www.ThadKBartley.com
Population and hence jobs are the first things to tackle in Reno County. They go hand-in-hand.
According to the Reno County article at http://www.renocountygrowth.com/blueprint/letter.shtml the population of Reno County went down from 1980 to 2000, and we even lost a thousand more people from 2000 to 2010's census. How, then, can the Reno County budget have increased? With a smaller tax paying base how can you increase, or even sustain current budget levels?
The answer is that "you cannot". If a budget is sustained, or raised, with the same or smaller tax base, then taxes have to be raised across the board in order to keep things running.
1. Reduce what you plan to use taxes for to well below 1980 levels because we have fewer residents.
2. Help increase the population of Reno County through available jobs, working with the Reno County Growth Coalition, and brainstorming in town halls for new ideas to implement.
3. Job creation should be done through a culture built around helping companies thrive. Jobs should not be created by the government because they then become bureaucratic and funded by taxpayers. Tax breaks for companies should not be reduced, percentage wise, below what we offer the general public, but we need to give tax breaks across the board from corporations to residents to founder an era of job growth and trust that the local government will help that happen. If taxes are moderately reduced, and eventually brought to rock bottom, then we can actually increase tax revenue by foundering a county where corporations, and hence jobs, want to relocate. In addition, we need to go beyond just blue collar jobs. America, and Reno County, are built on the blue collars of Americans. Unfortunately, most relocaters, and citizens, will not move to Reno County simply for blue collar jobs which we have workers for anyway. Co-hybrid companies that work with blue collar industries such as accounting, manpower, logistics, etc will move to our area if we add a multitude of blue collar jobs. This is not talking about a couple hundred with Siemens type corporations. We need several of these types of industries and companies to increase growth. It will be short term pain for long term gain. Let's bite the bullet for a couple years to reap long term rewards. The Reno County Growth coalition is looking toward 2020. Let's all take a cue and look long-term at what Reno County can become.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Apology to Joe Seiwert & Curt Miller...
www.ThadKBartley.com
Rng 4 KS House of Reps District 101 vs Joe Seiwert & Curt Miller
On the July 4 online edition of the Hutchinson News I placed a comment, in jest, in regards to the July 4 parade in which I stated that I had a real job which implied that Joe and Curt did not.
Taking a line from "Dirty Dancing" (the movie), "When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong".
My comment toward them was factually incorrect. Joe is a farmer and has the added stress of being the current District 101 Representative. Curt owns a sharpening business and is the Mayor of Pretty Prairie. They both have real jobs.
This should set that record straight.
www.ThadKBartley.com
Rng 4 KS House of Reps District 101 vs Joe Seiwert & Curt Miller
On the July 4 online edition of the Hutchinson News I placed a comment, in jest, in regards to the July 4 parade in which I stated that I had a real job which implied that Joe and Curt did not.
Taking a line from "Dirty Dancing" (the movie), "When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong".
My comment toward them was factually incorrect. Joe is a farmer and has the added stress of being the current District 101 Representative. Curt owns a sharpening business and is the Mayor of Pretty Prairie. They both have real jobs.
This should set that record straight.
www.ThadKBartley.com
Thursday, July 8, 2010
An "As Used" tax...
www.ThadKBartley.com
An "as used" tax is something our local governments, and eventually national (though let's don't hold our breaths) need to gravitate to in order to balance our budgets and provide constitutional services and leadership.
The easiest analogy of the tax is in road usage and reconstruction. If Margaret only uses the roads to go to church once a week then her tax burden for road repair should be as proportional as Jim who commutes 300 miles per day. Every piece of their automobile upkeep and costs; including fuel, oil, tires, repair; should be taxed a certain amount and distributed proportionately among Township, Town, County, State, and National governments.
In order for this to work all citizens, old enough to make purchases, need an ID or Drivers License for the taxes to be distributed properly. If I buy fuel in New Mexico then they can be sure most of it will be used on their roads and on my trip home. If I buy tires in Florida, but reside in Kansas, then you can be sure that most tire life will probably be used in Reno County. Most fuel tax should start with, in these cases, to New Mexico and most tire tax starts with Reno County.
The same should be done with schools and etc. If Jim and Jane planned to NOT have children why should they be taxed for schools? If Bill and Margaret have 10 children then their school burden should be proportionately higher than Dave and Jill with one child.
Of course it is government so it will end up not being this simple, but the analogy should MAKE it simpler than the current tax system.
It becomes a system of free enterprise and fairness as opposed to "redistribution of wealth". We are going down the redistribution road, at the moment, and it vexes me greatly.
Thad
www.ThadKBartley.com 2
An "as used" tax is something our local governments, and eventually national (though let's don't hold our breaths) need to gravitate to in order to balance our budgets and provide constitutional services and leadership.
The easiest analogy of the tax is in road usage and reconstruction. If Margaret only uses the roads to go to church once a week then her tax burden for road repair should be as proportional as Jim who commutes 300 miles per day. Every piece of their automobile upkeep and costs; including fuel, oil, tires, repair; should be taxed a certain amount and distributed proportionately among Township, Town, County, State, and National governments.
In order for this to work all citizens, old enough to make purchases, need an ID or Drivers License for the taxes to be distributed properly. If I buy fuel in New Mexico then they can be sure most of it will be used on their roads and on my trip home. If I buy tires in Florida, but reside in Kansas, then you can be sure that most tire life will probably be used in Reno County. Most fuel tax should start with, in these cases, to New Mexico and most tire tax starts with Reno County.
The same should be done with schools and etc. If Jim and Jane planned to NOT have children why should they be taxed for schools? If Bill and Margaret have 10 children then their school burden should be proportionately higher than Dave and Jill with one child.
Of course it is government so it will end up not being this simple, but the analogy should MAKE it simpler than the current tax system.
It becomes a system of free enterprise and fairness as opposed to "redistribution of wealth". We are going down the redistribution road, at the moment, and it vexes me greatly.
Thad
www.ThadKBartley.com 2
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Libertarian does NOT stand for Liberal...
www.ThadKBartley.com
I recently renewed my Kansas Drivers License in Reno County Kansas. The examiner asked me if I wanted to register to vote and gave me the options of Republican, Democrat, Reform Party, or Liberal. I looked at her askance and asked, "Liberal?"
She said, "Oh, I'm paraphrasing."
I promptly explained that Libertarian is not Liberal. Actually, we are more conservative than the Republicans have ended up.
Libertarian stands for "Liberty" and personal freedom unencroached by the Federal or State Government. We want the Feds and Locals to stick by their constitutions, and not do anything else. Get off our backs and let us LIVE our lives the way we see fit with almost all of the money we've made.
Thad
I recently renewed my Kansas Drivers License in Reno County Kansas. The examiner asked me if I wanted to register to vote and gave me the options of Republican, Democrat, Reform Party, or Liberal. I looked at her askance and asked, "Liberal?"
She said, "Oh, I'm paraphrasing."
I promptly explained that Libertarian is not Liberal. Actually, we are more conservative than the Republicans have ended up.
Libertarian stands for "Liberty" and personal freedom unencroached by the Federal or State Government. We want the Feds and Locals to stick by their constitutions, and not do anything else. Get off our backs and let us LIVE our lives the way we see fit with almost all of the money we've made.
Thad
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