In Minnesota, the Republican candidate to the U.S. Senate says he’s “still looking into” the merits of expanding Medicaid for Minnesotans.
In other words, no, he’s not in favor of it.
It’s disingenuous for a candidate to say he or she is still “looking into” an issue that’s been at the national forefront for two years running. Rather than be honest, candidates cop out with “still investigating.”
The same could be said for failing to go on record in recognizing the impact of fossil fuel emissions on global warming, that payday lenders are crooks, and in Kansas, particularly, that an under-funded budget will reduce services.
Voters deserve honesty.
In the race for governor, Sam Brownback continues to claim his “Roadmap for Kansas” of massive tax cuts is leading the state to sound financial order with the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
Those claims don’t jibe with the non-partisan U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. We have yet to climb out of the hole created by the 2008 recession, though other states have made significant strides in the last few years.
Brownback casts his economic plan in same mold of Ronald Reagan.
That is not a good thing.
President Reagan is famous for his trickle-down economics theory where tax cuts for the rich were to somehow make their way to the benefit of the poor through the expansion of industry. It didn’t happen in the 1980s, nor when George W. Bush tried it 20 years hence, or today under Brownback.
Reagan could turn on the charm as he cavalierly championed his massive income tax cuts.
“I am not worried about the deficit. It’s big enough to take care of itself,” he once said.
During Reagan’s administration, 1981-1989, the country’s deficit grew from $994 billion to $2.9 trillion.
Some management.
Eventually, those cuts were partially offset by tax increases in other domains. The difference? Wealthy individuals paid less of that tax burden.
Such lopsided tax breaks exacerbate income inequality. The rich get much richer while the middle class and poor languish.
Perhaps because he was a movie star first, Reagan continues to be idolized by a public that prefers to view his presidency through Technicolor glasses.
It’s time to look the truth in the eye. Kansas’ tax policies are robbing our schools, our social services and many programs that keep the state attractive and competitive.
If we continue this course, we will have hollowed out our once-rich core with only ourselves to blame.
— Susan Lynn
Ronald Reagan: middling actor, lousy accountant
