Forgive Us Our Trespasses
I hope someday to be proud again of Kansas. Right now I feel embarrassed about its government.
I just learned that the governor has notified the Obama administration that Kansas will not participate in the president's proposed resettlement of 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. Most of the Kansans I know are far more welcoming of those displaced by war than this decision suggests. The governor's decision certainly does not represent my sentiments, but is probably a predictable outcome of the fear-mongering rhetoric emanating from various places these days.
Kansas currently has 2/3 of its newly-registered voters in limbo, with no permission to vote in Kansas as things stand now, although they are approved by the federal voter registration system. They must also be approved by the Kansas state system. If no further action is taken on the part of the voter, the more-arduous-than-necessary application will be purged from the files after 90 days. Applicants would have to start over then. Only three other states have similar requirements--all designed along the same lines as the one originated by Secretary of State Kris Kobach in Kansas. Numerous legal challenges are being mounted by organizations promoting voter participation.
In other news, Kobach has now gained the second conviction in his zealous anti-voter-fraud campaign. Two convictions. Many years and dollars devoted to this prosecution, and not a single undocumented alien turns up--which was announced at the outset as the driving factor for the necessity of the stringent registration requirements. The two convicted so far are white Republicans.
Twenty-five of the state's highway projects scheduled through 2019 have been postponed because of shortfalls in the state highway funds. The $522 million already approved for those projects would be diverted into the state's general fund to compensate for massive shortfalls there. In the past few years, the highway fund has been depleted by $1.4 billion because of heavy borrowing for other state obligations. Kansas has long been known for its excellent highway system. That won't be the case for long, at this rate.
Financial troubles surfaced on many fronts after our governor and conservative legislature redesigned taxation policies. Under the current policies, individuals pay taxes (high taxes, actually), while businesses largely get a free pass. The promised resulting economic boom has simply not materialized, and state coffers are depleted all around. No tax reform is considered, but further cuts in spending are promised as a way to make the state's money reach.
Spending cuts have had schools scrambling to find ways to do more with less for the past number of years. Because the state Constitution specifies that schools must be funded adequately, and because the state Supreme Court has ruled that this is not happening now, unless the legislature acts before then, state schools will not be funded beyond June 30, 2016. Read all about it here. This situation developed after a ruling in 2014 forced changes to make funding equitable for all districts. In response, the legislature in March of this year introduced the block grant system. Four of the state's school districts (Kansas City, Wichita and Hutchinson among them) did not find this an acceptable solution and sued the state over the block grant system, resulting in the recent ruling by the state Supreme Court--which the Brownback administration finds objectionable. This case is about how state funds are allocated.
As I understand it, the state Supreme Court has still not ruled on a separate but related matter alleging that the amount of the funding is inadequate. If the court ruling finds in favor of the allegation, and needs to cough up more money for schools--well, I hate to begin imagining that scenario, but it won't be pretty.
Did I mention that the governor is also attempting to change the state Supreme Court system, making it possible to impeach judges, for example? He calls it an "activist" court. Never mind that the checks and balances system crafted in America's founding documents was precisely designed so that even if two of the branches went "rogue," the excesses could be reined in by the third--which, IMO, is exactly how the Kansas state supreme court is functioning now.
If all of this looks like a mess, you're probably an astute observer.
Until now, legislators have largely ridden high on the wave of tea party fervor that swung state and many national elections far toward the right in the last several election cycles. The few in Kansas who are not in that camp have recently filed a rare constitutional protest against legislative action.
In a bipartisan move, many legislators have criticized a recently announced Brownback plan to alleviate the current budget crisis by harvesting in one lump sum funds awarded during a tobacco settlement. The original plan called for annual payments to be made to the states. In Kansas these funds are being used to finance programs such as early childhood education. The lump sum would lessen the total amount of money paid out, but would be useful for relieving the urgent budget situation now.
Lord, have mercy on Kansas . . .
I just learned that the governor has notified the Obama administration that Kansas will not participate in the president's proposed resettlement of 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. Most of the Kansans I know are far more welcoming of those displaced by war than this decision suggests. The governor's decision certainly does not represent my sentiments, but is probably a predictable outcome of the fear-mongering rhetoric emanating from various places these days.
Kansas currently has 2/3 of its newly-registered voters in limbo, with no permission to vote in Kansas as things stand now, although they are approved by the federal voter registration system. They must also be approved by the Kansas state system. If no further action is taken on the part of the voter, the more-arduous-than-necessary application will be purged from the files after 90 days. Applicants would have to start over then. Only three other states have similar requirements--all designed along the same lines as the one originated by Secretary of State Kris Kobach in Kansas. Numerous legal challenges are being mounted by organizations promoting voter participation.
In other news, Kobach has now gained the second conviction in his zealous anti-voter-fraud campaign. Two convictions. Many years and dollars devoted to this prosecution, and not a single undocumented alien turns up--which was announced at the outset as the driving factor for the necessity of the stringent registration requirements. The two convicted so far are white Republicans.
Twenty-five of the state's highway projects scheduled through 2019 have been postponed because of shortfalls in the state highway funds. The $522 million already approved for those projects would be diverted into the state's general fund to compensate for massive shortfalls there. In the past few years, the highway fund has been depleted by $1.4 billion because of heavy borrowing for other state obligations. Kansas has long been known for its excellent highway system. That won't be the case for long, at this rate.
Financial troubles surfaced on many fronts after our governor and conservative legislature redesigned taxation policies. Under the current policies, individuals pay taxes (high taxes, actually), while businesses largely get a free pass. The promised resulting economic boom has simply not materialized, and state coffers are depleted all around. No tax reform is considered, but further cuts in spending are promised as a way to make the state's money reach.
Spending cuts have had schools scrambling to find ways to do more with less for the past number of years. Because the state Constitution specifies that schools must be funded adequately, and because the state Supreme Court has ruled that this is not happening now, unless the legislature acts before then, state schools will not be funded beyond June 30, 2016. Read all about it here. This situation developed after a ruling in 2014 forced changes to make funding equitable for all districts. In response, the legislature in March of this year introduced the block grant system. Four of the state's school districts (Kansas City, Wichita and Hutchinson among them) did not find this an acceptable solution and sued the state over the block grant system, resulting in the recent ruling by the state Supreme Court--which the Brownback administration finds objectionable. This case is about how state funds are allocated.
As I understand it, the state Supreme Court has still not ruled on a separate but related matter alleging that the amount of the funding is inadequate. If the court ruling finds in favor of the allegation, and needs to cough up more money for schools--well, I hate to begin imagining that scenario, but it won't be pretty.
Did I mention that the governor is also attempting to change the state Supreme Court system, making it possible to impeach judges, for example? He calls it an "activist" court. Never mind that the checks and balances system crafted in America's founding documents was precisely designed so that even if two of the branches went "rogue," the excesses could be reined in by the third--which, IMO, is exactly how the Kansas state supreme court is functioning now.
If all of this looks like a mess, you're probably an astute observer.
Until now, legislators have largely ridden high on the wave of tea party fervor that swung state and many national elections far toward the right in the last several election cycles. The few in Kansas who are not in that camp have recently filed a rare constitutional protest against legislative action.
In a bipartisan move, many legislators have criticized a recently announced Brownback plan to alleviate the current budget crisis by harvesting in one lump sum funds awarded during a tobacco settlement. The original plan called for annual payments to be made to the states. In Kansas these funds are being used to finance programs such as early childhood education. The lump sum would lessen the total amount of money paid out, but would be useful for relieving the urgent budget situation now.
Lord, have mercy on Kansas . . .
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
1:52 PM
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