Letters: Readers discuss KCI convenience, the Nelson-Atkins’ generosity and police technology
Keep convenience
I applaud Burns & McDonnell for offering to finance a new terminal at Kansas City International Airport, and I admit that I have gradually moved from opposition to support over the past year.
However, the primary reason for my opposition has been the concern that a reduced number of TSA checkpoints could result in massive lines and lengthy waits similar to those I have seen at airports in Denver, Dallas and Minneapolis.
If it becomes necessary to arrive at the airport two hours before flight time instead of only one hour, KCI’s “convenience factor” will no longer exist. Therefore, if a decision is made to proceed, I would ask that special attention be given to designing a smooth and speedy security check.
Frederick Gustin
Leawood
Thanks to Nelson
Kudos to the neighbors and museum officials of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for preserving five historic homes near the museum.
The Kirkwood home has special significance for the Liberty Memorial.
On April 6, the Liberty Memorial was the site for the national centennial commemoration of America’s entry into the Great War. Almost a century earlier (Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 1921), the Kirkwood home was where Marshal Ferdinand Foch, supreme commander of Allied forces during World War I, and Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, stayed during the dedication of the Liberty Memorial site.
Just a short distance down the hill north of the Kirkwood home, between two lonely cedar trees, stands a natural stone monument dedicated to Maj. William J. Bland, whose sacrifice during the war served as a rallying cry after the war to finish building the Liberty Memorial.
Preserving the Kirkwood home preserves a vital link between the history of our iconic museum of art and the history of our most iconic war memorial.
James J. Heiman
Independence
Just tax policy
The Kansas Legislature should repeal the 2012 and 2013 tax cuts and restore the tax structure so higher-income earners pay their share alongside low- and middle-income earners.
Pass-through income tax cuts spurred large-scale tax avoidance with no economic benefit, and eliminating the top tax bracket favors the wealthy. Twenty percent of Kansans pay about $140 more than before 2012, while those earning more than $493,000 average a plus-$24,000 benefit. Our lower 20 percent pays 11.1 percent of their income in taxes, while the top 1 percent of earners pays only 3.6 percent.
Neither the nation nor Kansas is in a recession, but Kansas is behind neighboring states in GDP, job growth and wage growth.
Sixty-five percent of residents say Kansas is on the wrong track, 60 percent support increasing taxes on large corporations, 58 percent support increasing taxes on top income earners and 70 percent support closing the LLC loophole, according to Fort Hays State University Docking Institute’s 2017 Kansas Speaks survey.
The League of Women Voters of Kansas agrees. Repeal the tax cuts and invest in our schools, roads, health and safety.
Teresa Briggs
and Cille King
Co-Presidents
League of Women
Voters of Kansas
Safety tech
As National Police Week came to a close last week, it struck me that we don’t often recognize all of the ways law-enforcement professionals keep us safe.
Our police officers are incredibly resourceful using tools to arrest criminals planning to produce meth.
In fact, based on their hard work, meth lab seizures declined more than 80 percent between 2014 and 2016 in our state.
One tool used by the police to prevent meth production is the National Precursor Log Exchange, a system used to monitor the sale of over-the-counter allergy and cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to make meth.
This system allows allergy and cold sufferers to buy the medicine they need while rejecting individuals who have reached their purchase limit.
The identities of the rejected individuals are flagged, which provides the police with lists of potential meth suspects, leading to more arrests and hopefully less meth on our streets.
Rob Binney
Mayor Pro Tem
Lee’s Summit
Redundancy
Draining the swamp and refilling it with sewer water is akin to the decision to stop looking for witches during a witch hunt.
Bob Jackson
Kansas City
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This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss KCI convenience, the Nelson-Atkins’ generosity and police technology."