5 ms·

And the end result isn't even the advertised low-tax state, at least for normal citizens. Topeka's sales tax rate (including the city portion) is over 9%, which

And the end result isn't even the advertised low-tax state, at least for normal citizens. Topeka's sales tax rate (including the city portion) is over 9%, which is right up there with me in Seattle (about 10%). Plus an income tax (Washington has none). Plus property taxes that are higher than mine. Plus personal property tax on vehicles, so car registration in Kansas costs basically the same as in the transportation benefit district I live in. Corrupt as hell, and actively lying about the reason the state has no money.

ModernMech 9y ago
> And the end result isn't even the advertised low-tax state, at least for normal citizens. That's the point. It's playing out again on the national stage. When they say "tax cuts" they don't mean tax cuts for you, silly. Tax cuts are for people who meet the minimum threshold for being able to take advantage of pass-through rates. Not for the mother of 5 working two jobs just to get her kids through a school that's only open 4 days a week.
- komali2 9y ago
  A mother of 5 because her state has restrictive, non-factual or non-existent sex education, and won't support free access to birth control. Working two jobs to get her kids through school because of a lack of childcare social services and a high burden of education cost on teachers and families. Schools only open 4 days a week because of Republican refusal to invest in education, which has been demonstrated to be the best long-term investment a country can make. I personally have abandoned all faith in anybody with an (R) next to their name, and anybody that bubbles in an (R) on a ballot.
  - rayiner 9y ago
    I live in a (D) State. My tax rate is comparable to what it would be in the UK or Germany. We’re among the highest spenders nationwide in education (and by extension the world). But the roads are still terrible, the trains don’t run on time, the schools are just okay, and our largest city has a murder rate about 20x that of big Western European cities. There’s few public services—no child care, no health care, no labor protections, etc.
    - beepboopbeep 9y ago
      Sounds like poor planning and oversight then. Tax revenue levels certainly aren't an indicator of competence of the local and state government.
      - rayiner 9y ago
        You could replicate what I wrote for pretty much all the big (D) states: New York, California, New Jersey, etc. California has the highest tax burden in the country but its average NEAP math scores are lower than in 36 other states.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - wvenable 9y ago
      It amazing that the US spends almost as much taxes on health care as Canada but don't get any free health care for it!
      - nerfhammer 9y ago
        It spends more than Canada IIRC. If you add private spending in it's more than twice that of total Canadian healthcare spending.
      - briandear 9y ago
        Medicaid is a massive program. And it's "free" to the legitimately poor. It's a myth that the poor don't have health care in the US.
        wvenable 9y ago
        That doesn't really change the point -- The US pays more to give the poor health care than most countries pay to give everyone care.
  - brokentone 9y ago
    That seems like a strawman and openly hostile to debate with people who do not vote like you.
  - briandear 9y ago
