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Cutting taxes is popular. Cutting spending is unpopular. Cutting taxes gets you re-elected. Cutting spending can get you booted out of Topeka.
I believe in small government and low taxes. I also believe in fiscal restraint. I feel that you cut spending and then cut taxes. Even if the legislators who cut spending get voted out, the tax cuts will still occur. The overall goal is met without jeopardizing the State's financial stability.
Doing it the other way around, cutting taxes and then cutting spending, gets lawmakers re-elected, but it only delays the inevitable. It also puts the State in a rather precarious financial position. I'm not fond of lawmakers who put their re-election chances ahead of the best interests of the State.
Moving funds dedicated to highway maintenance is not going to be well-received. Most people like having safe and maintained roads. Continuing to underfund KPERS basically reduces the benefit package offered to potential employees of the State. At some point that moves the better hires out of the State and into private enterprise.
If a private business wants to hire an accountant, or an office manager, or a Vice-President, do they go for the low bidder, or do they try to put a compensation package together to attract the most qualified applicants? If you want to run the State like a business, then the State has to compete with private industry for the best and brightest.
The infighting among conservative Republicans, the potential cannibalism, and the probable finger-pointing could be "throw another batch of popcorn in the microwave" kind of interesting.
I'm confident we'll get through this one way or another, but I expect some political fallout, and there's no one in Topeka to point fingers at other than each other. The unpopular part of shrinking government will be on full display.
I believe in small government and low taxes. I also believe in fiscal restraint. I feel that you cut spending and then cut taxes. Even if the legislators who cut spending get voted out, the tax cuts will still occur. The overall goal is met without jeopardizing the State's financial stability.
Doing it the other way around, cutting taxes and then cutting spending, gets lawmakers re-elected, but it only delays the inevitable. It also puts the State in a rather precarious financial position. I'm not fond of lawmakers who put their re-election chances ahead of the best interests of the State.
Moving funds dedicated to highway maintenance is not going to be well-received. Most people like having safe and maintained roads. Continuing to underfund KPERS basically reduces the benefit package offered to potential employees of the State. At some point that moves the better hires out of the State and into private enterprise.
If a private business wants to hire an accountant, or an office manager, or a Vice-President, do they go for the low bidder, or do they try to put a compensation package together to attract the most qualified applicants? If you want to run the State like a business, then the State has to compete with private industry for the best and brightest.
The infighting among conservative Republicans, the potential cannibalism, and the probable finger-pointing could be "throw another batch of popcorn in the microwave" kind of interesting.
I'm confident we'll get through this one way or another, but I expect some political fallout, and there's no one in Topeka to point fingers at other than each other. The unpopular part of shrinking government will be on full display.
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