Politics

As a teenager I began reading existential philosophy, a viewpoint that puts great emphasis on
personal decision and personal responsibility. This led me soon into the camp of the Republican
Party, which seemed to me to value personal responsibility more than the other guys, who seem
to believe that only government can decide what is right for people. I have voted Republican ever
since I could vote.

As the years have passed, my faith in Republican doctrine has weakened, in particular as
regards the party stand on some social issues. But I cannot let loose of the belief that government
is way too much in our lives and is way too big. Most especially, I cannot let got of a fierce belief
in personal choice and personal responsibility.

Out of all this has come a new allegience, to the Libertarian Party I don't agree with everything
those folks advocate, but I find far more points of agreement than I do with Republican policy as it
is now articulated.

If you'd like to know more about what Libertarians believe, click HERE.

If you'd like to know more about Kansas Republicans, here's a handy site right HERE.

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation is dedicated to reducing
the size of government and restraining the tax-and-spend crowd. This
is an effort we should all get behind. Government is way too big, and
taxes are way too high. Check out their site and consider joining.

All Politics is Local

I have great belief in this old saying. As I apply it, I'm far more interested in what the local
politicians do than the national ones. Local decisions have far more power to affect my everyday
life.

PROPERTY TAXES

For instance, I am an adamant opponent of the joke that is called Annual Reappraisal of Property.
This travesty allows non-elected appraisers to raise our taxes. Timid politicians can keep mill levies
constant, while the appraiser jacks up the value of a home or business by 5% or 10% or whatever
they feel like. This is the most insidious sort of tax hike.

It is especially hard to understand in the Topeka area, where the population is very little different than it was 10 years ago. Somehow property values keep growing at a great rate while population does not....this seems to repeal the Law of Supply and Demand. Homes get older, demand stays constant, and yet
every year the valuation goes up! Notice too that yours won't go up in two consecutive years. We
are given time to cool our anger before another raise comes.

DON'T SUPPORT ANY KANSAS LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE UNLESS HE/SHE PLEDGES
TO PUT A LID ON PROPERTY TAX INCREASES.

SALES TAXES

The latest brainstorm out of the county commission is to increase the sales tax. That's always
an interesting bit of contradiction. Liberals love to whine about sales taxes being regressive (ie.,
hitting the poor harder than the rich), especially in a state like Kansas which taxes food. But
when they push a new sales tax, they like to remind us that lots of out-of-town visitors make
a contribution when they buy stuff here, stay in motels, and all the rest. So much for regression!

But the sales tax passed. Plenty of people who will get a piece of it (builders, bankers, etc.), but
a loss for most of the citizens who will have a little less to spend. Especially those people on
fixed incomes or who have jobs that rarely give salary raises.

Not much thought is ever given to raising revenue for worthy projects by cutting spending in already
overweight governments.

Raise the property taxes. Raise the sales taxes. And then ask why businesses don't like to locate
here. Ask why we have a no-growth town. DUH.

INTERNET TAXES

The latest thing to have the tax-and-spend gang salivating over are all those "uncollected" taxes
from internet purchases. They are trying hard to stop that. The attempt by the legislature to start
that ball rolling (so called point-of-delivery sales tax) really goofed, and landed hard on the backs
of already overburned small businesses.

I buy most of what I buy online. Not to avoid sales tax, but mainly because I generally get better
selection, and better prices than I can find locally. Also because it is very convenient. I doubt
that I'll stop doing that even when the taxers get their their grubby paws on some sales tax for that
purchase from Amazon.com or LL Bean or some other far away non-store store.

I figure sooner or later there will be enough computer programming to allow all those thousands of
online vendors to figure out the tax specific to the dozens and dozens of taxing entities within Kansas.
I wonder if those new revenues will be used to reduce property or sales tax? I doubt it.

USE TAXES

I get a little dismayed because I pay a good deal of tax for things I don't use. Two examples are
education (no kids) and the local library (I don't use it). Ok, I know the argument that we all benefit
when the citizenry is literate......but it seems to me the people who made choices to have kids should
pay more than those who made the choice not to. And people who use the library should pay more
than those who never set foot in the place. Let those who use these services pay a bigger share than
those who do not.

I read that some Topeka parents are whining because they'll have to pay to bus their kids to school.
Ever think about the cost of kids before you started generating them? Duh.....

Use taxes and fees: Talk about loser ideas. Seems that nobody but me thinks this way, except
maybe USD 501...good for them!

RAILS TO TRAILS

This one does not impact me directly, but I wish much good luck to the opponents of these various
trail projects. I agree with those who assert that these lands should revert to the original owners.
And I agree with those who point out the crimes, vandalism, litter and other things foisted on the
people whose properties adjoin these trails.
The dewy eyed liberals who push those trails never have to live alongside them.

Instead, why don't we put the rails back and get behind decent rail service in this country?

Topeka Slogan

Rather than do anything to make the city better, we're now caught up in contest to find a marketing
slogan.
I've always favored Mike Hall's brilliant: Topeka, It's Not as Bad as I Thought It Would Be
But a new one has been proposed by someone, and hat's off for:

STAGNATION THROUGH TAXATION

This one sure hits the mark.

So too does Topeka: A City of Characters, after that dopey program of wasting billboard
space with self effacing, deferent, and usually stupid definitions of supposed character building word.

Consolidation
The latest menace is the move to consolidate Topeka with the outlying county government. In other words, annexation by the sneaky way. A campaign of lies will likely convince enough county voters to approve this travesty. They will live to regret that Yes vote.