Perhaps they were tired of nonbinding resolutions. Or maybe the oceans don’t seem all that important when you live in Kansas. But given the concern about the Gulf oil spill, it was odd that Reps. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, Jerry Moran, R-Hays, and Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, were among only 44 House members who voted against a resolution recognizing June 8 as World Ocean Day. Then again, World Ocean Day was by designated by the United Nations, and supporting something associated with the United Nations may not fit with the lawmakers’ efforts to appear as ultraconservative as possible.
A comprehensive study of the federal health care reform has concluded that it will reduce total national health care spending by $590 billion between 2010 and 2019 and lower premiums by nearly $2,000 per family. The study by the Commonwealth Fund expects an increase in overall health spending in the short run as millions more people obtain health coverage. But it estimated that the annual growth rate in national health expenditures could be slowed from 6.3 to 5.7 percent — which may not seem like much but would translate to billions of dollars of savings.
Though the savings to the city and taxpayers won’t be significant, it’s admirable that the Wichita City Council plans to vote today not to receive an automatic pay raise. Council member salaries are linked to the consumer price index and are set to increase by about 2.2 percent. But given all the Wichitans who have been laid off or experienced a pay reduction or salary freeze, Mayor Carl Brewer and other council members wisely recognize that this is no time for government leaders to receive a raise.
