Kansas has a spending problem, not a tax problem

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The data could not be clearer.  Kansas has higher state taxes than many states because Kansas spends a lot more than those states.  Every state has public schools, highways, social services, safety net programs, etc.  But some states find ways to provide those services at a much better price.  They spend less and therefore tax less (and grow more).
 Kansas spends 34 percent more than the states with no income tax, in both the General Fund and All State Spending.  As a result, Kansas has to tax residents at much higher levels than most states.

Opponents of tax reform have tried to claim that oil and gas severance taxes in Texas make up for their lack on income tax, but that clearly isn’t true.  Texas only has a $94 per-capita advantage over Kansas on severance taxes.  Texas’ real advantage is that it simply doesn’t spend as much as Kansas.

Our dynamic analysis of Kansas’ 2012 tax reform showed that only a one-time reduction of $186 in General Fund per-capita spending was needed to balance the budget.  Kansas could do that and still be the high-spender in the region.  Instead, many legislators and the administration are trying to make up most of the budget gap by raising the sales tax and other revenue increases.

The argument is that consumption taxes are less damaging to the economy than income taxes.  That’s true, but using a sales tax increase to avoid dealing with the real problem of excess spending is foisting an unnecessary tax on citizens that will damage the economy.

The House and Senate budget proposals do have some small spending reductions, and it is certainly a daunting task for legislators to lead real spending reform; they have to face unending requests for more spending and an entrenched bureaucracy that often makes it difficult for reform-minded legislators to get the information they need.  And the prospect of re-election is ever-present for most.

But even this late in the session, solutions exist that would avoid a sales tax increase without arbitrary spending reductions.  Our Legislator’s Guide to Delivering Better Service at a Better Price (published in February) shows how to use existing cash balances to close the budget gap and ‘buy time’ to implement thoughtful spending reforms.

Even if the current budget is balanced with a tax increase this year (which, at this writing, seems likely), the spending problem isn’t going away.  There are some small spending reductions in the current plans but every plan allows overall spending to continue to increase…while further reducing income taxes in future years.  Simply put, the problem only gets worse the longer it is ignored.

Joseph Ashby on local news media, anti-conservative bias

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Wichita city hall logoLast week KAKE Television news anchor Jeff Herndon addressed the Wichita Pachyderm Club. Today, on the Joseph Ashby Show, the host commented on Herndon’s views on Wichita news media, and drew some conclusions about anti-conservative bias in Wichita news media.

Joseph Ashby Show, May 23, 2013 (excerpt).

The KAKE Television news story referred to is Wichita mayor comes under scrutiny for controversial vote.

Grassley Chief of Staff David Young Set to Enter US Senate Race

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TheIowaRepublican.com has learned that David Young, Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Chief of Staff, has submitted his resignation and plans to officially enter Iowa’s U.S. Senate race sometime in June.  Currently no Republican has officially entered the race, but former U.S. District Attorney Matt Whitaker and State Senator Joni Ernst are expected to do so shortly.

Young was in Iowa for a week in late April and reached out to a number of Republican donors and activists.  Sources also indicate that he is in the process of purchasing a home in Van Meter, which is in Dallas County.  His association and relationship with Grassley could give him an advantage over the competition in a number of areas, most importantly fundraising.

TheIowaRepublican.com has also learned that Young has already secured the key components for a statewide campaign.  Sara Taylor Fagen, an Iowa native and former Director of the White House Office of Political Affairs and Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, will serve as his general consultant.  Young’s pollster will be The Tarrance Group, of which Grassley has been a client for years and which has provided services for Congressman Tom Latham, Congressman Steve King, and former Congressman Greg Ganske.

Young’s media strategist also has a Grassley connection.  Fred Davis, the creative mind behind the memorable ads that featured Grassley’s old Oldsmobile he drove around to all 99 county meetings and the contraption that allowed Grassley to pull additional push lawn mowers behind his John Deere riding mower, will now be in charge of marketing Young to voters.  In Grassley’s 2010 re-election campaign, Davis produced an ad that featured two elderly women talking about Grassley’s Twitter like it was some sort of disease.

Davis may be best known for producing John McCain’s 2008 “celebrity” ad and Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m not a witch” spot, but he most recently served as Congressman Steve King’s ad man in his 2012 race against Christie Vilsack.  Of all the media consultants out there, it’s safe to say that Davis is the most unique of them all.

Young’s entrance into the race is a significant development as it could prevent other candidates from stepping forward.  None of the other candidates being speculated about have the political connections that Young possesses, which is abundantly clear in the team that he has already quietly assembled.

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Wouldn’t News Be Seeking to Harm Struggling Homeowners?

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 Senator Anderson Seeks to Protect 
Struggling Homeowners

Asking the Public’s Help to Take Action

For Immediate Release: May 23, 2013

SACRAMENTO - Sen. Joel Anderson, a San Diego Republican, is asking Californians to shine a light on the importance of the critical Mortgage Tax Relief Bill by sending letters to key legislators to pass the measure.

