Letters on ‘terrible’ tax bill, Jeff Longwell, Sam Williams, professors’ views, school cut

Brownback signed ‘terrible’ tax bill

State Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, stated accurately that the tax cut passed by Republican legislators and signed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback was a “terrible piece of legislation” (Capitol beats, Feb. 22 Local & State). However, he went on to say that the law was not conservative Republicans’ fault, nor the governor’s fault, but rather the fault of moderates and the Democrats.

Republicans outnumber the Democrats, who opposed the cuts, by about a 3-to-1 ratio, and the bill was signed by the Republican governor.

All the governor had to do was veto the bill, as he was urged to do by social welfare groups, newspaper editorial boards, the Democrats and even some Republicans. But he signed it, saying, “Today’s legislation will create tens of thousands of new jobs and help make Kansas the best place in America to start and grow a small business.”

That was on May 22, 2012, nearly three years ago. Where, pray tell, are all those new jobs? The only thing that has happened is that the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and the rest of us are being squeezed as the state plummets into financial ruin.

Conservative Republicans and the governor fully own this disaster.

Vote for Longwell

Wichita mayoral candidate Jeff Longwell realizes that it takes everyone working together to create a multifaceted economic development plan. He knows that building private and public partnerships is the best way to attract new jobs and to maintain the jobs we have. He continues to work with Wichita State University, the Wichita Area Technical College, the National Institute for Aviation Research and the National Center for Aviation Training to understand ever-changing business demands.

Longwell also has personal experience running a small business and understands the complexity of implementing necessary regulations while allowing businesses to flourish. He works tirelessly with community partners to ensure Wichita’s climate is conducive for growing our economy.

As a businessman, I value Longwell’s dedication to growing our community through job development. This gives me the confidence to support him for mayor. Please join me in voting for Jeff Longwell on Tuesday.

The right choice

I had the opportunity recently to talk with Wichita mayoral candidate Sam Williams. I knew of his solid reputation as the leader of Sullivan Higdon and Sink advertising agency and the valuable contributions he made when he was chairman of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce.

After speaking with Williams about his vision and ideas, I am convinced that he is the right person to lead our city during this critical time.

Williams moved his family here 30 years ago and, like many other Wichita transplants, discovered what a great place Wichita is to live, raise a family and grow a business. Now that he is retired from business, he remains active in civic organizations such as Envision and the Boy Scouts.

Williams’ background as a CPA and CEO will be a great fit for the Mayor’s Office. Many critical, long-term decisions will need to be made in the coming years.

He will be able to engage the community in meaningful dialogue and help us prioritize projects and budget for them in a fiscally responsible manner. He can streamline processes and regulations for our businesses in order to help our local economy grow and thrive.

Join me in voting for Sam Williams for mayor on Tuesday in the primary election and again in the general election on April 7.

Studied views

The anti-intellectual bias of many people in the middle of the country is very strong, and it colors much of public discourse.

I am grateful to those professors who stick their necks out to provide a studied view of the current situation in Kansas. Knowing that they will be vilified by a certain segment of the reactionary public, they strive to provide contrast by sharing the results of their specialties in history, political science and sociology.

It’s a shame that so few of them feel comfortable with public exposure in this part of the country that their studies are sent to professional journals rather than The Eagle. Historically, professors have been regarded as second only to priests with respect and deference (exceptions duly noted).

Finally, a uni-versity (from Latin universitas, meaning “the whole”) is characterized by di-versity of opinions, all part of a free press, not part of the hierarchical “private sector” – thank goodness.

Isn’t a pay cut?

To those who buy the line that education wasn’t cut by the state, it just received less of an increase:

Imagine that on your job the regulatory agency issued the order that you were not being paid adequately. Your employer gave you a $25-a-day increase in salary and paid you for six months but came to you and said, “We bought a bigger house and I joined a more prestigious country club. I know you have built your financial plans based on the salary that I promised you, but from here on in you will be paid $5 a day more than you were paid last year.”

Do you believe that isn’t a pay cut?

Letters deadline

Letters to the editor about the Tuesday primary must be received by 1 p.m. Thursday in order to be considered for publication.

This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Letters on ‘terrible’ tax bill, Jeff Longwell, Sam Williams, professors’ views, school cut."