In brief remarks Wednesday morning Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins said any suggestion of raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour is “a job killer.”The theory goes that if employers are forced to pay more they…

As a childhood star, Shirley Temple was the perfect antidote to the Depression. Her bouncy curls and ready smile made people forget, if only for a minute, their desperate situations of the 1930s.Even so, Miss…

Since Jan. 1, insurance companies cannot deny coverage or charge higher premiums for pre-existing conditions, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease.The one exception is tobacco use.Insurance companies are permitted to impose a surcharge on consumers…

Too bad Common Core wasn’t around when Willie Dove, a Republican representative from Bonner Springs, was a schoolboy. It might have improved his reading and comprehension skills.Dove wants to nullify Common Core reading and math…

Kansas is friendly to smokers and those who use tobacco products.The state’s tax on cigarettes, which has remained static since 2003, is 79 cents per pack, against the national average of $1.46 per pack.A bill…

Local school board members announced last week their willingness to test the waters on whether the public would support a new schools project.Six long years ago, the community was on the verge of a such…

If Kansas truly wants to be a pro-business state, it would take advantage of the federal government’s offer to expand its Medicaid guidelines.Why?The cost of health insurance is sinking small businesses.Fifteen years ago, about 84…

When an elected body meets, the proceedings are open to the public, with provision to be closed to discuss sensitive topics.However, public meetings aren’t public forums. No one attending to listen and observe has a…

I trust the Kaiser Family Foundation’s polling on healthcare issues. Kaiser’s polling is objective, methodologically sound and accurate. That is why it is disturbing to see the current results of the uninsured on the Affordable…

With the legislative session almost one-third underway, Kansas lawmakers have spent their time on a frivolous agenda.To wit:• Whether to fluoridate public water supplies;• Whether to abolish no-fault divorce;• Whether to allow discrimination of gays;•…