Letters on county partnerships, zoo, bus system, tax plan, job creation, grungy taxis, smartphone distractions

County should be strong partner

It’s fiscally responsible for our Sedgwick County commissioners to carefully consider the use of taxpayer dollars, and I applaud them for their budgetary diligence. It’s also imperative for them to continue to be a strong partner in area economic development efforts. Those efforts include funding continued job growth and supporting some of our most popular area attractions that contribute to our quality of life.

I urge the Sedgwick County commissioners to continue their financial commitment to the Sedgwick County Zoo, Exploration Place and the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition on a long-term, rather than a year-to-year, basis. Doing so provides these entities with the continuity they need for optimal planning and the confidence that they and their private investors have in the county as a dependable and invested partner.

Honor agreement

Many current Wichita residents were not born in 1963 when the Sedgwick County Zoological Society began a yearlong campaign to get a new zoo. “Boo Hoo, We Need a New Zoo” was the slogan, and after many months, many conversations and signed petitions, the Sedgwick County Commission agreed to put a bond issue on the general ballot in 1967. The bond was to fund the purchase of property that today is the site of Sedgwick County Park on the west and the Sedgwick County Zoo to the east.

Through the years, the County Commission and Zoological Society have maintained an admirable working partnership to develop one of the top-ranking zoos in the United States.

In 2013, the commission agreed to a five-year extension of some funding for the zoo. Now, the current commission is considering retraction of that agreement.

The zoo is the largest tourist attraction in the state, drawing 550,000 visitors each year. Please take the time to contact your county commissioner, or all five, and let them know that retracting the 2013 agreement would be very poor judgment. It would serve as a clear indication of a damaged partnership – a partnership that has served our community well.

Better system

“Strengthen bus system” (May 5 Eagle Editorial) appeared to be encouraging permanent increased sales taxes as a means to a better bus system. That would give a bureaucracy the desire to spend all it receives and not necessarily to improve services. No matter how small the tax is to start, history indicates the tax will increase.

The $2 million annual shortfall of the bus system could easily be managed by assessing the cost to the 2 million annual riders using the bus at a dollar-a-year increase in fees. The increases in ridership the editorial cited show the increasing demand and greater revenue that will be generated. Changing to a grid system instead of the current radial system would improve efficiency and ridership. The goal should be a more efficient system and not a more expensive system.

A better system, not increased taxes, should be the goal.

Refocus tax plan

The huge state budget deficit has led the Legislature to revisit the tax exemption for certain businesses. It appears there is some desire to reinstate taxes on small businesses while retaining the tax break for large ones (“GOP poised for battle over tax exemptions,” April 26 Eagle). I suggest a different approach focusing on helping small businesses, which are acknowledged to be the larger “job creators.”

There are many small businesses in which the principals do not earn the equivalent of minimum wage. Taxing that income is counterproductive. We, as a state, are trying to encourage small-business startups and entrepreneurship, but denying startups the ability to write off their losses against their “day jobs” is also counterproductive. I suggest the following:

Reinstate the ability to write off losses.

Exempt the first set amount earned by principals in small businesses. A tempting amount would be $117,000, which is the ceiling for self-employment Social Security taxation. This exemption would not apply to passive investors who are not subject to that tax.

Investments in equipment, machinery, personnel, training, etc., are all deductible. This could be sweetened by adding a provision similar to one on the federal return – for every dollar of payroll paid to Kansans allow a deduction of $1.05 instead of $1, as it is now. An investment tax credit could be instituted to reward investments in business properties in Kansas. This could be applied to all businesses, including C corporations.

Better future

As our nation experiences economic weakness and social problems, the discussion of our elected leaders mentions “job creation.” This creation of jobs for all must be a difficult, major task, because nobody seems to stay focused on the topic very long.

As the lack of jobs has plagued this nation for several years, our elected officials seem to nibble around the job doughnut hole but fail to reach any agreement as to the solution. I would hope our elected officials and business owners would realize both parties must show up at the table with leadership skills, experience, vision and the mindset that “we must not fail.”

We probably all agree that having plentiful, gainful, rewarding jobs would solve most of our social problems. We must guide this nation to a better future for all if we are to remain the nation that leads the world in peace and prosperity.

Grungy taxis

Let’s assume I’m a business owner from, say, Cleveland. I’ve never been to Wichita or Kansas but I’ve heard the news, and it isn’t pretty.

I enter beautiful Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, quite impressed. “Incredible! Wichita just might have potential,” I think.

I grab my bag and head to the taxi. So much for that fabulous first impression.

I recently returned to Wichita from a trip to Italy. I visited places that others cautioned could be a little gamey. I got in the cab to go home, and that turned out to be the most offensive encounter of my trip. The driver was dressed perfectly for slopping hogs. The cab plainly stank. There were spills, trash, crumbs, scuzzy windows, sticky door panels. Ugh.

I’ve taken cabs throughout Europe and some of Asia. Some are luxurious (London), others austere. The common denominator: They’re clean and fresh, and you don’t feel grungy upon exit.

Wichita, please enact standards for dress, cleanliness and vehicle condition to protect our reputation. Don’t let the impression of the nation’s best airport be sullied by taxicabs.

Turn off phone

Smartphones aren’t just ruining family life in China (May 7 Eagle); it’s happening here.

Case in point: I recently took my nearly 4-year-old granddaughter to Exploration Place. After our tour we finished the way we always do, in the playroom. She heads to the little kitchen, fixes me “lunch,” then it’s to the pirate ship for some make-believe.

Soon a young father comes in with his little girl, and she joins my granddaughter. What does Dad do? He immediately sits down and buries his head in his smartphone, oblivious to the “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, watch me” from his daughter.

I see these sad little scenes all the time. Parents with their heads buried in these devices at parks, grocery stores, restaurants and cars.

My phone is in my purse but turned off, freeing me to not only be left alone but to actually talk to a friend while we dine or to play with my granddaughter.

Never mind that texting and driving kills; texting and not talking to our kids and one another is killing the very thing we humans need most – touchable, looking-at-each-other-in-the-face relationships.

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on county partnerships, zoo, bus system, tax plan, job creation, grungy taxis, smartphone distractions."