Kansas views on welfare, arts funding, voting rules, policy failures
Welfare – When Gov. Sam Brownback signed the welfare cuts in May, he said his administration wanted to do more than simply get Kansans off public assistance – he said the objective was “to get people out of poverty.” Brownback’s welfare policies have failed to do this, and it’s time to try something new.
Arts funding – It’s disappointing but sadly not shocking that Kansas could fail to receive $800,000 in arts funding in the coming year. The administration of Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature are not adequately supporting the arts in the Sunflower State, and that decision has come back to bite them.
Like other Gov. Sam Brownback promises, the pledge to maintain support to arts groups around the state through private donations has not been fulfilled. A reasonable person would look at the situation and reconsider the decision that created it. Unfortunately, Brownback’s office has indicated it plans to stay the course even in the face of huge funding losses for arts in the state of Kansas.
Voting rules – Though there’s merit in making sure that voters at the polls are who they say they are, the implementation of voter registration requirements in Kansas was created more for political theater than to address any real threat to our elections. And it has proven a messy affair that largely serves to further discourage participation in the election process.
Policy failures – Rather than accepting responsibility for their policy failures, ultraconservatives blame everyone and everything else. All they need is a little more time. We’re out of time. We can’t afford to travel down this same path for two more years.
This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 12:06 AM with the headline "Kansas views on welfare, arts funding, voting rules, policy failures."