2014 Senate Projections

[shocka khan]

Oh, and for the record, I am all for the republicans getting control of the senate, just so long as they don't go all crazy cruz on us and shut the government down again.

I don't think anyone can claim they're a fiscal conservative while shutting down the government and costing us $24 billion. I voted for Ted Cruz and he did that. I will never vote for him again.

[SB Shock]

All I'm asking for at this point is for someone to tell me what Brownback has done for the average resident of Kansas.

Cut income taxes, cut car taxes.

Those tax cuts sure did not induce Boeing to stay,

Boeing left because of internal company politics, not because anything that the Kansas didn't or did do.

they triggered a debt downgrade and they are creating unsustainable budget deficits. tell me how that can be good?

Budget deficits are due unconstrained spending.

[shocka khan]

So who'se income taxes should be cut? Corporate taxes, individual taxes or both?

I remember that the registration and tagging fees in Kansas are expensive, so I would probably agree with you on that one. Especially if the revenue isn't going to maintain roads.

Spending was not unconstrained prior to Brownback cutting taxes, so that's your root cause, the tax cut caused the revenue shortfall. However, I am willing to accept that you look at the glass as half-empty and I look at it as half-full.

So what would you cut to balance the budget? Education? Social programs? I see that Brownback outsourced child support collection to a company that has a reputation of neither being able to save taxpayer's money nor collect child support at the levels prior to them being awarded the contract. IIRC, said company donated a substantial amount of money to him. Is that effective government? I'm not against outsourcing, but if it's done, it should be less expensive and more effective than having the government perform the function, and if it isn't everyone loses.

Note that I'm also against cutting educational programs. Our children are our future and deserve the best we can give them. A strong and thriving middle class is essential if we are to remain the strongest country in the world. People like me did real well in Texas because their educational programs are in shambles and their schools are poor. I was always proud of the fact that Kansas had excellent public schools and turned out very talented students. Texas has to depend on people like me moving into the state because they can't educate enough smart people.

I also think that some sort of safety net should be maintained for those who become disabled or, through circumstances beyond their control lose their livlihood. That does not mean that we should incentivize people to sit on their keyster and sponge off taxpayers. And I imagine that you would agree with me that there are too many people mooching off social welfare programs.

[SB Shock]

Most of the State taxes come from Individual (43%) or Sales taxes (41%) ~ 84% only 6% comes from corporations.

Expenditures is 62% Education, 27% Human Services from the State General Fund. So if you are going to control cost - you have to do something with education. And the reality of it is the Governor nor the legislature has any control of it due to the activist state supreme court.

[shocka khan]

So how would you reduce the education expenditures? Has someone done a cost breakdown? My opinion only, but I think there are too many high-paid administrators, beyond that, I really don't know.

[Dave Stalwart]

So how would you reduce the education expenditures? Has someone done a cost breakdown? My opinion only, but I think there are too many high-paid administrators, beyond that, I really don't know.

Education is such a funny thing to navigate because if you even hint that you might cut education in a very broad or generic sense, people go nuts. They don't even want to talk about it or look inside to see if there are great cuts to make. If you campaign on education saying anything other than "teachers are guaranteed a job forever" and "the solution to everything is to spend more on education" you are easy to roast.

I bet in reality there are massive cuts that could be made that wouldn't kill education like people think. I'm not smart enough to know what they are, but that's what my gut tells me.

[wu_shizzle]

Administration budget dollars have out paced student enrollment by something like 30% over the last 10 years, there's plenty to cut.

But yeah, it's the sacred cow of state government.

[shocka khan]

Education is such a funny thing to navigate because if you even hint that you might cut education in a very broad or generic sense, people go nuts. They don't even want to talk about it or look inside to see if there are great cuts to make. If you campaign on education saying anything other than "teachers are guaranteed a job forever" and "the solution to everything is to spend more on education" you are easy to roast.

I bet in reality there are massive cuts that could be made that wouldn't kill education like people think. I'm not smart enough to know what they are, but that's what my gut tells me.

I can agree with that. There appear to be advances in delivery (online or by CCTV) that might enable cost savings. This in addition to the growth in administration budget dollars. I might even say that education budgets are pretty close to social security. You know, the third rail thing....if you touch it you might not live to talk about it?

[SB Shock]

Capture.JPG

[Play Angry]

One more week.

House projections are also looking awfully grim for the blue team. You know it's a butt whooping when Hawaii might actually elect a Republican to Congress.

[Dave Stalwart]

I'm gonna go with:

1: WSU
2: Illinois State
3: UNI
4: Evansville
5: Indiana State
6: Missouri State
7: SIU
8: Drake
9: Bradley
10: Loyola

:)

[SB Shock]

I'm gonna go with:

1: WSU
2: Illinois State
3: UNI
4: Evansville
5: Indiana State
6: Missouri State
7: SIU
8: Drake
9: Bradley
10: Loyola

:)

somebody disagrees with you as they chose ISUR over WSU

[Dave Stalwart]

somebody disagrees with you as they chose ISUR over WSU

Illinois State is not going to finish first in the 2014 senate race. I could see anything from 2nd through 6th though. :)

[RoyalShock]

I'm sorry I don't have a link, but someone help me with this whole "Brownback has slashed education" narrative I hear from all my educator friends.

I saw a brief written piece from one of the local TV stations that said per-pupil spending under Brownback had increased somewhere in the neighborhood of $900. As I understood the article, this was a fact-checked number. How is that slashing education? Is it just what they claim he will do if re-elected? Are the numbers somehow misleading? Are they not accurate? I don't get it.

I'm not saying I support Brownback, I just don't like it when all the usual party-line accusations get recycled every election year.

[kcshocker11]

I'm sorry I don't have a link, but someone help me with this whole "Brownback has slashed education" narrative I hear from all my educator friends.

I saw a brief written piece from one of the local TV stations that said per-pupil spending under Brownback had increased somewhere in the neighborhood of $900. As I understood the article, this was a fact-checked number. How is that slashing education? Is it just what they claim he will do if re-elected? Are the numbers somehow misleading? Are they not accurate? I don't get it.

I'm not saying I support Brownback, I just don't like it when all the usual party-line accusations get recycled every election year.

From the KC Star


http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/barbara-shelly/article2915118.html

There’s the “record school funding” lie, which has become a bogus campaign theme.
Brownback says he has put “a record amount of money into education.” But his numbers are inflated by increases to teacher pension funds and capital projects. The money school districts use to pay employees, purchase supplies and meet other day-to-day expenses is $548 less on a per-student basis than it was six years ago.
Brownback is not a friend of public education. He has railed against judges who ordered the state to finance schools more adequately. He crafted outlandish tax cuts instead of making up the shortfall in school funding left by the recession. His allies at the Kansas Policy Institute have proposed even more cuts to schools and colleges as a way to balance the budget in upcoming years.