"I'm asking you to raise my taxes,"

[proud2BlibKansan]

said Megan Greene, representing the Lawrence organization Save Our Neighborhood Schools. "I'm not the only person I know who would be happy to pay more tax if it would support the maintenance of a high standard of public education."



There is a proposal in KS to raise the sales tax by 1%. Of course the anti-tax GOP is adamantly opposed to this idea. However, school districts are in a tough position and can't tolerate any more cuts in their state aid.

Argonia superintendent Julie Dolley presided over budget reductions in the south-central Kansas district that resulted in shortening the school year, trimming the staff, eliminating sports programs, delaying textbook purchases and freezing salaries.

Still on the table, she said, is a contingency plan developed in anticipation of deeper state budget cuts that would reduce after-school tutoring, eliminate field trips, drop school maintenance positions, and lay off mathematics and music teachers.

"We have tried to make cuts up to this point without affecting student achievement," Dolley told members of the House Taxation Committee. "However, it will not be possible to maintain our high levels of student achievement with further budget cuts."

I would hope eliminating sports programs would get their attention. Thank goodness some Kansans understand why taxes are important:

Pete Roman, representing Kansas Families for Education, said he was among the state's unemployed but still believed lawmakers should increase taxes to provide reasonable investment in the future of Kansans.

"Nobody likes to pay taxes. But I recognize it for what it is, an investment in my community and my state for a prosperous future for me and for my children," he said.

http://cjonline.com/news/legislature/2010-01-21/sales_tax_hike_earns_praise

[Why Syzygy]

1. Didn't state lotteries promise improved schools? nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. In MO, where I teach, the lottery money is less than 1% of the education budget

No, lotteries did not promise improved schools. Lottery money is just a drop in the bucket of funding quality schools.

[Why Syzygy]

37. When they sold the voters on lotto in Texas, improved education was one of the promises. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. That's a common theme

And incredibly dishonest.

[notesdev]

2. Stupid

If that person wants to pay more taxes, there is absolutely nothing stopping them from writing a check to their state treasury.

What they really want is to force other people to pay more taxes.

This is the freaking Second Great Depression, and most people can barely afford to survive, let alone pay more taxes.

If there's a problem with the government having enough money, they should do what we the people do when money is tight and learn how to spend more wisely, learn what is a true need and what we can live without.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. They are talking about raising sales tax by 1%

That means $1.00 on my weekly $100 worth of groceries.

Anyone who claims they can't afford that is not living in reality.

In KS, the sales tax exemptions are enough to meet the deficit twice. So our problem isn't poor budgeting, it's an unfair exemption system.

I also think cutting sports programs is rather extreme belt tightening. Yes, I will pay an extra dollar a week to prevent that.

[notesdev]

5. Tell me

where does a person with no job get the money to pay more taxes?

It's telling that you spend $100/week on groceries. You may not realize it, but if you can afford that, you are doing a lot better than the average person in this country. It's easy to say other people should pay more when you're not suffering like they are, when you have no worry about where to find the money to spend on those groceries.

These ain't the boom years anymore. More and more people in this country are in the position where they can barely find the money to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, and they cannot afford to spend more in taxes.

Nor are they willing to spend more when governments at all levels spend like the money grows on trees and doesn't come from the blood sweat and tears of the diminishing pool of people who still have jobs.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. 1% is not going to break anyone

I work with the poor. I would never advocate a huge increase in sales tax, as I understand the impact on our poor. But 1% is affordable.

[notesdev]

7. if 1% is no big deal

Then cut it from the government budget. Normal people are at their breaking point.

If you personally want to pay 1% more, get out your checkbook and write that check to the treasury. I'll wait here for you to do that.

[hfojvt]

11. I actrually plan to lend my refund to the Federal Government

last year I gave them $100 applied to this years taxes. This year it will be about $700 applied to next years taxes. Unfortunately I am not getting a refund in Kansas, but sending in about $300 (on top of what was withheld). I plan to file in mid February instead of waiting until April 15th.

