It’s almost been a month since the November election, and the holidays are in full swing. While it’s fine to take a breather, when our Kansas legislators return to Topeka in January, the coming session is bound to be one few will look back on with warm and fuzzy feelings.
If We the People of Kansas dared to harbor hopes of our state government kicking in at the last minute with some presents, for instance, we’d be highly disappointed. There is no credit card left to whip out and cover the bills with, let alone provide any extras. Already, the state has depleted the savings account, and has sucked dry the relatives KDOT, KPERS, and KAC. Our bills didn’t get paid last year, and the amount due has only been growing. Not only that, the state can’t take out a loan, and even if it could, the state’s credit rating would qualify it for loan shark rates at this point.
The only way the state can get out of this mess now is by bringing in more money. And the way states do that is by raising taxes. It’s not a matter of if anymore. It’s a matter of how, and for whom?
While this isn’t what anyone wants to think about now, in the middle of this, the best time of the year, it would be foolish to completely forget about it. Sure, put it on the back burner, but don’t walk away and forget about it. Because, in the end, the state is ultimately us, the people who call ourselves Kansans. We will be the ones left holding the check in the end.