Incompetent state legislatures imperil KC area's future
Yael T. AbouhalkahThe state governments in Missouri and Kansas have one big thing in common regarding the Kansas City metro area.
With its disappointing Democratic governor (Jay Nixon) and inept legislature, Missouri’s state government is out to lunch when it comes to helping improve Kansas City.
The Kansas side of the state line isn’t much better. Johnson and Wyandotte counties get too little help from the conservative, ambitious governor (Sam Brownback) and the rural-centric Legislature.
Summed up, both the Missouri General Assembly and the Kansas Legislature too often are next to useless in promoting a brighter future for the region.
This is unacceptable given the challenges facing us.
Want a better school finance system in Kansas? For years lawmakers have endorsed funding formulas that injured some of the state’s best-run schools — the Shawnee Mission, Olathe and Blue Valley school districts.
Want to end the economically destructive business poaching war between the two states? Good luck, because forces in both state capitals constantly promote taxpayer giveaways that end up enticing companies across the state line, while adding no new jobs to the area.
Want to get local control of the Kansas City Police Department? Good luck, because Kansas City state legislators who ought to know better resist taking on this issue.
Want to promote bistate cooperation, perhaps the silver bullet to adequate funding for arts, parks, libraries and crucial stormwater projects for decades to come? Not going to happen. Heck, Kansas lawmakers for years have tried to kill the law even allowing bistate tax elections.
Want to decide the future of Kansas City Public Schools? It will be a frustrating hoot to watch the General Assembly handle this matter, with the fate of 17,000 city schoolchildren and of even more suburban students in the hands of dozens of rural lawmakers who couldn’t care a whit about them.
No wonder elected officials in both states dread going to Jefferson City and Topeka to try to drum up interest in critical endeavors in Kansas City or Johnson County.
Oh, they won’t admit that in public. City and county officials know how self-important many legislators consider themselves, given all the money they pass out for schools, highways and other local projects.
Kansas City area civic officials too often play the same game. They traipse to the capitals and hold “get-to-know-each-other” events with lawmakers when “come-to-Jesus, let-your-hair-down-meetings” on important issues would be much more in order.
True, it is a bit unfair to lump Kansas lawmakers in with their Missouri colleagues, who can make a strong claim to being members of the most incompetent state legislature in the nation.
Tuesday’s $7 million fiasco of a meaningless presidential primary? Yep, that was their fault.
The wasted time and money on an embarrassing and futile special session last summer? Their fault, too.
The list could go on and on, but it gets depressing to think about, especially when you take into account all the hypocrisy from Missouri lawmakers who target “activist” judges but want to pass restrictive laws telling people what they can and can’t do in their personal lives.
You can’t even blame all the bungling in Jefferson City on a battle between Democrats and Republicans; the GOP firmly controls the House and Senate, yet still can’t lead in a constructive manner.
Meanwhile, Gov. Nixon has morphed into someone whose main interest is being re-elected this fall, not providing strong leadership. Check out his recent budget proposal to slash more than $100 million from higher education, including for the University of Missouri — Kansas City.
Or consider his recent quote on how Missouri wouldn’t follow other states in raising taxes: “Because we know that Missouri families can’t afford a tax increase. Period.”
How pathetic. This from the governor who presides over the state with lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax. He could be a real leader and support boosting that tax under one plan circulating in the state to reap $283 million more a year.
Invest that money in better health care and universities, and Missouri would show the rest of America how to make progress even in tough times.
But it’s often hopeless to expect the General Assembly and Nixon to do the right thing, for Kansas City or the rest of the state.
Reach Yael T. Abouhalkah at 816-234-4887 or email him at abouhalkah@kcstar.com. He appears on “Ruckus”at 7 tonight on KCPT, Channel 19.
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Chuck Close
3 months, 1 week agoYael offers his list of “whines”…..some appropriate…some a bit obtuse. He provides a smidge of detail for each on his list. Not a bad thing.
And what is his lone recommendation for a solution based action ????
That ever handy, always convenient straw man issue that consumes the man…..punish those poor uneducated folks who still suffer from addiction….TAX THEIR HABIT MORE.
In Yael’s world of choice the smokers would all live in a cocoon in central Missouri while the rest of the state lived and ran solely on ciggy taxes….which would be adjusted monthly to accomodate the shortfall/windfall vagaries of cash flow.
Absolutely inane and too silly by half.
Phil Cardarella
3 months, 1 week agoOK, I know that some legislators are smart and good, but…
As a general rule, the Legislature of either state could be replaced with a like number of inmates from the penitentiary or mental wards,chosen at random, and the only perceivable result would be FEWER BAD LAWS!
Mike Arb
3 months, 1 week agoWant to get local control of the Kansas City Police Department? Good luck, because Kansas City state legislators who ought to know better resist taking on this issue.
Yael it’s not just KC State Legislators….
Mo. Senator compares local control supporters to “house slaves”
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/article_a4a53bea-611f-11e0-9735-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1lqIlb649
Are you a “house slave” Yael? Surprised there was NO OUTRAGE from the Star when this story came out in April of last year…oh wait the Star was probably to wrapped up in outrage over the KS State Senator (Republican) who stupidly compared illegal immigrants to feral hogs, you know they were too busy calling for his resignation/apology. The Star may not censor what they publish but they do ‘package’ it in such a way to align with their liberal position.