But for me to send $1,000 to the State government does nothing to fill a budget gap. But for 2.5 million Kansans to send in a mere $10 in extra taxes puts $25 million into the budget. Those who are hurting will automatically spend less and thus get hit with less new taxes. Those who are not hurting will spend more and thus pay more of the new taxes.

Also, lots of normal people are not at their breaking point. About 90% of us still have their jobs. It's only the unemployed or wage-cut who are hurting, and they will be helped if more jobs are not cut.

[Zynx]

14. Do you think cutting an equivalent amount from the government budget won't hurt services?

Really?

[notesdev]

31. I find it very hard to believe

that there isn't 1% of that budget going to waste, grift, and corruption that can be excised.

[Zynx]

39. 1% increase in sales tax is a lot more than 1% of total revenue.

Also, you'd be surprised at how little fat there is in most government budgets.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Cutting it from the government is cutting it from the people

Government cuts mean cuts in services. To the poor. To our children. To the disabled.

How sad that you don't get that. On a progressive discussion board. Are you even a Democrat?

I have given my life to serving the children of the poor. What have you done? Perhaps you are the one who should be writing a check. I have written plenty.

[notesdev]

32. Who do you think sales taxes hurt?

If "cutting it from the people" is a problem in your book, what do you think increasing taxes on the people does? Is the cut magically sanitized and rendered harmless by taking it out of the pockets of individuals rather than from the government budget?

I would wager that in a day or two of research I could find ten times the amount being discussed here in nonsense programs or corporate giveaways that the state budget is funding.

[ET Awful]

25. Here's a little hint for you . . . .

If you improve education through a minor tax increase, you decrease the amount of public assistance required to be paid in the future for undereducated people who, because the received a poor education end up in jobs which do not provide enough income.

Or, we could, as you advocate, not invest in the future and set the next generation up for an even shakier financial situation than we're in.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Or we could just ask for donations!

:sarcasm:

[Taitertots]

35. That would be much worse

The economic effects from decreasing government spending would be much worse than increasing taxes, especially if the new taxes are progressive.

[hfojvt]

9. Why don't they apply for a job at the school district?

Then they could buy groceries.

Whoops. They can't do that because the school district just eliminated that position because of budget cuts.

Kansas is in their second straight year of budget cuts and you are still gonna push the Republican talking point that the government is wasting money?

Here's some headlines from 2009

5 Feb - House passes spending cuts 74-48, cutting spending by $305 million, including
education by $44 million.

26 Apr - House Budget Committee proposes another $217 million in budget cuts, about
half cuts to public school funding.

30 June - The Journal World reports that the "Governor says to expect more budget
cuts". The budget shortfall has grown to $135 million. Governor Parkinson ruled
out an across the board cut, saying some programs have been cut too deeply
already. Presumably he also ruled out a tax increase, which would require
legislative approval. A $135 million gap could be closed, by a .4% increase in the
sales tax, which would cost Kansans 4 pennies for every $10 we spend. The
Journal World also mentions that KU has raised tuition by 6%, and in related
stories on July 3 write that the Lawrence school district has cut jobs and bus
service and will probably increase taxes by 2 to 4 mils and that Lawrence
residents are facing higher fees and new fees and increases in water and trash
rates.


and there were more budget cuts in November.

Of course, if you go back to 2007, then you see Republicans doing this

Feb. 13 - The House is scheduled today to debate legislation to eliminate the state’s
franchise tax, the oldest business tax in the state. Proponents of repealing the
franchise tax say that the bill would be a boost to the economy, freeing
businesses to expand. Opponents worry about the loss of state revenue,
projected to be $44 million the first year after a repeal and $230 million after
that.

[Taitertots]

34. The increased government spending would offset increased taxes

All those poor people would be substantially better off.