    Mother of 5 because the lack of sex education? You'd think after the first 3 she might make a connection. Regarding school days -- you don't know what you're talking about. The required number of schools days has decreased, but the required number of instructional hours has remained the same. So education isn't "suffering" under Republicans in Kansas. In fact, making the day longer and going fewer days is far more cost effective because you don't have to run the buses as much, you save on food preparation costs, etc. And you get the same number of school hours as you would on a longer schedule. That's just smart management. By way of comparison, France has 4-day-a-week school and kids go to school only 144 days per year, which is about 40 fewer than the OECD average. Are the Republicans conspiring to ruin France as well? Blaming a short week on Republicans is just silly. Kansas public schools rank around 15th nationwide -- ahead of liberal bastions such as Maryland, Rhode Island, Oregon, California and others. [1] It seems like other states might ought to see what Kansas is doing right. What's California's excuse?[2] There aren't many Republicans in California -- they're an endangered species. If "Republicans are bad for education" then it would follow that in a state with few Republicans, education ought to be better right? But the data just doesn't support that conclusion. It doesn't support the opposite conclusion either. There really isn't a correlation between dominant political party and education quality. Case in point: NJ and Mass. are very blue states with great public education while Rhode Island is also a very blue state but with middle of the pack education. Iowa is a deep red state and it's ranked number 9 in the country. Wisconsin is a red state that voted for Trump as well as many years of a being under a Republican Governor -- and their education system is ranked 4th. There's no correlation -- and to make such a claim is irresponsible because the data doesn't support it. As far as abandoning faith in Republicans -- since the growth of the sheer absurdity of this whole social justice warrior movement (seriously, they literally riot when they disagree with someone's viewpoints,) along with the near religious anti-capitalism class warfare rhetoric from Democrats -- I've abandoned all faith in anyone voting Democrat. There was a time when Republicans and Democrats could find common ground. That time has passed since pretty much every modern Democrat idea starts from the premise that white males are viruses that must be controlled or that people are all victims unable to go to the toilet without a government program to help them wipe their ass. [3]. When a political party makes a point of lecturing me on my "privilege" and how I'm personally responsible for all of society's ills -- then they've lost me forever. Might as well be blaming me for slavery. I don't even care if Democrats are right on some issues. I'm never voting for a party that accuses me of being: 1. ..a tax evader (I live in France and the Democrats are responsible for the hell caused by FATCA.) 2. .. a racist 3. .. a hater of women 4. .. greedy 5. .. a destroyer of the environment I am none of those things and I'm a libertarian who tends to vote Republican. Correction -- I am a bit greedy -- I think I should be entitled to keep more of the money I earn and pass it on to my children rather than giving it to people who didn't earn it nor have any right to it. So ok, I'll admit to being greedy. [1] https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/ https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/ [2] http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/05/california-schools-earn-c-in-national-ranking/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/05/california-schools-ear... [3] https://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2017/10/30/dnc-email-straight-white-men-need-not-apply-n2402482 https://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2017/10/30/...
  - TimTheTinker 9y ago
    > A mother of 5 because her state has restrictive, non-factual or non-existent sex education Although I understand your overall point, you nearly lost me here. To assume someone wouldn’t choose to have five kids (or wouldn’t have done so if properly educated) is rather narrow-minded, in my opinion. Many wouldn’t, but (a) many people chose to have several kids and have no regrets, and (b) many people chose not to have several kids and do have regrets. Against common assumptions to the contrary in many sectors, kids and family really can be a joy.
- machinshin_ 9y ago
  Silly rabbit, tax cuts are for the rich

