Kansas views on budget solution, voting out legislators, wind energy, Amtrak
Budget solution – We have a budget crisis. Supporters of the governor can call it what they want, but staring at a $290 million shortage is a crisis regardless of how it’s dressed up. And only one solution makes sense, and that is Option 4: Roll back the income tax cuts. Anything else puts the state further in debt, erodes our stability and future viability, and sidesteps the responsibility of today by placing it on the backs of those who will carry this burden tomorrow.
Vote them out – In just a few months, Kansas voters will need to kick out some of the worst Republican offenders in the Legislature – the House and Senate members who too often have defiantly backed Gov. Sam Brownback’s wrongheaded policies. But do not underestimate the cunning of a politician and his ultraconservative supporters eager to hang on to power by fervently backing the governor’s GOP puppets.
Kansans are fed up with the mess Gov. Sam Brownback and his allies have made in Topeka. It’s too early to predict a massive collapse of the governor’s rough-hewn political regime. But if the trend we are seeing now continues, there will be a turnaround in political attitudes and behavior in the Legislature.
Wind energy – Every lawmaker from Kansas, whether serving in Topeka or the nation’s capital, should grasp the value of wind energy in the state. Yet U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts blew it again. He recently voted against an amendment to keep funding for wind energy research and development at its current level of $95 million. Roberts’ fellow Kansas Republican in the Senate chamber, Jerry Moran, was on the right side of the amendment approved 54-42. Roberts continues to prove he’s out of touch with his home state.
Amtrak connection – A recent news conference announced a new Amtrak route between Newton and Oklahoma City. However, no trains are involved. The route is for touring-style buses, operated by a Wichita-based charter company, to carry rail passengers between the Southwest Chief and the Heartland Flyer. It may not be exactly what Wichita travelers were hoping for, but it formally restores passenger rail service to Wichita for the first time in 37 years.
This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Kansas views on budget solution, voting out legislators, wind energy, Amtrak."