Sen. Anderson has co-authored SB 30 with Sen. Ron Calderon, a Montebello Democrat.  SB 30 intends to shield thousands of families faced with losing their homes from paying taxes on a forgiven debt.

“More than 90,000 Californians suffered the financial blow of losing their homes through short sales last year, and if this bill doesn’t go through, they will be taxed on the loss of their homes.  This is not fair to kick them while they are down,” said Anderson.

For this taxpayer protection bill to survive, SB 30 has to pass off the Senate Floor by May 31.

A short sale is when a lender agrees to forgive a homeowner of a portion of their mortgage debt when the home is sold for less than the mortgage owed.  California’s tax structure currently treats the forgiven debt as income, requiring a tax payment on money received.

SB 30 would bring the state’s tax law into conformity with federal tax law and relieve the borrower of having to claim as income the forgiven mortgage debt.

Senator Anderson is asking Californians to join him in this effort and pass SB 30 by emailing his office.

-30-

Braley Flip-Flops on Keystone Pipeline Vote

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Braley Votes Against ‘Enormous Economic Benefits’ He Voted for a Month Ago

Washington, DC – In a stunning, hypocritical move, Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley last night voted against the exact same Keystone XL Pipeline legislation that he voted for during an Energy and Commerce Committee markup just one month prior. Braley’s latest flip-flop over a self-described “bipartisan” jobs bill illustrates his purely politically motivated agenda.

Over the last year, Bruce Braley has praised the Keystone Pipeline bill and offered strong support for this intiative, which the State Department said would create 42,100 jobs:

“I’m encouraged that this bill will help expedite the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.” – Bruce Braley

“The pipeline project is an opportunity to create thousands of jobs in Iowa and the Midwest and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.” – Bruce Braley

“Keystone XL has attracted rare bipartisan support because of the enormous economic benefits it will provide.  It should move forward quickly once it’s approved.” – Bruce Braley
And just last month, Braley reinforced his strong support during the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup, voting for the Keystone Pipeline bill. (H.R. 3, Ordered reported favorably to the full House 30-18: R 26-0; D 4-18, 4/17/13, Braley Voted Yea)

Yet, one month later, Braley voted against approval for the Keystone Pipeline – the exact same bill he voted for just a month earlier. (H.R. 3, CQ Vote #179: Passed 241-175: R 222-0; D 19-175, 5/22/13, Braley Voted Nay)

What changed?

“In a purely partisan vote, Bruce Braley flip-flopped his position on the Keystone Pipeline and voted with Nancy Pelosi’s agenda and against the ‘enormous economic benefits’ he once touted,” said NRSC Press Secretary Brook Hougesen. “The Keystone pipeline is a rare issue of bipartisan agreement in Washington, but Bruce Braley still managed to politicize it.  Braley’s latest flip-flop reinforces the conventional wisdom that his loyalties clearly lie with Pelosi and extreme liberal groups willing to finance his campaign – not Iowans.”

NRSC Press Release

 

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Governor Brown, Counties Need Money to Keep California Healthy

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Viji SundaramBy Viji Sundaram

Under California Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, counties stand to lose crucial health care funding that would leave millions of people without access to care.

An estimated 3 to 4 million, or 10 percent of the state’s population, the majority from ethnic communities, will remain uninsured in 2014, according to a study by UCLA and UC Berkeley. Some of them – an estimated 1 million – will be excluded from public health programs by federal law because they are undocumented. Some will not be eligible for Medi-Cal, the federal-state funded health care program for low-income people. Others who may qualify to buy coverage on the health insurance marketplace could miss the open enrollment period or simply not be able to afford it.

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A Change For the Better with Steel

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Throughout history many types of items have been used for centuries until an improvement is made and the old item is changed out for the new one. Today one item that is continually replacing that of another is general steel. Traditionally most fractures were built out of wood. This type of structures went on for generations. Now that we have the advantages that come from using general steel wood is falling out of place. Steel continues to grow in taking place of wood today. More and more processes are taking place to make it more economically feasible to use steel instead of wood. Even today there are homes that are being constructed out of steel. Cold pressed still can be used to form up structures and make these structures more durable longer-lasting and more energy-efficient than homes and other structures of the past. Because many benefits that come from using steel it is a largely outweighing construction types of all kinds. You get so much more when you build with deal that it continues to grow. It is likely that many more homes in the future will continue to convert to steal. It truly is a change for the better for many reasons. It will outlast would on any given day and is going to be a stronger secure more protected structure when you build it with steel. When you are building a structure of any kind today it is easy to see the benefits you’ll receive when you choose to build your structure with steel. You can take part in a change for the better when you switch over to build your construction project using general steel.