GREAT BEND, Kan. - One of the reasons politicians move to the right, to the right, further to the right, is because that's where the money is. The 48 Kansas House of Representative members who voted for the "Yoder" budget, which would have resulted in major trauma to our schools, universities, social services, and law enforcement, ended up with the best of both worlds.
A group of Democrats and moderate Republicans stepped in and did the right thing, raising revenue to prevent a meltdown of our state institutions. So the 48 Yoderites
will not be blamed for a meltdown, plus they get to brag on their campaign brochures that they "rejected all tax increases."
And these 48 will start their campaigns for reelection with ten or fifteen grand in hard donations, soft money, and "issue ads" all paid for by corporate behemoths. Topeka is awash in corporate money, and those 48 Yoderites start out ahead, because the "money power" has them in their pocket, and want to keep them there. Koch Industries, Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Americans for Prosperity, and so forth.
Meanwhile, what happens to legislators who saved the day and did the right thing? They will be beleaguered by attacks in the form of mailers, robocalls, radio ads and TV ads, all paid for by huge corporations, accusing them of being "tax and spend liberals."
But those 71 did the right thing. As stated in the latest "Christian Science Monitor" by Karen Kraut:
Although author Karen Kraut, director of the Tax Fairness Organizing Collaborative, recommends progressive tax increases by states, and decries sales tax increases as hard on the middle and lower class, it's clear that even a sales tax increase is better than letting thousands of public workers join the unemployment line. So the 71 who voted to avoid the meltdown deserve some support, some campaign money....cutting to get out of fiscal crisis is tantamount to digging to get out of a crater....Budget cuts deepen the recession and stifle recovery by immediately putting people out of work, reducing public and private investment, and abandoning residents in their hour of need. The long term economic consequences are also damaging, including lost productivity, a less-skilled workforce, and reduced competitiveness. "Best Tool for Cash-Strapped States? Progressive Taxes," Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2010, p. 32.
I wish things were different. But let's face reality: a quality campaign for Kansas House of Representatives cost about 30k--- and twice that in Johnson County. And what does a candidate get in terms of financial support for doing the right thing? Nothing, really.
As a candidate for State Representative, there was no stronger advocate for higher education than me. But do you know how much money I got from the higher education lobby to help me? Not a dime. I hit up some college professor friends for small donations---but they gave out of friendship. But there really is no "higher education" PAC for fans of higher education in Kansas.
K-12? A candidate supportive of K-12 public schools will net a couple of grand in donations from KNEA and the KASB, but that two grand doesn't compare to the tens of thousands that shadow corporate groups pour into the Yoderites' campaigns.
Why isn't there a "Higher Education PAC" that funds pro-higher education candidates?
I don't know. Why don't more teachers and college professors donate to progressives of both parties, or even volunteer their time? Why aren't there 10,000 KU and KSU students on the capitol lawn in Topeka, raising Cain about high tuition? And why don't these teachers and students do more volunteering for progressive campaigns? I don't know.
The thing is, we could change this "progressive gap" in fundraising, and we could do it this year. The 71 who voted to keep Kansas from going down the Yoder hillbilly-state path should get campaign donations from teachers, college professors, and from newly sprouted PAC's. And they should get "boots on the ground" help from college professors, teachers, and students. (The big corporation "suits" do no "grunt work"---they let evangelicals and Catholics put up the signs and knock on doors, because the election is about "moral values," not taxation, remember?)
If progressives start RIGHT NOW, we can kick the Yoderites to the curb in November. But we have to start right now and be as as serious about funding candidates as Koch Industries is, and as committed to canvassing as are the religious right. I don't begrudge the big corporations or the religious right for trying to control the process. I just wonder why people on the left don't push back more.
We have a great Board of Regents with Jill Docking at the helm. I see good things happening with KU through Chancellor Gray-Little and Kathy Damron in terms of lining up grassroots support for KU and other institutions of higher learning. Contrary to a recent editorial in the Lawrence Journal World, there is nothing wrong with KU. But there is something wrong with the Yoderite philosophy, which has cut state funding at KU to around 22% of the total needed to run a university. KSU, WSU, Fort Hays State, Emporia State and Pittsburg State have been similarly afflicted by the Yoder philosophy.
If progressives ramp up their game on small fundraising, new PAC's, and shoe leather canvassing, there is no reason those 48 Yoderites can't be defeated. They did the wrong thing. And they should pay a price.
The legislature should have considered more progressive taxes rather than a sales tax. However, at the end of the session the choice was simple: sales tax, or massive layoffs of public employees. Both options were bad, but the sales tax increase was the least bad. It was the right thing to do given the two stark choices. Those legislators who did the right thing, be they Republicans or Democrats, should get more help this time around.
Why don't college students demonstrate for higher taxes to pay for more college aid? Well lets just say the legislature does pass a tax increase, how much of that would really go to pay for lower college tuition? Any tax increase would just go into the general fund which pays for k-12 schools, roads, prisons, parks, state employee salaries and benefits, etc... so really how much would be left for the colleges anyways?
And even if the colleges get more money, how can those demonstrating students be sure the money will go to lowering tuition? Every department head at the college will have their hands out too wanting a piece of it plus their is always pressure to increase salaries, hire more staff, start new programs, and build new buildings.
So while I like the idea of people pressing their legislatures for more funding, how can one be sure the tax increase will be targeted to the programs we want?