General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublican Kansas Governor: Pensioners Are Freeloaders
http://reverbpress.com/uncategorized/republican-kansas-governor-pensioners-are-freeloaders-copy/Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS) took the governors mansion by storm and quickly became the darling of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. Through strong arming and other politically coercive measures, Brownback ramrodded piece after piece of conservative legislation through the statehouse, cutting tax rates for the states uber-wealthy and providing huge tax incentives to corporations, all in the hopes that the long disproved trickle-down theory of economics would yield a modern-day conservative utopia. The states terminal budget shortfalls, paired with a recently downgraded credit rating are showing Brownbacks supposed utopia is actually appearing to be more of a hellscape.
Less than two years on from the implementation of Brownbacks draconian tax policies meant to punish those in the lowest economic strata, the states revenues have plummeted by $250,000,000. Yes, you read that right. The state is taking in over a quarter-billion less in tax revenue. Brownback has the perfect solution, though. He thinks the Kansas Public Employees Retirement Systems (KPERS) pension program looks a little bloated. He believes withholding the legally mandated $40 million the state must make to the pension program will go a long way to digging the state out of the budgetary hole that he personally dug....
Stealing money from the pockets of retirees is definitely not a popular political position to find ones self in. To shoulder the fleecing of those previously promised the benefits commensurate with a state career, Brownback is now throwing his Republican legislature to the wolves, stating that the lawmakers need to be involved in deciding where to make actual budget cuts. Brownbacks plan to pull money from existing expenditures rather than enact actual cuts and entertain increasing state revenues will effectively kick the can down the road, with the states non-partisan legislative research body predicting the budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2015 will almost double to nearly $500 billion. And now, even fellow state Republicans are starting to turn on the beleaguered Brownback.
And this meatball just got reelected?
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)hobbit709
(41,694 posts)He should give it all back, but then he's just another loud-mouthed hypocrite.
Hangingon
(3,071 posts)Nt
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)old guy
(3,283 posts)Kansas has the government that more people voted for than voted against. Sometimes elections really do have consequences.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)will change.
You will have to starve a rank and file republican before it will do the right thing.
It will take drastic consequences because they act solely out of selfishness and not until they can see the harm to their own existence will they change.
If their politicians are starving minorities, no problem...Not until it effects them will it matter
tridim
(45,358 posts)I'm born and raised in Kansas City on the Kansas side.
The majority of the state is in constant denial about political realities. It has been that way my entire life. They vote Republican no matter what and then ignore the inevitable pain that that comes as a result. It's crazy.
Their motto should be: Thank you sirs, may I have another.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)tridim
(45,358 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)tridim
(45,358 posts)My parents and all of their friends are non-religious Republicans.
Thav
(946 posts)will only blame others for their situation and demand that others starve more than they are. They double down on the wrong thing, because eventually the wrong thing will be the right thing after they say it's the right thing long enough.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)on the hook for the banksters, etc. We are going to need the fuel in 2016.
onecaliberal
(32,863 posts)amount. Maybe then people will wake the hell up and realize what republicans are all about. I'd bet most of those pensioners voted for Brownback.
MissDeeds
(7,499 posts)The 46% of us who busted our butts to get Paul Davis elected appreciate your empathy.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)daredtowork
(3,732 posts)Withhold services for the poor so they will "move on" to more generous (sucker) States that will take care of them, and attempt to attract the rich with shiny bait - their tax cuts will be made up because they, in theory, have more of everything else to tax, and they will spend more (sales taxes), etc.
The game is obvious.
moondust
(19,993 posts)Is that a thing? A reference? A politician?
I've been saying this about Republican governors for a while but wasn't aware that it had a name.
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)Sorry, not an official strategy. Just a description of how things work.
Bandit
(21,475 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)dhill926
(16,343 posts)To forego his pension right?
KrazyinKS
(291 posts)think again. No they will not. In order for companies to want to move here, I would think they would have to get the talent to move here also. I would think someone who is talented and has a lot of offers would not choose Kansas. I would think. I talked to a retired teacher last week about her KPERS and she did not think it was in any sort of danger because of old Brownie boy. I mean the issue really flew over her head. Really.
jmowreader
(50,559 posts)Brownie's problem in a nutshell: He needs huge numbers of corporations and huger numbers of California Millionaires to move to his state. Even if he lowers taxes to zero that won't happen...corporations not making things from grain that don't ship themselves don't want to be in Kansas because it's too far from their customers (seriously guys, if you want to make frammises in the US and sell them to New Yorkers, you don't make them 1500 miles from NYC!) and your California Millionaire is already living in Idaho.
shraby
(21,946 posts)Especially considering the fact that he'll be double-dipping.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)I'm sure fox and friends were all for Brownback. I bet from 99% of the pulpits came a ringing endorsement of this thieving puppet of the koch bros.
Americans are the most foolish and easily scammed people on the planet.
You elected a thief only interested in protecting and serving the 1% Kansas and it was no secret so..suck it up, bend over and enjoy?
You get what you asked for.
old guy
(3,283 posts)mountain grammy
(26,623 posts)This is outrageous, but, really, it's the rich that matter. Brownback is a crazy ideologue and a member of the "Jesus plus nothing" crowd that is against all taxes and public spending.
winterwar
(210 posts)More of the same shit. This guy could have been defeated.
benld74
(9,904 posts)Pensioner's are free loaders huh? Anyone care to look up what HIS retirement will be, how much and WHO is paying it.
THe NERVE of this A**hole.
The CCC
(463 posts)I hate to sound cruel, but the voters of Kansas wanted his guy in office. The sooner they die off and go to their pseudo-christian HELL the better.
mikeysnot
(4,757 posts)Oh wait you did.... now enjoy having your pension looted by wall street.
turbinetree
(24,703 posts)There is a new robbing hood in town and his name is Sam Brownback, of Kansas.
Hey, Kansas do you think a politician or having someone run in your state with a R in front of there name is going to really help you?
How does it really feel to go into a voting booth and vote against your own self interests.
And when you see the big old R in front of there name on the ballot you ogle and in awe of the power of being deceived and then get saddled with a debt because of your failure to see the hypocrisy in the REPRESSION / DEPRESSION by one Sam Brownback and his cronies, you can only support this facade for so long .
Has anyone with any common sense asked what your bond rating is with Standard and Poor's, I have one its called CR***P F.
Well guess what with a 250 billion short fall it would appear that some people with lots of wealth and not paying there taxes and should be paying there bill and they are called the Koch and the wealthy hypocrites in your state are the freeloaders.
But then again the logic in your state is to pay a college football coach over 2.4 million a year just to get a title, well you have one now and its called "WHAT's THE MATTER WITH KANSAS".
Just maybe when someone has a D or I in front of there name you might reconsider your blind allegiance to the big R, because apparently this buffoon thinks the retirees should pay the bill and the others down the economic food chain.
Good luck, because you are therefore going broke and you are going to have to sell the entire state to the Chinese or the Saudi Arabia or whoever has the cash to balance your books, and I don't think the rest of us are going to appreciate that if you do.
City Lights
(25,171 posts)Seriously.