Increased government spending - Increased taxes = Net benefit

[galileoreloaded]

10. You pay taxes on groceries????? n/t

[hfojvt]

12. I know. How barbaric.

But actually I like the way Kansas does this. Instead of eliminating sales taxes on groceries, they give a sales tax refund to low income people (but only if they are over 55 or have children, which I think is unfair). That way, to a degree the rich and middle class are paying sales taxes on their groceries, but the poor have part of that sales tax refunded.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. The sales tax exemption program is corrupt

The #1 industry in our state - agriculture - is sales tax exempt. In Kansas. We aren't talking about poor dirt farmers. When I was a kid, the farmers in Kansas were the wealthiest farmers in the USA. They can't be that much poorer now. But they don't pay sales tax.

And don't get me started on churches.

[hfojvt]

8. I agreed with your first word

but only if it applies to what you said.

You know why most people can barely afford to survive? Because they don't have jobs. So your answer to that problem is for the school districts to ELIMINATE JOBS, for the county to ELIMINATE JOBS for the city to ELIMINATE JOBS and for the state to ELIMINATE JOBS. Do you really think for state and local governments to eliminate some 10,000 jobs is gonna help the Kansas economy? Or is it gonna create another 10,000 desperate people?

If you don't believe me, will you believe a Nobel Prize winner?

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1032

"Some state-level policymakers contend that the weakness of the economy means that a state should rely solely on cutting spending, rather than raising taxes. But this one-dimensional approach is not based on sound economics.

Two highly regarded economists — Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, and Peter Orszag, now the director of the Congressional Budget Office — wrote during the last recession that spending cuts could actually be more harmful for a state’s economy during a recession than tax increases. This assertion still holds true; Stiglitz recently reiterated the point in a letter (co-signed by 120 other economists) to New York’s governor David Paterson."

“The conclusion is that, if anything, tax increases on higher-income families are the least damaging mechanism for closing state fiscal deficits in the short run. Reductions in government spending on goods and services, or reductions in transfer payments to lower-income families, are likely to be more damaging to the economy in the short run than tax increases focused on higher-income families. In any case, in terms of how counter-productive they are, there is no automatic preference for spending reductions rather than tax increases."

It is too bad that Parkinson did not suggest a 1% surcharge on people with incomes over $100,000. Anybody with that income is not hurting at all in this economy.

[onethatcares]

13. can you all get your representatives to reduce the

amount they receive in salary? How about in office perks? Maybe take a bus instead of using a lincoln suv for travel, or a state airplane?

Hell, here in sunny Floriduh, they passed a requirement to make those fishing from land buy a 17.50 licence (16 yrs +) while getting rid of the sales tax on airplanes and mega yachts.

Meanwhile our schools are dying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. They are paid very little

Our state reps are woefully underpaid, IMO.

[RedCloud]

16. Teachers get pissed on all the time because they are too nice!

Bullies who flunk out get better paying jobs, sometimes to kill. And what do teachers do? Oh they enable us to do things. And worst of all they don't spew the corporate line!

[FormerDittoHead]

19. Wrong headed to raise sales taxes - raise property taxes instead.

I do agree with cutting sports.

But I'm AMAZED that no one has mentioned that Sales Taxes are REGRESSIVE. The rich, by their very nature, don't spend as much as they make, and therefore won't pay as high a rate of taxes as those who spend all of their money (ie: everyone else).

Second, living in NJ, we pay for our schools through property taxes. We have the highest rates in the nation here, so I'm wondering what the average property tax rate for Kansas is. I'd be surprised if it was the annual 4.2% per year of the value of my house. My house is worth about $100,000 and my property taxes are $4,200 a year.

I don't mind, however, because rich people have larger houses and own more property. It just makes sense.

If you need more money for education, raise property taxes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Our property taxes do fund our schools

And they are too high now. That would be a much worse burden on low income families.

[FormerDittoHead]

24. Are you kidding me? Kansas rates are LESS THAN HALF of NJ. You just want to tax the poor.

http://www.thinkkc.com/SiteLocation/TaxesIncentives/PropertyTax.php

In NJ, we're paying 4.3%.

