Daily Archives: Sept. 22, 2008

Palin administration is Bush squared

Sept. 22, 20081:04 p.m.

It’s troubling how Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went from welcoming an inquiry into her firing of the state’s public safety commissioner (“Hold me accountable. . . . I don’t have anything to hide,” she said just weeks ago) to stonewalling the probe as partisan. The legislative committee that authorized the inquiry consisted of four Democrats and 10 Republicans, and many Republicans still support the investigation into whether Palin abused her power to try to engineer the firing of her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. Palin’s nomination as John McCain’s running mate does not give her a pass on the rule of law. The Alaska Legislature needs to enforce the subpoenas requiring her husband and executive aides to testify.
The more we hear about the supposedly populist Palin administration, by the way, the more it sounds like the secretive Bush White House squared.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (130)

Adjust workers’ comp cap

Sept. 22, 20086:02 a.m.

If Kansas is going to keep its cap on workers’ compensation payments, that cap needs to be reasonable and should be adjusted based on cost of living. A new study released last week noted that the $125,000 cap for a worker with a permanent and total disability has not been changed since 1987. If that cap were adjusted for inflation, it would be set at $221,455, according to the University  of Kansas Institute for Policy and Social Research. It’s no wonder Kansas ranks near the bottom of states in workers’ compensation benefits.
“Legislators routinely pay lip service to the value of our work force, but if they really believe in supporting the workers of this state, they will fix this problem in 2009,” said Terry Humphrey, executive director of the Kansas Association of Justice, which is made up of labor groups and lawyers who represent injured workers.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (16)

Open thread 9/22

Sept. 22, 20086:01 a.m.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Open thread | Comments (546)

Rethinking term limits

Sept. 22, 20086:00 a.m.

Kansans and Wichitans have been selectively fond of setting term limits for some elected officials, with few second thoughts — though term-limited Wichita City Council member Paul Gray asserted early this year that “sometimes eight years is not enough.” According to the New York Times, communities across the country are seeking to roll back term limits. Voters in San Antonio, where Mayor Phil Hardberger has called term limits “an unmitigated disaster for the city,” will consider a proposal in November to extend rather than end them. He said: “When you keep putting people in, and throwing them out, there is very little accountability. We do a lot of churning here, but we don’t produce a lot of butter.” Term limits currently apply to 37 governors (including Kansas’ Kathleen Sebelius), 15 state legislatures and nine of the country’s 10 most populous cities.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government, Wichita government | Comments (27)