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Legislative Update
Aug. 31, 2007
Friends,
First, I wish to thank those of you who have replied to questionnaires I have mailed out. It’s very helpful to know your opinions on issues like taxation and education, and it’s also helpful to receive your Email addresses, as Email is obviously an easy (and inexpensive) form of communication. I have more letters that I will be mailing, and I welcome your responses to both Email and “actual” mail that you receive. I ask for patience on requested responses, as the Kansas legislature is a citizen legislature. While members of the U.S. Congress a) have year-round, full-time staffs; b) receive $160,000 salaries; and c) can mail anybody in their district – Kansas legislators a) don’t, b) don’t, and c) cannot (note that I do indeed support the citizen legislature model).
I won’t mail many of you on my Email list, but rather provide news updates through Email – if you would like to also receive mail in your home mailbox, please let me know.
There have been a couple articles that have run in McClatchy papers (KC Star, Wichita Eagle) about the relatively low salary provided to the Kansas legislature, compared to other states. I’ll make a brief mention of my views on this. I think our salaries are OK, and here’s why: there are too many people in the U.S. Congress who have been there too long, and the number one reason is their salaries. We enable them to be too comfortable.
I do not support constitutionally-required term limits, as I think there are good examples of elected officials who have been in office a long time. But if politicians want to remain in office, their number one reason should be the issues, and not their salaries. And if U.S. Congressmen were paid, say, $75,000 instead of $160,000, I would bet (now that we can gamble in Kansas) that Americans would see five times as many congressional retirements every election cycle.
I honestly don’t know recall what Kansas legislators are paid: I think the actual salary is around $14,000, but we’re paid in multiple ways (some are considered expenses – some legislators rent apartments in Topeka and some drive back and forth) that, all added up, equal around $20,000 per year. If the legislature were to meet all year, our salary is considered to equal the equivalent of a $75,000 per year salary.
OLATHE PARADE: Next Saturday morning, September 8, is the annual Old Settlers Day Parade in Olathe. It’s a lot of fun, and I encourage you to attend, even if you’re not from Olathe. Events begin on Thursday, and you can find more information about the entire weekend here.
THE STRENGTH OF THE U.S. ECONOMY: Because a Republican is currently in the office of the Presidency, the leftist mainstream media doesn’t want to let you know about the strength of the economy, and how well Americans are doing compared to a) people throughout the modern world, and b) humans throughout history. Here is an article in National Review Online by Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. In this article, Rector examines the true economic situations of Americans that the U.S. Census Bureau defines as poor.
Please note that I do not wish to de-emphasize Rector when he writes, “Some material hardship does exist in the United States.” But the information that he provides is important to recognize. The Census Bureau classifies 37 million Americans as poor. And:
· 46 percent of all poor households actually own their own homes.
· The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
· 97 percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
· 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
· While the poor are generally well-nourished, some poor families do experience temporary food shortages. But, even this condition is relatively rare; 89 percent of the poor report their families have “enough” food to eat, while only two percent say they “often” do not have enough to eat.
· Roughly one in ten of the persons counted among the poor by Census is either an illegal immigrant or the minor child of an illegal.
I encourage you to read the whole article.
As always, thank you for your time. Have an excellent weekend.
Benjamin Hodge
State representative
Overland Park and Olathe, KS