“The Congressional Budget Office says that aid to the unemployed is one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, as measured by jobs created per dollar of outlay,” columnist Paul Krugman wrote. “But that’s not how Republicans see it.” Sen. Jon Kyl (in photo), R-Ariz., in defending the block on unemployment benefits by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said that unemployment relief “doesn’t create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.” In Kyl’s view, Krugman wrote, “what we really need to worry about right now — with more than five unemployed workers for every job opening, and long-term unemployment at its highest level since the Great Depression — is whether we’re reducing the incentive of the unemployed to find jobs. To me, that’s a bizarre point of view.”
There is no way to spin it: Wichita’s water financing shortfall is a major screwup. City Manager Robert Layton announced Thursday that water rates need to increase 15 percent as of June 1 in order to cover the costs of the city’s Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project (which treats and stores underground excess water from the Arkansas River). The financing came from water rates, and those rates were based on expected usage. Because of all the wet weather the past three years, and because of decreased industrial usage related to the economy, the usage projections were off significantly. As a result, and because of some other faulty projections, the city now has to jack up those rates in order to make its bond payments and continue the project work. City utility director David Warren has resigned, and the city finance department is now overseeing the water department’s finances (it had been an independently functioning department).
After the recent health care summit, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., received a lot of play for his hard-hitting critique of the cost of the Democratic reform plan. He charged that the plan used budget gimmicks to hide its true cost. Some of his charges were accurate and fair. But as Ezra Klein of the Washington Post noted, much of Ryan’s analysis was itself based on gimmicks designed to inflate the cost of the reform plan while ignoring the savings.
A blog item Wednesday explained that nearly all of the $252 million in fund balances that USD 259 had as of December — which state Rep. Joe McLeland, R-Wichita, cited at a forum Saturday — were school bond and capital outlay money that can’t be used for other purposes. Dave Trabert, president of the Kansas Policy Institute, responded that USD 259 had $94 million in carryover cash balances at the start of its fiscal year last July that were not related to capital projects or bond payments. Here is the breakdown of that total: $36.8 million in the district’s self-insurance reserves, used to pay employee health insurance, disability and workers’ compensation claims; $11.6 million in student fees and grants; $54.2 million in “state aid receivable”; and a negative $7.7 million in other operating funds (such as the general fund and contingency reserves). The $54.2 million was aid money that the state was supposed to have paid the district in June but didn’t. The state required districts to record this owed payment as having been received and as unencumbered, even though it was not. Wichita’s operating funds had a negative balance because the district had to raid these accounts to cover payroll and other expenses due to the missed state payment. Bottom line: The district didn’t have a huge pile of leftover cash sitting around.
With the Wichita River Festival just eight weeks away, May 7-15, cue the whining about all things festival-related. True, organizers are asking for criticism by requiring each West Bank Stage concertgoer to wear a $5 festival button and pay a $10 gate admission. And the acts, especially Bret Michaels and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, may be too rough-hewn and well-traveled for some tastes. But with the corporate sponsorships down about $80,000 from 2009 and $200,000 from 2008, the festival obviously had to come up with more revenue somewhere. At least the button fee remains a bargain for the rest of the nine-day party. It’s also fitting that the 37th Admiral Windwagon Smith, revealed last weekend, is Devin Hansen, president of Sunflower Travel and chairman of the board of directors of Go Wichita, because Riverfest and tourism go together beautifully.