ModernMech 9y ago

> And the end result isn't even the advertised low-tax state, at least for normal citizens. That's the point. It's playing out again on the national stage. When they say "tax cuts" they don't mean tax cuts for you, silly. Tax cuts are for people who meet the minimum threshold for being able to take advantage of pass-through rates. Not for the mother of 5 working two jobs just to get her kids through a school that's only open 4 days a week.

komali2 9y ago
A mother of 5 because her state has restrictive, non-factual or non-existent sex education, and won't support free access to birth control. Working two jobs to get her kids through school because of a lack of childcare social services and a high burden of education cost on teachers and families. Schools only open 4 days a week because of Republican refusal to invest in education, which has been demonstrated to be the best long-term investment a country can make. I personally have abandoned all faith in anybody with an (R) next to their name, and anybody that bubbles in an (R) on a ballot.
- rayiner 9y ago
  I live in a (D) State. My tax rate is comparable to what it would be in the UK or Germany. We’re among the highest spenders nationwide in education (and by extension the world). But the roads are still terrible, the trains don’t run on time, the schools are just okay, and our largest city has a murder rate about 20x that of big Western European cities. There’s few public services—no child care, no health care, no labor protections, etc.
  - beepboopbeep 9y ago
    Sounds like poor planning and oversight then. Tax revenue levels certainly aren't an indicator of competence of the local and state government.
    - rayiner 9y ago
      You could replicate what I wrote for pretty much all the big (D) states: New York, California, New Jersey, etc. California has the highest tax burden in the country but its average NEAP math scores are lower than in 36 other states.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - wvenable 9y ago
    It amazing that the US spends almost as much taxes on health care as Canada but don't get any free health care for it!
    - nerfhammer 9y ago
      It spends more than Canada IIRC. If you add private spending in it's more than twice that of total Canadian healthcare spending.
    - briandear 9y ago
      Medicaid is a massive program. And it's "free" to the legitimately poor. It's a myth that the poor don't have health care in the US.
      - wvenable 9y ago
        That doesn't really change the point -- The US pays more to give the poor health care than most countries pay to give everyone care.
- brokentone 9y ago
  That seems like a strawman and openly hostile to debate with people who do not vote like you.
- briandear 9y ago
  Mother of 5 because the lack of sex education? You'd think after the first 3 she might make a connection. Regarding school days -- you don't know what you're talking about. The required number of schools days has decreased, but the required number of instructional hours has remained the same. So education isn't "suffering" under Republicans in Kansas. In fact, making the day longer and going fewer days is far more cost effective because you don't have to run the buses as much, you save on food preparation costs, etc. And you get the same number of school hours as you would on a longer schedule. That's just smart management. By way of comparison, France has 4-day-a-week school and kids go to school only 144 days per year, which is about 40 fewer than the OECD average. Are the Republicans conspiring to ruin France as well? Blaming a short week on Republicans is just silly. Kansas public schools rank around 15th nationwide -- ahead of liberal bastions such as Maryland, Rhode Island, Oregon, California and others. [1] It seems like other states might ought to see what Kansas is doing right. What's California's excuse?[2] There aren't many Republicans in California -- they're an endangered species. If "Republicans are bad for education" then it would follow that in a state with few Republicans, education ought to be better right? But the data just doesn't support that conclusion. It doesn't support the opposite conclusion either. There really isn't a correlation between dominant political party and education quality. Case in point: NJ and Mass. are very blue states with great public education while Rhode Island is also a very blue state but with middle of the pack education. Iowa is a deep red state and it's ranked number 9 in the country. Wisconsin is a red state that voted for Trump as well as many years of a being under a Republican Governor -- and their education system is ranked 4th. There's no correlation -- and to make such a claim is irresponsible because the data doesn't support it. As far as abandoning faith in Republicans -- since the growth of the sheer absurdity of this whole social justice warrior movement (seriously, they literally riot when they disagree with someone's viewpoints,) along with the near religious anti-capitalism class warfare rhetoric from Democrats -- I've abandoned all faith in anyone voting Democrat. There was a time when Republicans and Democrats could find common ground. That time has passed since pretty much every modern Democrat idea starts from the premise that white males are viruses that must be controlled or that people are all victims unable to go to the toilet without a government program to help them wipe their ass. [3]. When a political party makes a point of lecturing me on my "privilege" and how I'm personally responsible for all of society's ills -- then they've lost me forever. Might as well be blaming me for slavery. I don't even care if Democrats are right on some issues. I'm never voting for a party that accuses me of being: 1. ..a tax evader (I live in France and the Democrats are responsible for the hell caused by FATCA.) 2. .. a racist 3. .. a hater of women 4. .. greedy 5. .. a destroyer of the environment I am none of those things and I'm a libertarian who tends to vote Republican. Correction -- I am a bit greedy -- I think I should be entitled to keep more of the money I earn and pass it on to my children rather than giving it to people who didn't earn it nor have any right to it. So ok, I'll admit to being greedy. [1] https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/ https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/ [2] http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/05/california-schools-earn-c-in-national-ranking/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/05/california-schools-ear... [3] https://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2017/10/30/dnc-email-straight-white-men-need-not-apply-n2402482 https://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2017/10/30/...
- TimTheTinker 9y ago
  > A mother of 5 because her state has restrictive, non-factual or non-existent sex education Although I understand your overall point, you nearly lost me here. To assume someone wouldn’t choose to have five kids (or wouldn’t have done so if properly educated) is rather narrow-minded, in my opinion. Many wouldn’t, but (a) many people chose to have several kids and have no regrets, and (b) many people chose not to have several kids and do have regrets. Against common assumptions to the contrary in many sectors, kids and family really can be a joy.
machinshin_ 9y ago
Silly rabbit, tax cuts are for the rich