunteer (I am paid a few hours a week to coordinate at Coleman Middle School), and I left out some information.
One criterion we rarely see employed by our political representatives as they decide how our tax dollars ought to be used is who deserves the benefits, or the polar opposite of who ought to be denied these benefits.
The Kansas Humane Society, like any of us, can fail to act perfectly at times (“Woman upset over euthanized dog,” Jan. 1 Local & State). But it strives to do the best job it can do with inadequate funding, volunteers and space to serve the animals whose caretakers have relinquished their responsibilities.
Because Sumner and Sedgwick counties are in the same “gaming zone,” Sedgwick County is scheduled to receive 1 percent of the Kansas Star Casino’s revenue. The casino revenue is projected to be $150 million the first year, so Sedgwick County’s cut could be $1.5 million.
During this past year, members of Congress played a game of politics to see who would win, rather than working together to solve the economic, health, military and social ills of our nation. This “game” of partisan politics has, as Davis Merritt said so well in a Dec. 23 commentary, “rendered Congress impotent to address the nation’s many severe problems.”
During the Wichita City Council debate about allowing concealed guns on city property, Mayor Carl Brewer apologized to citizens for not allowing them to have a voice or give input. I was saddened by that.
I find it odd that seemingly few people saw it coming – the Boeing move out of Wichita. In 2005 when Boeing sold the commercial side of its operations in Wichita to a foreign company, many of us who worked there foresaw the end of Boeing Wichita.
It should be no surprise that the Wichita City Council rejected a nominee to the grant review committee (Dec. 23 Local & State). The City Council has demonstrated in the past that it only wants yes-men. I believe the tax-lien issue was only a smoke screen to cover up the real objection to Craig Gabel.
We at Inter-Faith Ministries are grateful for the community’s warm, caring response to our appeals for Operation Holiday. Many of you responded more than once, and you gave to us from hearts full of love. It is an honor to be the steward of your generosity.
Regarding “Which county should benefit from casino?” (Dec. 22 Local & State): The Operation Freedom Memorial Foundation is a Kansas-based nonprofit established to raise funds for and build a Kansas memorial that will include, among other things, the names of all Kansas veterans who have lost their lives while serving in the war against terrorism. Currently, two of 82 names to be inscribed on the walls of the memorial are from Sumner County.
Recent comments by Wichita City Council member Michael O’Donnell on government compliance make no sense.
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus – the greatest gift the world has ever received.
When the National Labor Relations Board filed action against Boeing for putting a new assembly plant in South Carolina, many were outraged that the government and the union could dictate what Boeing could or could not do in the operation of its business. Again now, there is outrage that Boeing will likely ignore commitments to finish the new tanker in Wichita, preferring to do the work elsewhere.
I’ve been hearing individuals in the Wichita community discussing a possible vote on the reopening of the Wichita Greyhound Park.
Regarding “The big question: Was Iraq worth it? (Dec. 11 Eagle): In investing terms, the answer is a resounding “no.”
I am irked at references in Eagle articles to the “Mulvane casino” and the “early and steadfast supporters of bringing gambling to Sedgwick County” (“Casino set to prove it’s ready to open,” Dec. 16 Local & State).
The government recently released the November unemployment figure as 8.6 percent (down from 9.1 percent), claiming this was good news. Most folks don’t realize that the government computes six unemployment numbers each month, U-1 through U-6. Here is the data for November:
I, for one, am glad that attention is finally being drawn to the critical issue of public school administrator and teacher attire (“Wichita school administrators could lose blue jeans, more,” Dec. 12 Eagle). With so many of our schoolchildren failing to pass basic standards tests, it is about time that we put some of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money to work on this issue.
Regarding “The new dream?” (Dec. 12 Letters to the Editor): People are taxed based on their income. It is an income tax, not a poll tax, which would be the same for each person. Of course those in the top 1 percent pay more in taxes; they earn more.
The following are excerpts from editorials about bullying written by students in Bev Poos’ seventh-grade composition class at Maize South Middle School:
Congress is debating several key policy issues, including legislation to prevent a nearly 30 percent reimbursement cut to physicians and other health care providers under Medicare. Part of the debate involves how to offset the costs associated with these policies so that the national budget deficit is not increased. Keeping the deficit in check is necessary, though cost offsets within the Medicare program should not disproportionately affect particular health care providers.
Since Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, did such a great job leading the opposition to regulation of farm dust (Dec. 13 WE Blog excerpts), I hope he will proceed to fight a similar problem.
Kudos to “Destroying lives” (Dec. 11 Letters to the Editor) for expressing so well the concern of thousands of families across Kansas. We are the families of individuals who have various special needs, and we are facing the dismal prospect of managed care taking over the personal care of our loved ones.
Regarding “Battle over hotel tax heats up” (Dec. 8 Local & State): Susan Estes, spokeswoman for Americans for Prosperity-Wichita, asked: “Do we trust the people of Wichita to make an informed decision at the ballot box that will be in the best interests of the community, or don’t we?” The answer to Estes’ rhetorical question was found in “Revote sought on racetrack slots” (Dec. 9 Local & State), in which the Wichita Wins organization suggested that the vote to allow slot machines in Sedgwick County was defeated because voters were confused about the ballot question — the ballot question that did not specify that the Wichita Greyhound Park was the only location in Sedgwick County where the slots could be legally placed. Confused by visions of children playing the slots in convenience stores, the voters did not make “an informed decision.”
