The “super-committee” can’t agree on a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit, but the U.S. House had no problem agreeing on another pressing issue: reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States. That’s a relief. The House approved the resolution Tuesday by a 396-9 vote. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., was one of the few lawmakers to question the need for the resolution. “Why are my Republican friends returning to an irrelevant agenda?” Nadler asked. “The national motto is not in danger. No one here is suggesting we get rid of it. It appears on our money, it appears in this chamber above your head, it appears in the Capitol Visitors’ Center, all over the place.”
Meanwhile, only 33 percent of registered voters believe their own member deserves to be re-elected, and only 6 percent said the same about most members of Congress, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.
Kansas Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan is doing a quick road trip to get ideas on state tax policy, though the reform plan he has been developing behind closed doors for Gov. Sam Brownback reportedly is mostly finished. Jordan was in Great Bend, Garden City and Colby Tuesday and will speak in Hays and Salina today. Former Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon, who is now chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, said the reform plan likely will lower and flatten income taxes, particularly for higher-income earners. “It’s trickle-down economics, and it hasn’t worked yet,” she told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “I want people to pay attention. They’re going to get shafted.”
Scarce resources often complicate contract negotiations. So credit goes to City Hall and the International Association of Firefighters Local 135 for coming together, with a federal mediator’s help, on a new contract for 380 firefighters good through Dec. 20, 2013. The contract, which the City Council approved Tuesday, not only includes a 2.5 percent pay increase across the board and sets a recommended daily staffing level, it also establishes a more positive relationship for future negotiations.
The “super-committee” can’t agree on a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit, but the U.S. House had no problem agreeing on another pressing issue: reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States. That’s a relief. The House approved the resolution Tuesday by a 396-9 vote. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., was one of the few lawmakers to question the need for the resolution. “Why are my Republican friends returning to an irrelevant agenda?” Nadler asked. “The national motto is not in danger. No one here is suggesting we get rid of it. It appears on our money, it appears in this chamber above your head, it appears in the Capitol Visitors’ Center, all over the place.”
