Readers react to Hillary Clinton, Kansas and college sports
La Raza convention
As I went to get my paper this morning in the driveway, I was thinking I am sure that Hillary Clinton will be on the front page because she was in town yesterday for the La Raza convention (7-14, A1, “A big push for Latino votes”).
But I did not realize it would be such a big picture of her.
I know the paper is in her corner, but that was a little overboard, don’t you think? I am sure when the Republicans come to town they will not get that much exposure.
So let us see if the paper can do a big splash for the GOP.
Karen Young
Kansas City
Comedy degree
Emerson College plans to offer a major in comedy. Why not? Most undergraduate degrees from most U.S. colleges and universities are a joke nowadays anyhow and overpriced at that.
Bob Tobia
Kansas City
Kansas faces trouble
Schadenfreude is a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing the misfortune of others. It’s a sick feeling, but I have to admit it is one I experience when I see what the Kansas Legislature has accomplished these last few years.
It is the ultimate payoff for “I told you so.” We have, finally, an admission that the extreme tax cuts enacted by a hubris-ridden Legislature were unwise and fiscally irresponsible.
What was the first inkling people had? Was it S&P downgrading Kansas’ credit? Or was it a clerk who realized that things just weren’t adding up and that there was a billion-dollar hole between magical expectations and reality?
So, because I’m on a roll, let me make a few more predictions:
▪ The economy in Kansas will continue to lag behind those in surrounding areas. Companies won’t want to come to a state that is run by crazies.
▪ The population will continue to decrease in rural areas, while there will be minipopulation booms in Kansas City and Lawrence
▪ The crime rate will increase, as impoverished residents turn to criminal behavior for relief.
Stay tuned.
Pamela Sturm
Kansas City, Kan.
Living as one
As that old sage Mr. Natural says (and I have the T-shirt to prove it), “What this country needs is a return to spiritual values!” He couldn’t be more correct, but this statement has been wrongly co-opted by politicians.
In a nutshell, Jesus Christ laid out the standards for moral behavior, succinctly and truly. Love thy neighbor. Treat others as you would have them treat you.
In my most humble opinion, these are the only tenets for good and correct moral behavior, not some nitpicking, wrong-thinking interpretation thereof.
People throughout history have interpreted these polemics, twisted and abused them so they might have an advantage.
This is not the meaning or spirit of what Christ (and Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha and Confucius) is trying to teach us. Politics have nothing to do with it. Consequently, politicians should refrain from making moral judgments.
Spiritual values, indeed. If everyone had the inclination to live his or her life by the two simple rules above, humanity would be in a lot better shape.
“I know that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”
Let’s join together and live as one.
Timothy Earl Osburn
Parkville
Retirement gamble
So much legislative chaos. Pick a topic.
There are many to choose from: taxes, shifting of infrastructure funds to cover tax cuts, legislative attempts to influence and control courts, school funding and a billion-dollar bonding intended to bolster KPERS, or the Kansas Retirement System for Public Employees, and begin the process of ending state contributions to the fund.
And like most recent legislative actions, a slippery slope awaits.
If current KPERS investments don’t accrue more money than the interest and payments on the bond, then the KPERS fund will be severely damaged — possibly to the point of insolvency.
Gov. Sam Brownback and the state Legislature have eschewed common-sense economics in favor of a quicker but extremely dangerous economic gamble.
If we experience another financial downturn like the one in 2008, say goodbye to KPERS. But then, like many state decisions, common sense has left the building.
There were safe alternatives.
Now all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope the economy doesn’t roll snake eyes.
David Vanderwell
Olathe
College sports
One of the most controversial topics in sports lately, outside of domestic abuse and scandals, is whether athletes should be paid for the revenues they produce for their schools.
As a former college athlete, I still believe in the values of education, the integrity of a sport and the wholesome product of combining the two.
College athletes may be on the forefront of what we see as a form of entertainment. But they are still there to receive educations that prepare them for the rest of their lives.
Although collegiate athletics have become a multibillion-dollar industry, the athletes are not allowed to have jobs, and sports can be limiting to the athlete as a person.
Collegiate athletes should not be financially compensated. They are given other benefits and are still considered amateurs, and there is an imbalance between revenue-generating and non-revenue-generating sports.
If collegiate athletes were to be paid, it would create a massive imbalance in the sports industry as a whole and allow student-athletes to devalue the educations they are receiving.
Jake Heller
Shawnee
Kansas robbery
Watching the evening news every day, I am no longer surprised when I hear of thefts and burglaries. They are neverending.
Like everyone else, I only hope and pray it doesn’t happen to me.
Doesn’t this sound just a little bit like Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback robbing the lower and middle class and giving to the upper class?
That’s robbery. The only difference is what he’s doing is legal.
Kevin Hogan
Olathe
GOP ownership
It is absolutely plain to see that the many tax cuts Gov. Sam Brownback insisted his Republican-controlled Legislature approve several years ago to create more jobs have not worked, and we are now in a terrible financial disaster.
Brownback promised to slash taxes, downsize government and spur economic growth.
At the rate he is going, Kansas could be headed for long-term financial problems. I don’t see any way any other state would want to follow what Gov. Brownback is doing to our state.
The governor’s attempts to make things better for our state have failed miserably. It’s even possible that state bond ratings may be downgraded again if his and the Legislature’s ways do not improve.
I don’t see how we can keep going in the direction he is forcing upon us.
Gov. Brownback evidently has no idea what he is doing and honestly needs to find some other line of work more suited to his inabilities to manage. He has certainly made it tough for any Republicans to get elected in the future. The Republicans will want to blame the new tax increases on the national economy.
Sam Brownback is not the answer to Kansas’ needs.
Edward L. Keating
Fort Scott, Kan.
Minimum wage
Just recently I again read the tiring argument that fast-food and restaurant workers do not deserve a raise because someone had received bad service somewhere. It must be so gratifying to be able to rationalize that a whole industry of mostly hardworking people don’t deserve a living wage because someone’s steak was served underdone.
Perhaps next time the person should try having some empathy for the people whose jobs are to provide the service and be thankful for being able to afford good food.
People are not robots. Mistakes are made in any job. If anyone does get terrible service somewhere, that consumer only needs to not go back to that business.
Don’t make it an excuse to marginalize food service workers.
Jill Blancho
Kansas City
This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Readers react to Hillary Clinton, Kansas and college sports."