PS: we have 7% sales tax and state income tax too.

>That would be a much worse burden on low income families.

Who do you think pays sales tax?

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. So unlesss our property taxes are as high as New Jersey's, they aren't high enough??

Ok, send us your jobs and industrial base and you've got a deal. But we don't want Tony Soprano. :)

[Johonny]

30. I agree

[Imajika]

21. Why doesn't Megan just send the state some cash?

"I'm asking you to raise my taxes"

Okay Megan, why wait? Just send in some extra money. She may even be able to increase her state withholding so more get's taken out each pay period, and then she can just donate the refund at the end of the year to the state.

Nothing is stopping people with the means to pay from contributing extra. She could rally everyone she knows that supports this and send checks directly to the school district.

Tax increases are generally going to fail everywhere right now due to how badly people are hurting in this economy in nearly every state.

So perhaps it is time for those who can afford to pay extra to just voluntarily pony up? There are ways one can contribute extra in taxes to almost every city, state and even the federal government. So Megan, no need to wait for a tax increase, hop to it and just send in all the extra you can afford to help out through these lean times.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. What a ridiculous answer

I feel like I have landed in freeperville.

Do you honestly believe that any check Megan sends in is going to save jobs? Or school programs? Or buy textbooks? Or prevent reducing the length of the school day or year? Prevent cutting programs for the disabled?

Once again. We are talking about paying 1% more in sales tax. So if Megan spends $50 a week on groceries, she will be paying an extra 50 cents in taxes. That's about $25 a year. It's an infinitely better solution than raising income taxes, cutting even more programs or soliciting donations.

[Imajika]

23. Yeah, I do..

There is nothing stopping Megan from rallying everyone in Kansas that agrees with this to send in extra tax money to the state.

I expect this tax increase proposal to fail, as similar proposals are failing everywhere. So those with the means can simply send in additional cash on their own.

An even better idea would be for Megan to lobby for progressive taxes that truly hit those that can afford to pay more. In the meantime, since she is asking for her taxes to be raised, she can just do this voluntarily by sending the state extra money - and lobby everyone who feels the same in the state to do the same.

You talk about $25.00 a year as if it is nothing at all. Perhaps your economic situation is fine, but for a lot of people every additional tax, fee, etc is just unaffordable right now. You have to assume this $25.00 is not the only new bill they would face. Rents go up, Credit Card interest rates go up, the general cost of living goes up. People are in such dire straights that every nickel and dime counts right now.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. We have been lobbying for years to change the tax system

But the Republican controlled state house refuses.

The biggest problem is the sales tax exemption, IMO. Eliminating the exemptions for a year would solve all the budget problems.

And no. I don't agree that a 1% increase would be harmful. I am not willing to increase it anymore than that but 1% is very reasonable. We are just going to have to agree to disagree on that point.

[Imajika]

29. Well, you live in Kansas and I do not..

..so I trust you probably have a better idea of what is really going on there than I do.

I stand by my general points, but respect your position. You may well be right on this one.

Thanks for the discussion.

Cheers!

[hfojvt]

33. no, raising income taxes is a better solution

but Republicans would die before they let THAT happen. A 1% surcharge on incomes over $100,000 would raise about $184 million according to 2003 estimates. About 90% of Kansas households make less than $100,000 and it certainly would not impact the unemployed.

It would also help reduce the regressivity in Kansas taxes. According to the Kansas Tax Incidence Study of 2006, Kamsans with incomes over $100,000 pay about 9% of their income in taxes whereas those with incomes under $35,000 pay over 12%.

http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/kstaxincidencestudy.pdf

I would have loved to see Democrats use that idea and those facts and then take it to the voters. There's YOUR side and there's the side of people making over $100,000. Democrats are on your side and Republicans are on their side.

[Earth_First]

36. I will support paying higher taxes for education when we return to pre-NCLB education standards

How's that for an answer?

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Since NCLB is a FEDERAL law that states have no control over,

that is an answer that is not a realistic solution.