People cost money. The state needs money. Why not trim the size of the Legislature? That’s what state Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, is proposing. He’d like a 90-member House and 30-member Senate, down 35 and 10 members, respectively, from the status quo. The last lean time he made the proposal, he said, “There was only one group that didn’t like it, and that was my colleagues.” Topeka Capital-Journal columnist Ric Anderson noted that the cost savings wouldn’t amount to much: But “it’s worth a look. Who knows? Maybe it could be the start of even bigger and better things, like having the Legislature meet once every other year.”
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- Regular on ACORN stole election?
- thomaswitt on ACORN stole election?
- Daniel on Open thread 11/21
- Daniel on ACORN stole election?
- Phantom on Open thread 11/21
- Daniel on Open thread 11/21
- thomaswitt on ACORN stole election?
- Regular on Open thread 11/21
- Phantom on ACORN stole election?
- thomaswitt on ACORN stole election?
7 Comments
Senator Steineger is on the right track but needs help with his thinking. We are in a recession and, according to news reports, have been for a year. I see the benchmarks I watch dropping their prices.
Decreasing the number of Kansas state senators and house members would mean less democracy, less of a voice of the people on legislation. Entrenched state bureaucrats would gain power.
So, the best solution would be to immediately LOWER the pay of Kansas senators, representatives and state employees in an amount necessary to balance the state budget. Salaries and perks should be reduced by a minimum of the percentage of recessionary deflation, about 11% immediately.
It’s NOT the taxpayers responsibility to guarantee full employment at an ever increasing amount of pay. I know this would cause one gigantic squeal from those affected but I doubt if many would quit their jobs in protest.
Well, if the goal is reducing legislative waste, how about doing away with it altogether?
We have the technology now to do direct popular votes on every issue in the State….
“JWink” –
It’s counter-intuitive, but there’s a strong case to be made to increase the salaries of legislators.
Someone who depends year-round on an assembly line isn’t likely to chuck it all for 90 days per diem paid to the lawyers, bankers, executives, and farmers who now pack the Legislature.
For all the whining about “professional politicians,” I come back to thinking about other fields of work. If I need brain surgery, I’d just as soon have a “professional” surgeon in charge. If someone’s gonna drill my teeth, I’d prefer a “professional” dentist does it.
It’s always seemed odd to me when CONs rail against “professional” politicians (albeit, only those professional politicians they disagree with).
I’m preparing to toss my hat into the ring for the Governorship. I will be running on an Anarchist ticket. Rather than shrinking state government, let’s go the distance and eliminate it altogether!
My campaign slogan: “Do you really believe that what we have is better than no government at all?”
My campaign promise: “If I run for a second term, you may consider it an admission of abject failure.”
My qualifications: What qualifications does it take to turn out the lights and lock the doors?
All politics is local anyway, so let local bodies handle local problems and let the feds handle the national and international ones. Cut out this expensive, ineffectual, interfering and unnecessary middleman and run our own lives!
I think it’s time for King or a Queen.
Let’s do away with Topeka and open up Wichita as royal court. :)
Reggie,
You must be Irish, right? A chicken in every pot, some pot in every chick and a king on every throne! Before long we’ll be marching off to conquer Huchinson!
Kinda funny that a Democrat would call for fewer Senators and Legislators. Sounds like a ploy to dilute the power of the eternal Republican majorities.