Letters on Andover sales tax, plan for sales tax, ‘low-information voters’

Sales tax is best way to pay

I support the sales tax initiatives in both Wichita and Andover. Both cities have identified needed projects that will have to be paid for, one way or another.

It used to be that we received some of our tax dollars and shares of other revenue sources back from the state. But that is not the case anymore, as the Legislature has become excessively greedy in an effort to cover its own sins concerning poor money management.

Our primary concerns as local elected officials are providing needed services and a stable mill levy we can all afford. Sometimes, though, there are large capital improvement projects that simply cannot be fit into a yearly budget.

We are all going to pay for these projects eventually. My mind is boggled by those out there who would prefer to pay for them with an increase in property taxes versus a sales tax, which is shared by many who do not live in our communities. To me, it’s a no-brainer.

Pragmatically speaking, if the initiatives fail, look for higher property taxes around the corner and for your water bill to spike.

Tax not fair

In Kansas we’re seeing more of the bad side of our Gov. Sam Brownback’s “trickle-down” economics experiment. On Nov. 4, Andover residents will vote on increasing their sales tax rate by another penny because, according to Mayor Ben Lawrence, “the state has been chipping away at the revenues we used to receive” (Oct. 4 Local & State). A recent letter (“Advance Andover,” Oct. 15 Letters to the Editor) touted, among the benefits of such a tax, the dedication of “at least 25 percent of the sales tax revenue for reducing property taxes” and that it would “put Andover on par with the sales tax of other communities in the area.” Lawrence said the city is allotting about 50 percent of the proceeds ($1 million annually) toward cutting property taxes.

I don’t know about you, but making everyone’s sales taxation partly cover the taxation of those who are fortunate to own property hardly seems fair or equitable to me. And raising one’s sales tax in order to place one on par with other area communities is a new one.

Know the plans

The city of Wichita has failed to effectively communicate the plans related to the sales tax referendum. Those plans are the result of two years of public engagement and thousands of hours of research and development.

Information on the plans is on the city website, but the city hasn’t aggressively communicated the plans to the public because it doesn’t want to appear biased in favor of helping Wichita.

A billionaire is fighting against the people. The citizens should at least know what the plans are.

Insulting term

It is good and right that reasonable people would disagree on governmental policies and the direction they think the country should take. Differences of opinion are healthy for our nation. Disagreeing with a fellow citizen is one thing, but name-calling is another. I am talking about referring to someone as a “low-information voter.”

In both the Opinion Line and in a letter to the editor recently, I have seen the use of this insulting label to disparage voters on the other side. I assume some one-sided media source is perpetuating this new buzz term, and I beg to differ. Those who happen to hold a different political viewpoint than the one you choose to embrace have as much information as you do; they have just come to a different conclusion.

Argue and debate all you want, but please refrain from insulting those on the other side of your way of thinking. Calling those who have a different belief system than you “low-information voters” is demeaning, insulting and just plain untrue.

This story was originally published October 19, 2014 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Letters on Andover sales tax, plan for sales tax, ‘low-information voters’."