Tax ads

The Kansas Policy Institute is out with radio ads against statewide tax increases to solve the budget crisis. I heard one this morning on KKLE 1550 AM. They claim education spending has gone up 24 percent in five years, and can afford more cuts. This is a good argument, but of course the other side is that some believe they were very underfunded before the Supreme Court ordered more funding. The Kansas Policy Institute (KPI) was the conservative Flint Hills Center before it changed its name. The funders of the group are mysterious, but there is apparently a Koch Industries tie. The KPI, or the Flint Hills Center, has long been battling the notion that schools need more money. They put fort the rather superficial argument that schools had cash reserves or balances to get by the recession, when that money was actually spoken for in construction or personnel expenses.

This will be quite a battle in the coming weeks. The Ark City Chamber, of which I am a board members, stepped into the discussion by advocating for a balanced approach - tax increases as a reluctant option.